Are You Losing Sleep Over Hot Flashes and Night Sweats?

I’m sitting at my desk trying to focus on my next project but I can’t keep my eyes open. It’s only 1:00 p.m., and I want to crash. Instead, I make myself another cup of coffee, grab a bag of chips and head back to my desk to muddle through the rest of the day. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in months. I wake up halfway through the night drenched in sweat. Then I toss and turn until my hot flashes subside in the early morning hours. If I’m lucky, I get four solid hours of sleep. Most days, I’m running on caffeine and comfort food, which I know isn’t healthy. It’s a downward spiral that leaves me feeling foggy and cranky by mid-afternoon. According to Menopause: The Journal of the Menopause Society, hot flashes and night sweats, also known as vasomotor symptoms (VMS) of menopause, cause sleep disturbances for up to 3 out of 5 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Hot flashes are a sudden feeling of warmth in the face, neck and chest that occur when estrogen levels decline. They can cause intense sweating, flushed skin, feeling chilled when the hot flash subsides and feelings of anxiety. All of this can lead to difficulty sleeping. “This can include sleeping for shorter periods...