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Thermal Physiology and Thermoregulation
Published in James Stewart Campbell, M. Nathaniel Mead, Human Medical Thermography, 2023
James Stewart Campbell, M. Nathaniel Mead
Vasomotor instability symptoms, also known as “hot flashes,” are common among menopausal women; they can also occur in older men. A hot flash involves a sudden sensation of being overheated, often accompanied by sweating and vasodilation of the face, neck, and chest. Hot flashes occurring at night during sleep may generate night sweats.151 The prevalence of vasomotor symptoms increases with obesity, anxiety, depression, higher environmental temperatures, and lower altitudes.152
Postmenopause
Published in Carolyn Torkelson, Catherine Marienau, Beyond Menopause, 2023
Carolyn Torkelson, Catherine Marienau
As you are likely aware, a hot flash is more than just feeling warm or hot. The sensation of burning up from the inside out makes many women want to scream and rip off their clothes. But instead, somehow, we need to sit quietly and manage the overwhelming heat, sweat, and emotional dysregulation. While women describe the sensation in different ways, a common theme is a strong urge to flee one’s own body. This experience was an awakening as I was forced to face the changes taking place in my body. I was soon to be on the other side of menopause at age 42!
Hot Flashes/Hot Flushes/Menopausal Symptoms
Published in Charles Theisler, Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
Hot flashes are intense waves of heat felt over the face, neck, and chest. Hot flashes and sweating, especially night sweats, are the most common symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. Mood and sleep disturbances are also frequent complaints. Menopause marks the end of the menstrual cycles and is diagnosed after a woman has gone 12 months without a menstrual period. Some hot flashes pass in a few seconds, while others may last for more than 10 minutes. Overall, episodes of hot flashes can last several months or years. African American and Hispanic women tend to experience hot flashes for more years than white and Asian women. Researchers do not know the exact causes of hot flashes.
Optimizing sleep across the menopausal transition
Published in Climacteric, 2023
Vasomotor symptoms affect up to 80% of women during the menopausal transition and into postmenopause [50]. Data from the SWAN show a median duration for vasomotor symptoms of 7.4 years [51], although there is wide individual variability in the timing of symptom onset, persistence and daily frequency [52,53]. A hot flash is a sensation of heat, sweating, flashing, anxiety and chills lasting 3–10 min [54] and is characterized by peripheral vasodilation and sweating to increase hot loss, which are components of the classic heat dissipation response [55]. Hot flashes emerge as estrogen levels decline but their mechanism is more complex, with evidence implicating involvement of central noradrenergic activity [50,56,57] and hypothalamic kisspeptin, neurokinin B and dynorphin (KNDy) neuron activity [58]. KNDy neurons project to structures critical for body temperature regulation, and their effects on temperature regulation are sensitive to estrogen [59]. This discovery is leading to the development of potential non-hormonal pharmacological treatments that antagonize neurokinin B/neurokinin-3 receptor (NK3R) signaling pathways for the treatment of vasomotor symptoms [60].
Psychometric properties of the French Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale (HFRDIS)
Published in Climacteric, 2023
I. Cavadias, R. Rouzier, M. Milder, C. Bonneau, J. Mullaert, D. Hequet
The menopausal transition in women is associated with a fluctuation in hormones produced by the ovaries. It is induced by a progressive decrease, until total cessation, of ovarian activity at menopause. These hormonal changes translate into more or less significant symptoms reflecting estrogen deficiency at menopause. The main symptoms reported by patients are vasomotor symptoms, vaginal discomfort associated with vulvovaginal atrophy, and sleep and mood disorders. Vasomotor symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats, are very common. Hot flashes affect approximately 80% of postmenopausal women, 25% of whom in a very disabling way [1]. These symptoms last on average 5–7 years but can last beyond 10 years [2,3]. The frequency and intensity of hot flashes are extremely variable depending on the individual and can significantly affect quality of life.
Prevalence of Different Approaches to Clinical Hypnosis: Bridging Research and Practice
Published in International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2023
A little over half of responding clinicians indicated one of the hypnosis styles they commonly use is hypnotic relaxation therapy. If we assume all respondents are describing use of the methods described in a detailed manual by Gary Elkins (2014), this speaks to a growing use of this approach that is fast gaining ground with the use of an Ericksonian style of hypnosis. It is encouraging to see Elkin’s hypnotic relaxation therapy develop an impressive base of evidence for its effectiveness. Among women who have recovered from breast cancer, hypnotic relaxation therapy has been shown to reduce hot flashes (Elkins et al., 2008), reduce self-reported anxiety (A. J. Johnson et al., 2016), and improve sexual function (A. K. Johnson et al., 2016). The improvement in hot flashes with this approach is likely mediated through reductions in cortisol (Kendrick et al., 2015). Hypnotic relaxation therapy has shown promise in improving body image among women who have had breast or gynecologic cancer (Cieslak et al., 2016), although similar results are achieved with progressive muscle relaxation (Barton et al., 2019). Reductions in anxiety following hypnotic relaxation therapy have also been reported among healthy women in postmenopause (Roberts et al., 2021). Hypnotic relaxation therapy has been used to increase well-being among college students (Na et al., 2022), and improve sleep disturbances among postmenopausal women (Elkins et al., 2021).