Do you think hot flashes and menopause go hand in hand? Hot flashes are common among perimenopause symptoms, but they’re not inevitable. It is not just your changing estrogen levels that are creating those uncomfortable heat waves. There are other hormones contribute to hot flashes.
Stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol from your adrenal glands both contribute to hot flashes along with falling estrogen levels, according to an article on the Dr. Oz blog by Dr. Wendy Warner. Managing stress levels may be as important for relieving perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes, as it is to balance your estrogen levels.
Dr. Marina Rose helps women with perimenopause symptoms and other challenging health issues in and around the city of San Jose, CA.
How does stress contribute to perimenopause symptoms? With hot flashes specifically, the combination of high adrenaline and lower estrogen signals to the brain to turn up the heat, since the brain responds to both adrenaline and estrogen. When adrenaline levels are lower, then neither high nor low levels of estrogen trigger hot flashes. These are simple things you can do throughout the day to help reduce your stress levels:
- Take breathing breaks. Try attaching a series of several deep breaths to an activity you already during your day like drinking water or before you get in and out of the car.
- Stop and sigh. Sighing relaxes the diaphragm so you can take deeper breaths.
- Practice mindfulness. Do one thing at a time and focus on it without worrying or thinking about your to do list.
One Response