The stage of menopause is a natural process that occurs in everywomans life. Once she is in her 40s or older, menopause begins tocreep in. Part of the reason why menopause is considered a transitionis because it makes it possible for a woman to enjoy pleasures in lifeand explore many possibilities. The children have grown, there is nofear for responsibilities, and she can now have more time for herself.But menopause is not a very bright episode. Along with it are thesymptoms of menopause like hormonal fluctuations, cold sweats, weightgain, and of course, hot flashes.

So what are hot flashes?

Hot flashes happen to women during years leading to menopause. Hotflashes occur due to a drop of estrogen level in a womans body,leading to a sudden rise of body temperature, and a feeling of warmthon her chest, neck, head, arms and shoulders. Not all women have them,but to those who do, they are a pain in the neck. To make mattersworse, hot flashes can also cause insomnia in women. Researchersfrom Stanford University School of Medicine interviewed 982 women, aged35 65 years old by phone between June 28 and April 2004, by askingtheir age, stage of menopause, severity of hot flashes and sleepinghabits. 57.2 percent of the participants were premenopausal. Another20.5 percent were postmenopausal, without experiencing having periodswithin the past year, and 22 percent were perimenopausal.

33 percent of the subjects they had hot flashes. Half of the women whohad hot flashes said they usually did not cause sweating. One thirdsaid they had moderate hot flashes that made them perspire but notenough to make them stop what they were doing. On the other hand, 15percent said their hot flashes caused them profuse perspiration, whichmade them
stop their activities.

81 percent of the women who experienced severe hot flashes said theyhad trouble falling asleep or staying asleep for long. Researchersfound that as the severity of their hot flashes increased, so did theirinsomnia symptoms.

Another interesting finding: According to a study done by researchersof the University of California, Davis, in general, women who wereoverweight were at greater risk of frequent vasomotor symptoms as weresmokers.


To women reading this article, you might be saying, So whats the use of counting sheep? The odds are all against me.

No, not at all. Simple changes to your habits daily will improve your sleep. Here are some things you can do.

1. Say no to caffeine. Caffeine is found in chocolate, tea, coffee and certain medicines.

2. Get lots of morning sunshine by walking outside the house.

3. Quit smoking and lose weight. As stated earlier, smoking and beingoverweight make you experience hot flashes more frequently. Besides,they dont do anything good to your health.

4. Do relaxation exercises like breathing exercises, meditation and guided imagery.

5. Exercise during the day, during late afternoon. The more tiredyou are, the better chances you have of falling asleep. And exercisedecreases your chances of getting heart illnesses, osteoporosis andother conditions that may occur due to a drop of estrogen in the body.

To reduce the effects of hot flashes, here are the things you can do.

1. Exercise regularly. Taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes helps youcool down when hot flashes arise. Avoid anything that can worsen yourhot flashes, like spicy foods, a hot weather, or alcohol.

2. Black cohosh. A series of German studies done in the past have shownits efficacy in relieving hot flashes and other menopause-relatedsymptoms. The North American Menopause Society supports its use for upto 6 months, because of its low side effects. However, cases vary ineach woman, but its still worth a try.

3. Hormone therapy seems controversial because of a large studyfunded by the National Institutes Of Health. The study was stoppedbecause the participants were found to have an increased risk of heartattack, stroke and breast cancer. Low doses are recommended, dependingon your doctors advice.

So cheer up. Insomnia is not inevitable just because you aremenopausal. If these strategies do not work its high time for you toseek your doctors help.

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Article Tags: Menopause | insomnia | can menopause cause insomnia |
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