Just like menstruation, menopause is one of the significant changes in a woman’s life. This transition is essential to stop the production of estrogen and progesterone. However, it is not at all an easy one.
From her teenage to her 50s, a woman has periods every month. She deals with hormonal changes, abdominal cramps, mood swings, and much more. But when she enters perimenopause, or “the change,” these symptoms become unbearable. Moreover, this change brings the symptoms of vaginal dryness, weight gain, fatigue, and, worst of all, hot flashes.
Most people recommend getting hormone therapy to ease this transition phase as it is a safe and effective option. However, not every woman is comfortable with therapy. That’s why there are some non-hormonal relief measures that can help cope with hot flashes.
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Understand The Cause
Before starting with the measures, you must first learn about the cause of hot flashes. Generally, the reason behind it is living in hot weather, high caffeine intake, stress, spicy food, alcohol, and smoking. However, all these causes vary from person to person. Thus, you need to figure out the cause which triggers hot flashes for you.
Diet
The first measure on the list is changing your existing diet plan. To ease the pain and lessen the severity, you need to avoid spicy food, caffeine, and alcohol. Instead, you should include more plant estrogens such as isoflavones into the diet. They have fewer estrogen-like effects, thus reducing hot flashes.
The food containing plant estrogens are soybeans, grains, fruits, vegetables, red clover, chickpeas, etc.
Lifestyle
Another change that you might need to make is in your lifestyle. Try dressing in layers and reduce the room’s overall temperature (turn on the fan while sleeping if required). Also, if you are gaining weight, you should try exercising to deal with the symptoms. Nonetheless, try to exercise in a cooler environment.
Keep in mind that hot flashes can also dehydrate, causing blotchy skin. Therefore, for better menopause relief, you should try products made for vaginal dryness. It will help you tackle the discomfort to a great extent.
Tip: If you experience symptoms during the workout, try deep breathing. Do this every morning and night for better results.
Sleep schedule
During the transition, some symptoms might overlap each other. For instance, hot flashes cause night sweats, thus might also lead to insomnia. To avoid this situation, you should try to create a proper sleeping schedule. Avoid caffeine or alcohol at night. Instead, drink warm milk for better sleep.
Similarly, take a warm shower before bedtime to reduce stress. You should keep the bedroom temperature cooler. It’ll help avoid night sweat, so you’ll be able to sleep comfortably.
Note: If you are having trouble even after trying the measure mentioned above, consult your doctor. However, you must not take sleeping pills without a doctor’s recommendation.
Wrapping It up!
These are some of the non-hormonal relief measures that you take to reduce the symptoms. Besides these, you can also try yoga to reduce stress and keep your body healthy. Nonetheless, in case your symptoms are getting severe, you must consult your doctor immediately.
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