8 Common Questions About Menopause Hot Flushes And Night Sweats

8 Common Questions About Menopause Hot Flushes And Night Sweats

Don’t you just hate it when hot flashes appear at the most inconvenient times.
It might happen right in the middle of a business meeting or out with friends or worst of all on a hot date.
The more you will yourself its not going to happen, is when it hits you worse than ever before.
Usually, when your body heats up, the blood vessels on the surface of the skin expand,
allowing more blood to come through and the heat from the blood evaporates into the air.
This is your body’s natural way to lose additional heat.
If you are extra hot, then sweating can be triggered, and as the sweat evaporates it cools you down.

In the brain, you have a gland called the hypothalamus and one of its key functions is that it produces releasing and inhibiting hormones, which start and stop the production of other hormones throughout your body.

As your sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone start to fluctuate during menopause, the other areas where the hormones are involved are put under pressure.
Your hypothalamus gets your nervous and endocrine systems to work together in times of crisis and tries to keep everything in balance including regulating your body temperature.

It can sometimes think that your body’s too hot when it’s not, setting off a panic mode. The cooling process, springs into action, resulting in your blood vessels expanding, giving you a rush of blood and that’s your hot flush.
It can also trigger sweating as well and you can end up getting a hot flush combined with sweating, or worst of all you might get night sweats in the middle of the night.

8 Common Questions About Menopause Hot Flushes And Night Sweats

1. Can your nervous system cause menopause hot flushes?

It’s normal to start sweating and feeling hot and clammy when you get nervous, anxious, or scared about something.
This is because the nervous system interferes with your temperature control.
As you go through menopause your nervous system is stretched to the max because of all the other changes that are going on in the body as well.

Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the most common menopause symptoms causing you to be in a state of anxiety practically all day and very often an anxiety attack will accompany or precede a hot flush.

Stimulants
These are things like caffeine, alcohol, and high salt and sugar foods. These can rev up your nervous system and can trigger a hot flush within 10 – 15 minutes of taking them.

Low blood sugar levels
Low blood sugar levels can stress the nervous system and trigger a hot flush.

Dehydration
Hot flushes and night sweats will dehydrate you, and dehydration will put your nervous system into panic mode, triggering more hot flushes or night sweats.

Lack of magnesium
Falling estrogen can interfere with the absorption and the availability of magnesium, which is vital for your nervous system.
If you are low in magnesium, your nervous system will be overstressed, triggering hot flushes.

What you can do to help yourself

• Look at lovely calming herbs, such as passion flower, or even a really good vitamin B complex can help to reduce anxiety
• Cut out or reduce the intake of coffee, black tea and high salt and sugar foods
• Drinking more water
• Eat little and often, as it will help to keep your blood sugar level stable and help your nervous system
• Take a magnesium supplement
  Usually, about 200 milligrams a day is fine

 

2. Why are menopause hot flushes worse at night?

You might find that after your dinner, just as you are winding down, the hot flushes will kick in with a vengeance.
This could be due to an accumulation of things that occur during the day and that then hit a peak in the evening.
These include dehydration, the amount of caffeine that you have been drinking, the amount of daily stress you are under, and what you ate or didn’t eat.

What is going on in your day, might have an adverse effect on your nervous system, on your digestion, and on your general mood.
Add these all together and it can stress the nervous system to the point where your hot flushes really kick in.

What can help?

• Keeping a diary of your daily habits which can then help to pinpoint what’s going on and making it easier to address
• Look at what you have for dinner, including your last glass of wine, or your last cup of coffee
• Remember, not to have too many stimulating foods, such as spicy foods, high salt and sugar foods which can also make hot flushes worse

3. Can menopause hot flushes stop and start again?

Can you get hot flushes in the first year of menopause and then find that they disappear, and then after a year or two they come back again?

The answer is yes.
Your hormones don’t necessarily decline in a set manner from the start of perimenopause until the end of menopause.
Your hormones can fluctuate and these changes, when they occur, can trigger certain symptoms, one of them being hot flushes.

4. Is it normal to feel cold & clammy after a menopause hot flush?

This is a horrible and uncomfortable feeling.
One minute, you’re boiling, sweating profusely, and the next minute, you’re shivering.
Hot flushes arise because your body’s ability to control its internal temperature is out of sync.

When you have a hot flush, your body reacts by triggering blood to rush to the skin in order to cool you off.
Blood comes from the internal core of your body and ends up going onto the skin.
As it hits the skin, the air cools the blood, which then goes back into the body.

This is what cools you down and can induce sweating as well
Sweating will cool you down even quicker and it is this cooling down process that then makes you feel really cold straight afterwards.
If you experience this during the day, the only real way of coping with it is to wear layers.

5. Is it normal to feel nauseous before a menopause hot flush?

This can be nausea either just before a flush or just after a flush.
It can be because you are dehydrated, or the fact that your blood sugar is low, or because your blood pressure has dropped too quickly.
Keeping a diary can help determine the cause.
It may be that you have skipped a meal and your blood sugars are too low.

6. Why does a menopause hot flush make you feel dizzy?

When you have a hot flush, the blood vessels open up very suddenly and can cause a drop in blood pressure, the blood drains from your brain causing light-headedness and dizziness, and in some instances, feeling as if you want to faint.

7. What causes pins and needles when you have a menopause hot flush?

You might find that you get tingling sensations, electrical shocks, or pins and needles just before you get the hot flush.
This tends to be caused by an adrenal rush and stems from the nervous system.
Due to all the different emotions that overstretch your nervous system during menopause, it can trigger adrenaline to be released and you end up getting a hot flush.

8. Can you still get menopause hot flushes after menopause?

Yes, you can.
Some women seem to be experiencing an extended menopause and they are still getting symptoms well after their periods have stopped.

It can also be due to other health issues and if you are still getting flushes four or five years after your periods have stopped, it is a good idea to double-check with your doctor that nothing else is going on.
It could also be due to stress, or it could be that you are low on vitamin D, especially if you’re getting sweats and flushes above the neckline.
Low iron can also cause flushes, double-check with your doctor to rule out anything else that might be going on.

Sources
mayoclinic.org – hot flashes symptoms and causes
medicinenet.com – hot flashes
medicalnewstoday.com – what does a hot flash feel like
healthline.com – menopause nausea
womenshealth.obgyn.msu.edu – hot flashes after menopause
health.havard.edu – menopause-related hot flashes

Night Sweats

Which is worse? Hot flushes or night sweats?
Isn’t is enough that you spend all day trying to deal with the rolling onslaught of hot flushes leaving you exhausted and fatigued. 
Now your sleep is also interrupted by the most uncomfortable night sweats.
It can be enough to send you over the edge and dreading to go to bed at night.

Night sweats and hot flushes are the two most common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, even though not every woman will experience them.
There can be a variety of causes for night sweats, one of them being that daily stress and busyness can rev up and overwind your nervous system.

Add to this not being able to sleep properly at night.
You wake up suddenly, in the middle of the night, with your heart thumping, drenched in sweat, then you get cold because sweating cools you down, you go back to sleep and the pattern repeats itself over and over again.
Therefore, dealing with stress during the day is very important for combating night-time sweats.
Poor sleep will affect your nervous system the next day because you are waking up tired, stressing your nervous system before you even start the day.

How can you help yourself?

• The most important thing is to get a good night’s sleep in whichever way you can
• It is also recommended to take sage, with your dinner
• Taking a magnesium supplement in the evening can help if you are anxious and can’t fall asleep
• Taking a sleep supplement containing valerian can help you to fall asleep and actually keep you asleep, as well

1. Are night sweats the same as menopause hot flushes?

They can stem from the same causes, but the symptoms themselves and the reaction in the body are very different.
If you have a hot flush during the day, you can normally feel it starting and are more aware of the whole process.
However, night sweats usually occur when you are already asleep.

The first indication you get that it has happened, is when you wake up soaking wet.
Therefore, night sweats are more to do with sweating and perspiring, rather than just getting heat coming up through the body.

2. Can dehydration cause night sweats?

The answer is definitely yes.
If you’re waking up several times during the night and are sweating profusely, you are more prone to becoming dehydrated quickly.

If you end up being dehydrated all day, it will put tremendous pressure on your nervous system.
And one of the symptoms of a really stressed nervous system is excess perspiration.
So, if you get dehydrated during the day and then have night sweats you will be dehydrated the next day, and so it goes on and on.
Unless you break that cycle, the night sweats are likely to continue.

 

3. Why are my night sweats getting worse?

Firstly, your hormones can play a big part in worsening night sweats as they don’t necessarily fall evenly as you go through the menopause
Your hormones suddenly changing can be enough to trigger the night sweats
Secondly, it can be due to your lifestyle:
It’s a good idea, to keep a diary because, very often, there is an external cause that’s triggering it
Ask yourself the following:

• Have you changed your diet in any way?
• Are you skipping meals?
• Have you been really busy?
• Are you extra stressed?

If you are very stressed, it makes it more likely that your nervous system will over-fire during the night, giving you more or worse night sweats.

4. How can I prevent menopausal night sweats?

• The number one remedy for hot flushes and night sweats is, sage
• Limit caffeine and alcohol intake
• Don’t smoke
• Don’t exercise close to bedtime
• Don’t eat spicy foods or drink hot beverages before going to bed
• Keep your bedroom temperature at max 18 degrees

Sources
mayoclinic.org – symptoms night sweats
health.clevelandclinic.org – frustrated by night sweats

5. Does Menopause Cause Weird Dreams?

As you enter menopause your estrogen starts to fall, causing you to have less of a deep sleep.
You are sleeping in a much shallower state, which means you can wake up a lot quicker.
You can wake up whilst you are still dreaming and it might also take you longer to get back to sleep.
You might also be feeling as if you are not able to move when you wake up.

This is an unpleasant feeling associated with going through menopause
Normally when you are in the dream state, your body goes into a state of almost semi-paralysis.
But due to menopause, you are already not sleeping as deeply as before.
You are dreaming in a lighter state and wake up more easily, while your body is in a semi-paralysis state.

The types of dreams can change as well

• You can have them in vivid colour
• Your dreams might be more action-packed
• You are more prone to having nightmares

6. What can help to reduce night sweats?

• Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine before going to bed
  All of these can stress your nervous system making you more prone to negative aspects of weird dreams
• Do not eat too late, because this puts more pressure on your digestive system which in turn puts pressure on your liver
  If you are waking up between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM it means that your liver might be stressed
• Try not to exercise too late as it will rev up your nervous system
• Take a magnesium supplement
  It will help with your moods and also help you to relax

Sources
hopkinsmedicine.org – how does menopause affect my sleep
a.vogel.com – does menopause cause weird dreams

7. Can night sweats lead to Menopause fatigue?

As you enter the perimenopausal phase, your hormone levels rise and fall and can be very unpredictable.
The same hormonal changes that cause symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats can also affect your energy levels, leading to fatigue.

Causes of menopause fatigue

• Hot flashes or night sweats causing disrupted sleep will naturally cause you to feel tired all the time
• Joint aches and pains, common symptoms of menopause, can interfere with your sleep
• Changing hormones and trying to keep your body in balance can be very energy draining

8. What can help to ease menopause fatigue?

Get a good sleeping regime going

• Try going to bed and waking up around the same time every day, even on the weekends
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime
• Avoid using smartphones and computers before going to sleep
• Have a warm bath or shower before climbing into bed
• Taking a herbal sleep remedy, such as sage, can help alleviate night sweat symptoms, which can disturb your sleep
• Taking Devil’s claw can help with joint or muscle pain, a common problem at night
• Keep your bedroom temperature cool, helping you to cope with your body’s natural temperature fluctuations at night
• Don’t eat too late in the evening and avoid heartburn by eating smaller portions

Don’t let your emotions get you down

For some women, the emotional turmoil felt during menopause is far greater than the physical one, leaving you drained of energy.
If you are stressed, anxious, or worried and are suffering from mood swings, all of these can wear you down and make you feel extra tired.

• Practice relaxation every day
• With all the changes that are happening in your body, it is more important than ever to make time for yourself as often as possible
• Do your breathing exercise by slowly breathe in and out, clearing your mind while focusing on your breath
• Practicing yoga or tai chi, can also help you to relax

Have a regular diet routine

It might not necessarily be the fact that you are eating the wrong foods but because you lead such a busy life, you often eat on the run, just grabbing a sandwich at lunchtime, and therefore you are simply not eating enough.

Try not to go on a diet during menopause, which is hard to do, since most women put on weight during this time.
If you don’t eat enough, it will make you feel tired and give you fatigue.
Make sure that you’re eating enough and well, getting plenty of good lean protein as well as healthy grains and healthy fats.

Avoid nutritional deficiencies

The changing hormones during menopause can drain you of energy and nutritional needs.
Even if you are already eating well, drinking plenty of water, and are watching what you eat, you might still be feeling tired.
For instance, low iron caused by heavy periods while you are in perimenopause or leading up to menopause can result in fatigue.
The following supplements can help alleviate fatigue:

• Hormonal support 
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Zinc

Stay hydrated

• Being dehydrated will make you tired and give you a fuzzy head
• Dehydration can also cause poor muscle function
• Get plenty of plain water every single day, not fizzy or flavored water

Exercise

If you don’t do enough exercise it can lead to fatigue.
On the other hand, if you do too much exercise during menopause, that can make you tired as well.
It is important to find a balance between under and over-exercising.

If you are not used to exercising, aim for 10 minutes of brisk walking once a day to start with.
If you are feeling tired or sore after you have done your exercise session then that is your body’s way of telling you, that you have done too much.

Sources
nhs.uk – menopause the facts
sleepfoundation.org – sleep hygiene      
pubmed.gov – feeling of energy associated with physical activity

 

Some more unusual menopause symptoms you might experience during sleep include:

Tingling, Pins and Needles & Electric Shocks

ESS or electric shock sensation is not a very common symptom of menopause but can become quite disconcerting because the tingling and the shocks can happen at any time.
Pins and needles can often start during the night and can be sore enough to actually wake you up.
This tends to be caused by falling estrogen affecting the nerves sending signals to the brain.
As your hormones fluctuate these signals may short-circuit causing a sensation of tingling and electric shocks.

What can do to help yourself?

• Eat more foods containing phytoestrogens, such as broccoli, tofu, berries, wheat bran, green and black tea.
• Take an Omega-3, fish oil or flaxseed supplement
• Make sure you don’t suffer from a magnesium deficiency
• You might also be low in vitamin B12 as one of the symptoms of low vitamin B12 is electronic shocks and nerve-tingling

Hot, burning feet

This can happen as you are about to fall asleep and suddenly your feet start to burn.
Many women say that they have to stick their feet out from under the covers because they just can’t cope with them being so hot.
One of the main causes of this symptom could be that your nervous system is damaged or simply overtaxed with more anxiety and stress being experienced during menopause.

What can do to help yourself?

• Take pantothenic acid (B5) as it contributes to the proper functioning of the nervous system
• An iron deficiency can also contribute to hot feet
• Turmeric has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that can help reduce nerve pain.
• Evening primrose oil may also help reduce nerve damage symptoms.

Sources
gennev.com – electric shocks during menopause
medicalnewstoday.com – hot feet causes and treatments