Hot flashes

• Avoid caffeine, alcohol and hot, spicy foods that can cause your internal temperature to spike.
• Avoid sweets, simple carbohydrates and sugary drinks. Sugar (in all forms) is a major hot flash trigger.
• Drink 60 to 80 ounces of water per day. A drink of cold water can help cool your body’s core and shorten a hot flash.
• Increase your soy intake. Bean paste, edamame, soy milk, soy sauce, tempeh and tofu all contain isoflavones which convert into phytoestrogens during digestion.

Get plenty of sleep. If hot flashes are keeping you up at night:

• Eliminate excess bedding and use low-thread-count sheets
• Go to bed barefoot
• Reduce the temperature in your bedroom (but not too cold, as you will then have the shivers)
• Take a cold shower right before bed to help lower your core temperature

If you smoke, quit. Smoking interferes with circulation and inhibits the body’s ability to warm and cool itself. Women who smoke are more likely to get hot flashes.

Reduce or eliminate stress. Strategies include:

• Journal; consider listing five things to be grateful for every day
• Practice deep breathing or mindfulness meditation
• Do tai chi or yoga

Maintain a healthy weight. Fat adds insulation, making it harder for your body to adjust to temperature swings. Every woman’s body is different, but for some, losing even as little as 5 pounds can help reduce the frequency and duration of hot flashes.

You may be more likely to experience severe hot flashes if you are:

• Black or Latina
• Overweight
• Smoker

Hot flashes are caused by changing levels of estrogen and, to a lesser extent, progesterone. These fluctuations affect the hypothalamus—the part of the brain responsible for regulating body temperature, appetite, sex hormones and sleep.

Most hot flashes last 30 seconds to five minutes. Severe hot flashes can last up to 15 minutes.

On their own, hot flashes are not damaging—they are just instances of the body’s natural response to an increase in internal temperature. However, hot flashes may impact relationships, work, sleep and even cognition. Some research indicates that women with severe hot flashes may be at higher risk for heart disease and bone density loss than women without hot flashes.

Most women experience hot flashes for two and seven years. About 10% of women may have hot flashes for 10 to 15 years. Typically, the earlier women start having hot flashes, the longer they last.

No. Up to 25% of women report having no hot flashes or such mild hot flashes that the symptoms are hardly noticeable.