According to the Mayo Clinic, as many as three out of four women suffer from hot flashes during menopause. Symptoms of a hot flash include a sudden, intense, hot feeling on your face and upper body, often accompanied by perspiration, a racing heart and skin flushing. Research on the effects of exercise on hot flashes is mixed: moderate exercise seems to help reduce severity and frequency of hot flashes, whereas strenuous exercise may cause you to overheat, triggering a hot flash.
Benefits of Exercise for Hot Flashes
Increasing your level of physical activity can reduce hot flashes, as well as other symptoms of menopause such as insomnia, mood swings, fatigue and loss of libido, according to BreastCancer.org. According to the 2006 book, "Is it Hot in Here? Or is it Me?: The Complete Guide to Menopause," in observational studies, menopausal women who regularly engaged in exercise experienced less-frequent and less-severe hot flashes than sedentary women. One way that exercise may help ward off hot flashes is by reducing stress, as high stress levels can trigger hot flashes. Exercise that incorporates relaxation techniques, such as yoga, may be especially beneficial in reducing hot flashes among women going through menopause.
BMI and Hot Flashes
Exercise may also reduce hot flashes indirectly by helping you lose excess weight. A high body mass index, or BMI, is associated with worse hot flashes during menopause, according to a study published in the July 12, 2010, "Archives of Internal Medicine" that investigated the effects of an intensive, six-month behavioral weight loss program in the reduction of hot flashes in overweight or obese women. The study concluded that among the overweight and obese participants who had bothersome hot flashes, the weight loss intervention resulted in improvement in hot flashes relative to the control group.
Potential Downsides of Exercise for Hot Flashes
While getting regular physical activity may help alleviate your hot flashes by reducing stress and promoting a healthy weight, very strenuous exercise may actually trigger a hot flash in some women, according to "Is it Hot in Here?" Furthermore, a review on the causes and treatments of hot flashes published in the Dec. 19, 2005, "The American Journal of Medicine" revealed that in some epidemiological studies, physical activity did not benefit hot flashes, possibly because exercise raises core body temperature. However, the health benefits of exercise outweigh its potential downsides, especially as you get older. To help prevent an exercise-induced hot flash, it is important to try to stay as cool as possible during your workout, wearing breathable clothing and drinking cool water throughout.
Other Tips for Hot Flashes
In addition to engaging in regular, moderate-intensity exercise, there are also other things you can do to prevent or reduce hot flashes, especially if your symptoms are mild. Some of these include: avoiding hot flash triggers like hot tubs, spicy foods, alcohol and caffeine; doing deep-breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques; taking a cool shower before bed; and not smoking. If your hot flashes are more severe, or if lifestyle changes do not provide relief from hot flashes, then your physician may recommend certain prescription treatments, such as antidepressants, blood pressure medications or hormone therapy, to treat your hot flashes.
References
- "Is it Hot in Here? Or is it Me?: The Complete Guide to Menopause"; Patrice Wingert, Barbara Kantrowitz; 2006
- BreastCancer.org: All About Hot Flashes
- MayoClinic.com; Hot Flashes; June 2009
- "Archives of Internal Medicine"; An Intensive Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention and Hot Flushes in Women; Alison J. Huang et al.; July 2010
- "The American Journal of Medicine"; Hot Flashes: Behavioral Treatments, Mechanisms, and Relation to Sleep; RR Freedman; December 2005
