Those hot flushes and night sweats you’re experiencing could be due to menopause.

THOSE HOT FLUSHES AND NIGHT SWEATS YOU’RE EXPERIENCING COULD BE DUE TO MENOPAUSE.

  • Hot flushes and night sweats are common symptoms of menopause with about 80% of women experiencing them during menopause. 1
  • Hot flushes are sudden and intense sensations of heat in your face, neck and chest, and may be accompanied by sweating, reddening of the skin, chills and rapid heartbeat. 2,3
  • Night sweats are hot flushes that happen while you’re sleeping. 2
  • For most people, hot flushes and night sweats due to menopause
    lasts for ~ 7.4 years, and in some cases longer than 10 years! 4
  • The potential knock-on effects of hot flushes include disrupted sleep, fatigue, brain fog and irritability. 5

If you’re experiencing hot flushes and night sweats, it’s important to speak with your doctor who can help you take control.

HOT FLUSHES AND NIGHT SWEATS DUE TO MENOPAUSE CAN RANGE IN SEVERITY. 2,6

Hot flushes and night sweats due to menopause can range in severity
Hot flushes and night sweats due to menopause can range in severity mobile

WHAT’S CAUSING YOUR HOT FLUSHES?

Hot flushes and night sweats originate in a part of your brain that regulates your body’s temperature, called the hypothalamus.2

To keep your internal thermostat in check, your body relies on having a balance between oestrogen and a brain receptor called NKB.7

During menopause, when oestrogen levels decrease, this balance is lost.7

This causes your hypothalamus to tell your body you're hot when you're not.8

To cool down, your hypothalamus triggers hot flushes and night sweats.8

References:

  1. Avis NE, Crawford SL, Green R. Vasomotor Symptoms Across the Menopause Transition: Differences Among Women. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2018 Dec;45(4):629-640. doi: 10.1016/j.ogc.2018.07.005. Epub 2018 Oct 25. PMID: 30401547; PMCID: PMC6226273.
  2. Thurston RC. Vasomotor symptoms. In: Crandall CJ, Bachman GA, Faubion SS, et al., eds. Menopause Practice: A Clinician's Guide. 6th ed. Pepper Pike, OH: North American Menopause Society, 2019;43-55.
  3. Kronenberg F. Hot flashes: epidemiology and physiology. Ann NY Acad Sci 1990;592:52-86.
  4. Avis NE, Crawford SL, Greendale G, et al. Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition. JAMA Intern Med 2015;175(4):531-539.
  5. Cano A et al. BJOG 2024; 131(9): 1296-1305.
  6. Guideline on clinical investigation of medicinal products for hormone replacement therapy of oestrogen deficiency symptoms in postmenopausal women. EMA. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/clinical-investigation-medicinal-products-hormone-replacement-therapy-oestrogen-deficiency-symptoms. Accessed September 09, 2024.
  7. Padilla SL, Johnson CW, Barker FD, Patterson MA, Palmiter RD. A neural circuit underlying the generation of hot flushes. Cell Reports 2018;24(2);271-277.
  8. Krajewski-Hall SJ, Dos Santos FM, McMullen NT, Blackmore EM, Rance NE. Glutamatergic neurokinin 3 receptor neurons in the median preoptic nucleus modulate heat-defense pathways in female mice. Endocrinology 2019;160(4);803-16.