Hot flashes can last from 30 seconds to as long as 30 minutes, but most subside within a few minutes. The frequency of hot flashes varies. You may have them every hour or have them only occasionally. Nighttime hot flashes — or night sweats — can wake you from a sound sleep. During menopause, some women experience hot flashes for a year or more.
Hot flashes can occur at any time — in the middle of the night or in the middle of the produce aisle at the grocery store. And they're common. More than half of all women experience hot flashes during menopause.
For some women, lifestyle changes are enough to bring hot flashes under control. For others, medicines or dietary supplements seem to help. Learn more about what you can do to manage your hot flashes, as well as benefits and drawbacks to some common remedies. For mild hot flashes: Start with diet and lifestyle changes
If your hot flashes are mild — you have just a few a day and they don't interfere with your normal activities — you may be able to manage them with lifestyle adjustments. For example:
- Keep cool.
Slight increases in your body's core temperature can trigger hot flashes. Dress in layers so that you can remove clothing when you feel too warm. Open a window or use a fan or air conditioner to keep air flowing through a room. If you feel a hot flash coming on, sip a cold drink.
- Get active.
Daily exercise is important during the menopausal years. If you aren't already exercising regularly, now is the time to increase your physical activity and add regular aerobic exercise. With your doctor's OK, try brisk walking — or a similarly vigorous exercise — for 30 minutes or more on most days of the week.
- Watch what you eat and drink.
Hot and spicy foods, caffeinated beverages and alcohol can trigger hot flashes. Avoid any foods or drinks that increase your hot flashes.
- Relax.
Some women find relief through meditation, relaxation exercises, stress-reduction techniques or yoga. Even if these approaches don't quell your hot flashes, they may provide other benefits — such as easing the sleep disturbances that tend to occur with menopause.
- Practice paced respiration.
Slow, controlled deep rhythmic breathing — known as paced respiration — practiced twice a day can decrease hot flashes. Take a slow, deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, and exhale just as slowly. Paced respiration may also help relieve a hot flash when started as the hot flash begins.
- Don't smoke.
Smoking is linked to increased hot flashes. By not smoking, you may reduce hot flashes as well as your risk of many serious health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.
- Also consider herbal supplements such as: Soy, Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), Vitamin E.
Black cohosh.
Black cohosh — an herb used extensively in Europe for treating hot flashes — has become increasingly popular among women with menopausal symptoms. The North American Menopause Society supports short-term use of black cohosh for treating menopausal symptoms, since it seems to have a low risk of side effects when used for less than six months.
Soy and Red Clover.
Soy and Red Clover are two common sources of isoflavones — plant-derived, estrogen-like compounds that have weak effects similar to your body's own estrogen. Scientists have observed that women who have an abundance of soy in their diet — such as women in Asian countries — are less likely to report hot flashes and other bothersome menopausal symptoms.
Vitamin E.
Vitamin E — ingested in doses up to 400 international units (IU) daily — provides relief from mild hot flashes for some women.
You may have heard of — or even tried — other dietary supplements, such as dong quai, licorice, chasteberry, evening primrose oil and wild yam (natural progesterone cream).
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