Behavioral therapy may help hot flashes:study
After six weeks, 65 percent of women who underwent group therapy reported a meaningful drop in how problematic their hot-flash symptoms were. The same was true of 73 percent of women in the self-help group. That compared with 21 percent of women who had had no treatment.
The benefit was still apparent after six months, though by then one-third of the untreated group had also improved.
Women in the therapy groups said they were having fewer hot flashes - but women who had received no treatment reported a similar drop, the study said. Instead, the benefit seemed to come from changes in how women perceived their symptoms.
Hot flash survival tips
- Dress in layers, so you can peel off one layer after another as you get warmer.
- Don’t wear wool, don’t wear synthetics, and be wary of silk. That leaves cotton, linen, rayon, and more cotton. (Look at the bright side: You’ll save on cleaning bills, and you can stop worrying about moths.)
- Avoid turtlenecks. Stick to open-neck shirts.
- Keep ice water at hand that you can sip to cool down your insides.
- Where possible, lower the thermostat. Maybe it’s time for a decent air conditioner or a ceiling fan. Or maybe you’d prefer one of those little hand-held battery-operated fans or the foldable kind you flutter in front of your face. You can find perfectly adequate paper fans for about a dollar.
- Wear cotton pajamas or a nightgown. If you perspire a lot at night, your nightclothes are easier to change than the sheets.
- Use cotton sheets only, not synthetics.
- Get a bigger bed if you and your partner are on different heat planets but you still want to stay in close orbit.
- Take a cool shower before bed.
- Try a mild medication like Tylenol
- Arrive at meetings early so that you can get the coolest seat.
- Use your freezer liberally. A number of women talked about opening the freezer at home (or in the supermarket) and sticking their head in when a hot flash hits.
“Women say that they might still have hot flashes but not notice them, and then they feel more confident about coping with them,” Hunter said.
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Effectiveness of group and self-help cognitive behavior therapy in reducing problematic menopausal hot flushes and night sweats (MENOS 2): a randomized controlled trial
Ayers, Beverley DHealthPsych; Smith, Melanie DClinPsych; Hellier, Jennifer MSc; Mann, Eleanor DPhil; Hunter, Myra S. PhD