If you’re in menopause or perimenopause, you’re probably no stranger to a hot flush, or their more extreme form of night sweats.

They send a rush of heat through your upper body and, if they’re especially strong, can cause red blotches on your skin, a racing heart and sudden, drenching sweats.

And for many women, hot flushes are accompanied — perhaps even caused — by anxiety.

What exactly is a hot flush?

It is a sudden feeling of intense heat that isn’t caused by something external such as being near a stove or fire or out in the sun.

Unfortunately nobody is exactly sure why a hot flush starts, but like so much else, it is hormonal.

It may be that changing hormone levels disrupt your body’s ability to warm up or cool down. As a result, the blood vessels near your skin open up and your skin temperature suddenly rises (though your core temperature doesn’t).

After the flush, sweat evaporates from your skin, delivering a welcome cooling sensation. The swift change can literally leave you feeling dizzy.

Does a hot flush cause anxiety or is it the reverse?

The relationship between anxiety and hot flushes may be a chicken and egg situation.

In one older study in 2002 researchers followed 436 premenopausal women for 6 years and found that anxiety was not only a symptom, but that those with anxiety were 3 to 5 times more likely to have hot flushes.

When researchers returned to that same study in 2016 to analyse their symptoms at the 14-year mark, they were able to confirm the strong relationship between anxiety and hot flushes.

In that study researchers distinguished between affective anxiety (emotional worry) and somatic anxiety (anxiety with physical symptoms such as stomach upset, headache, fast heart rate, and dizziness).

Women whose anxiety was emotional didn’t have a greater risk of hot flushes, but having physical anxiety symptoms was a strong indication that hot flushes would happen throughout menopause.

What else could be causing or contributing to them?

A number of other conditions and behaviours can increase the likelihood that you’ll experience at least some, and these are some of the most common:

• Alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods are common hot flush triggers.
• Some prescription medications may cause or worsen them including those used in chemotherapy.
• Smoking is associated with midlife hot flushes.
• Radiation therapy for cancer treatment may also cause hot flushes and night sweats.

How can you decrease anxiety during menopause?

Menopause is often described as a roller coaster ride. Your anxiety levels can peak and plunge as your body’s hormone production fluctuates.

While you may not be able to do much about the up-and-down hormones, you can certainly take advantage of proven anxiety-reducing strategies.

Here are some options to consider:

1. Rest is key particularly when flushes become night sweats, and anxious thoughts lead to insomnia, sleep may be delayed or interrupted.

The relationship between sleep disturbance, anxiety, and menopause is well-researched so anything you can do to improve that will also help with your hormonal symptoms.

2. Exercise helps and a growing body of evidence does suggest that physical movement both prevents and treats anxiety.

Both cardio (aerobic exercise) and strength training are recommended during menopause not only because they reduce anxiety, but because they can keep you from losing bone strength and gaining extra weight as your body changes.

3. Talk about it with someone you trust because menopause can raise a number of thorny issues such as changes to your body image, sex life, and identity, dealing with the shift in fertility and reacting to society’s expectations around menopause.

You may find it helpful to talk about your symptoms and any other menopause-related issues with an online or in-person therapist. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been found to be especially effective for treating anxiety.

If one-on-one therapy doesn’t appeal to you, you might find a support group devoted to menopause or anxiety issues nearby.

4. Take good care of yourself  both mind and body and in particular pay attention to your diet. Eat rainbows of healthy vegetables and muscle-building protein all of which are vital as you get older.

Overall the Mediterranean diet has been shown to be highly effective for heart health, weight loss and more.

Take time and space to create things as numerous studies have shown that participating in crafts, art, music, drama, and dance help people prevent and manage stress.

And consider taking a yoga, meditation or mindfulness course. A study involving 110 women in menopause found that those who learned to meditate, and to perform gentle stretching exercises, were bothered less by hot flushes than those who did not.

How can you manage them?

If they are barely noticeable, you may decide to accept them as unpleasant but natural.

If, on the other hand, they are keeping you up at night, causing you severe anxiety, or otherwise interfering with your work or home life, there are a range of treatment options for you to consider.

Hormone balance is key and your doctor is likely to recommend HRT which gives you a higher dose of oestrogen and a smaller amount of synthetic progestins.

Women who prefer a more natural approach can choose bioidentical hormones, either with progesterone or a combination of bioidentical progesterone and naturally sourced oestrogen.

Medications as well as HRT, or instead of it, can be prescribed such as these:

• antidepressants
• antiseizure medications
• blood pressure medications
• antispasmodics used for bladder control

Exercise researchers in one study tracked hot flushes among menopausal women participating in a 16-week cardio fitness regime. They found that those who exercised experienced fewer hot flushes as a result.

This may be because the brisk exercise improved circulation and boosted the body’s ability to regulate its temperature.

Zumba or dance based exercise may appeal to you more than the gym, or several brisk laps in the pool if cool water sounds better, but anything you enjoy and will maintain is what you are aiming for.

Natural remedies

Although solid research on the effectiveness of natural remedies for menopause symptoms is limited, there’s some evidence that black cohosh and evening primrose oil may help reduce the severity of hot flushes.

Some researchers have found acupuncture is an effective treatment, but the evidence is conflicting on whether or not it helps everyone.

Before you try any natural remedy, it’s a good idea to talk with a doctor to see if it will have an interaction with any other medication you’re taking as herbs and certain other remedies can contain powerful substances.

Practical considerations

Managing hot flushes may be a little easier if you change some of the habits that seem to strengthen or trigger them.

You may want to try:

• limiting foods and drinks that trigger them- spices and caffeine for instance – but it will be very individual as how you respond
• choosing clothes made of cotton and wearing layers you can remove when sweating starts
• using cotton sheets on your bed
• having a fan in your bedroom at night
• eliminating cigarette smoking

Helpful information 

There is no doubt that stress and anxiety can impact on all your hormonal symptoms.

The tips here can help you, but if you need something extra then this article will be of interest as diet too is an important factor in dealing with stress and anxiety.

https://anna.blog.wellsprings-health.com/the-de-stress-diet/