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Hot flashes: why they happen and how to get relief
What hot flashes and night sweats are, how long they last, how to stop hot flashes or ease them, the treatments to ask about and when to see a doctor.
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In short
Hot flashes: why they happen and how to get relief
Hot flashes are sudden waves of heat in your face, neck and chest, often with sweating, a flushed face and a fast heartbeat. They're caused by changing hormone levels around menopause and usually last 30 seconds to 10 minutes. At night they're called night sweats. Cooling tricks and avoiding triggers help many people, and effective hormonal and non-hormonal treatments exist.
Written by the Gyne team · Medical review: pending
Key takeaways
- Hot flashes and night sweats are among the most common symptoms of menopause.
- They're most common in the year before and the year after your last period, but can continue for years.
- Keeping cool, dressing in layers and avoiding triggers like alcohol, spicy food and caffeine can help.
- Hormone therapy is the most effective treatment, and there are non-hormonal options too.
- Supplements like black cohosh and soy are not proven to work, and some carry risks.
What does a hot flash feel like?
A hot flash is a sudden feeling of heat, mostly in your upper body and face. Your face and neck may go red, and red blotches can appear on your chest, back and arms.
Heavy sweating can follow, then a chilly, shivery feeling as you cool down. Most hot flashes last between 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
What causes hot flashes?
During the years around menopause, your ovaries make less estrogen and its levels go up and down. These changes are thought to affect the part of your brain that controls body temperature, so it reacts as if you're too hot.
Some things can make hot flashes more likely or more intense, including alcohol, spicy food, caffeine, smoking, hot rooms and stress. Hot flashes can also be more frequent and more severe in people with overweight.
How long do hot flashes last?
Each one lasts seconds to minutes. They can come several times an hour, a few times a day or only once or twice a week.
Over the years, hot flashes are most common in the year before and the year after your last period. On average they continue for several years, and for some people they last 10 years or more, sometimes up to 14 years after menopause. Black and Hispanic women tend to have them for more years.
How can I stop hot flashes or ease them?
You may not be able to stop them completely, but these steps help many people:
- Note what seems to set off your hot flashes, so you can avoid your own triggers.
- Dress in light layers you can take off quickly.
- Carry a small portable fan, or sip cold water when a hot flash starts.
- Limit alcohol, spicy food and caffeine if they make hot flashes worse.
- If you smoke, ask your doctor about help to quit.
- Move regularly and aim for a weight that's healthy for you.
- Try slow, calm breathing or mindfulness when a hot flash starts.
How can I sleep with night sweats?
Night sweats can wake you up and leave you tired the next day. A few changes can make nights easier:
- Keep your bedroom cool and use a fan.
- Layer your bedding so you can throw a layer off.
- Wear light, breathable nightclothes and keep a spare set nearby.
- Drink a little cold water before bed and keep some by the bed.
- Avoid alcohol and heavy, spicy meals in the evening.
What treatments help with hot flashes?
If lifestyle changes aren't enough, there are effective treatments. Hormone therapy, which replaces estrogen, is the most effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats for people who can use it. It has benefits and risks that depend on your age and health.
Non-hormonal prescription options include some antidepressants at low doses, gabapentin, clonidine and fezolinetant, a newer medicine that works on the brain's temperature control. Early research suggests mind-body approaches like hypnotherapy and mindfulness meditation may also help.
Ask your doctor which options fit your symptoms and health history.
Do natural remedies work for hot flashes?
Products like black cohosh, DHEA and soy isoflavones are not proven to work, and some carry risks, such as liver damage. Plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) in foods like soy haven't been shown to help consistently, and their long-term safety is unclear.
Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking an herb or supplement for menopause symptoms.
When to see a doctor
- Hot flashes or night sweats disrupt your sleep, work or daily life.
- Your periods stop, or hot flashes start, before age 45.
- Night sweats soak your bedding even in a cool room, or come with a high temperature, a cough, diarrhea or weight loss you can't explain.
- You have any bleeding or spotting after 12 months without a period.
- You want to talk about hormone therapy or non-hormonal treatment.
- You have chest pain, or a racing heart with fainting or trouble breathing: call 911 or your local emergency number.
How Gyne helps
Gyne tracks hot flashes, night sweats, sleep and mood, and shows the patterns, like caffeine linked to night sweats and poor sleep. It offers practical tips and an editable report to help you start a treatment conversation with your doctor, and it never recommends a treatment.
Perimenopause and menopauseThis guide is general information, not medical advice. Only a doctor can diagnose a condition.