5 easy tips to help ease hot flushes

Today's topic

Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I'm giving you some easy tips to help ease hot flushes. I hope you've enjoyed the last few weeks, where I've been going into a little bit of detail about hot flushes, including what can make hot flushes worse and strange sensations you can experience before and during a hot flush.

My hot flush tips

To help you further, I thought I would gather together lots of handy tips that can help you cope with hot flushes during menopause.

1. Keep cool

I know it's not always easy, especially if you live in a hot country or it's the summer months where you live just now. But trying to keep as cool as you can will help your body to regulate its temperature much better, and you're less likely to get hot flushes and sweats that are triggered by the surrounding heat.

Try and keep your rooms as cool as you can, maybe even use a fan. One of the electric fans can help to keep the air moving, and that can very often be enough just to keep that room a couple of degrees lower than normal.

Wear loose clothing if you can, preferably natural fibres like cotton. And try and go with layers. If you suddenly get really hot, you can take a couple of layers off, and then if you're one of those ladies who tend to get a chill after a hot flush, you've got a little bit of clothing that you can put back on to make yourself more comfortable.

You can get these face spritzers, where you can spray your faces, very cooling, and that could be lovely, especially if you're outside a lot and you're feeling really hot and a little bit frazzled.

Some women tell me that they find that just running their wrists under the cold water tap for a few seconds can make a huge amount of difference.

Also, try not to have really hot baths and especially at night. I know some women love a nice long soak before they go to bed to help them unwind and to help them sleep. But if you're sitting in hot water for a length of time, that can have quite an effect on your body temperature regulation and that may be a factor in your night sweats. So try lukewarm baths and showers if at all possible.

2. Stay hydrated

Honestly, I can't stress how important this is! I know there have been so many women over the last couple of months where it's been hot here, that have noticed that their flushes have got worse and it's just because they're not adding in that little bit of extra water and taking the sunny weather into account.

It needs to be plain water. I know that's not very glamorous but your body can use plain water so much better to keep yourself hydrated. Fizzy water, flavoured waters, especially those with artificial sweeteners, are used differently by your body, so you don't get as much benefit from these types of water. If you do need to flavour the water, add some fresh fruit to your water.

I find just a couple of frozen strawberries, or raspberries, or blueberries in my jug of water can be enough to give it a nice little bit of flavour.

Remember what I spoke about in week 2 of my Hot Flush Month with regards to caffeine drinks such as tea and coffee! Caffeine, as well as fizzy drinks and alcohol, will all dehydrate you further, and they will not contribute to keeping yourself hydrated at all.

And a lot of these drinks will rev up your nervous system, and that will also give you flushes and sweats, too.

3. Try the herb Sage

Sage is known to help in regulating your temperature control, and that can very often bring your hot flushes under control. It works just as well for night sweats, too.

My Top Tip: Use Sage to help get your hot flushes under control

Need help relieving troublesome hot flushes? Watch my self-care video tip below to find out how extracts of Sage herb, which can be found in our one-a-day Menoforce Sage tablets, can help you get your hot flushes and night sweats under control.

4. Watch what you eat and drink

I mentioned above a few drinks to watch out for, but there are also several foods to be mindful of as well. A lot of high-salt, high-sugar foods can certainly contribute to flushes.

Doing a dairy, as I mentioned in last week's blog, is a great way to tell which foods and drinks are triggering your hot flushes. I recommend doing a diary for a couple of weeks, just putting down all the things that you've been eating and drinking, the times you've been doing that, and when you've been getting the flushes and sweats.

And very often, it can help you identify any patterns. You'll be doing something at one point and that may just be the common factor that's giving you your hot flushes or your night sweats.

Also, make sure that you are getting enough fibre in your diet because constipation can also be a trigger for hot flushes, so you want to keep everything moving nicely and regularly daily.

Don't skip meals! So many of you have been telling me that you've been going on maybe the 5:2 diet or the keto diet and you're having to do intermittent fasting. For a lot of women, this will make symptoms worse. So, if you try these diets and you find that your symptoms are worse or you feel rotten on them, then please stop them and go back to eating three regular meals a day because sometimes, that can make all the difference.

5. Relax and breathe

Relaxation can be really difficult just now, especially if you feel like you don't have time to sit down and relax or if you are under a lot of anxiety and extra stress with the worry of everything that's going on, and the thought of trying to relax just doesn't seem appealing.

But it is really important! This could be the most important 30 minutes of your day because if you relax properly, then you can help calm your nervous system down, and you may find that your flushes or your night sweats decrease just because of that little bit of relaxation. So that 30-minute 'me time' is worth its weight in gold for you.

Also, have a nice routine before you go to bed if you can. Because if you are busy during the day, your nervous system is going to get revved up, and then if you're working until just before you're going to bed, your nervous system just doesn't get a chance to calm down before you try and get to sleep, and your brain will go into overdrive.

So, try and have at least the last hour of the day in peace and quiet, preferably without any of your electronic equipment just so that your brain can get a chance to wind down, and very often, sleep will come that little bit easier for you.

If you need any calming remedies to help ease mild stress and anxiety, then we have our lovely licensed product, AvenaCalm.

If you find that it's your mind that's going and you just can't relax, then maybe try Jan de Vries Relaxing Essence. This is one of the flower essences which can be taken any time that you need to help yourself just to chill.

Remember, you can help relieve hot flushes and night sweats with Sage

If you are struggling to get your hot flushes and night sweats under control, try Menoforce ® Sage tablets.

Containing extracts of sage herb, these convenient one-a-day tablets are used to relieve excessive sweating, hot flushes and night sweats during the menopause.

Take one in the morning with your breakfast if your hot flushes are more troublesome during the day, or one with your evening meal if your hot flushes are worse in the evening, or if you need help relieving night sweats.

So, I hope you found my Hot Flush Month helpful. If any of you out there have any other tips that you have found worked well for your hot flushes and night sweats, then please share them in the comment section below.

And until next week, take care.