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Understand this symptom

Night sweats and hot flashes

U

Uma Health

Medically verified6 min read

Insight

The essentials

This symptom is caused by the hormonal shifts your body is going through. Understanding what's happening helps you better cope with what you're feeling.

The (possible) cause

Sweating during menopause is often a part of vasomotor complaints. Hot flashes and night sweats. Lower estrogen levels and hormonal fluctuations can disrupt temperature regulation. This can cause sudden heat, redness, and sweating, sometimes accompanied by palpitations. For some women, triggers such as alcohol, hot drinks, or spicy foods can contribute.

What (often) helps

Many women benefit from a cool sleep environment (ventilation, layers, breathable fabrics) and from avoiding known triggers in the evening. If hot flashes and night sweats significantly disrupt your daily functioning or sleep, you can discuss an appropriate approach with your doctor. Hormones can reduce hot flashes, but there are also other options, such as mindfulness or behavioral therapy, to better manage symptoms.

Honest and transparent

The most frequently asked questions

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Vasomotor

The science

Hot flashes and night sweats are classified as "vasomotor complaints." Guidelines even use hot flashes and night sweats as a key sign to recognize menopausal symptoms in women over 40, once other causes have been ruled out. In Belgium, the term vapors used for hot flashes with sweating and sometimes palpitations.

What researchers think may play a role

  • Hormonal fluctuations and less estrogen can disrupt temperature regulation, causing you to suddenly feel hot and sweat.
  • Sleep disturbance: Night sweats can wake you up several times a night, even if you don't always consciously register it.
  • Connection with other complaints: Night sweats often occur together with fatigue, mood disorders and restlessness, especially when sleep is under pressure for a long time.

Factors that can make it worse

  • Alcohol, hot drinks and spicy food (especially in the evening) can trigger hot flashes in some women.
  • Smoking may be associated with more hot flashes.
  • A bedroom that is too warm or has synthetic fabrics often make it more unpleasant (you stay clammy).

What you can do concretely

1) Make your nights “cooler”
Ventilate, choose breathable fabrics, work in layers, have an extra T-shirt ready.

2) Check your evening triggers (2 weeks)
Note: alcohol, hot drinks, spicy food, stress, and how your night went. Your GP will identify these as possible triggers.

3) Address the chain reaction
When night sweats disrupt your sleep, your energy levels drop. Irritability or depression then become more noticeable.
That's why it helps to support your sleep (internal link to “sleep problems”) and monitor your recovery at the same time.

4) Discuss treatment options if it becomes too much
If symptoms are limiting your life, you can discuss with your doctor what's appropriate. Bioidentical hormones are an option for reducing hot flashes, and there are also non-pharmacological options such as mindfulness/behavioral therapy.