Hot flashes and night sweats can be a challenging accompaniment to the female system, especially at the onset of menopause and beyond
Hot flashes most commonly start two to three years before a woman’s last menstrual cycle and last between half a year and 15 or so years, often varying in severity throughout. It’s assumed that roughly eighty-five percent of women in the United States will experience some degree of hot flashes as they near the menopausal stage of life.
Hot flashes are just one of many potential symptoms of the menopausal phase of life. While some women will only experience a few episodes a year, others will deal with multiple hot flashes throughout the day and night.
According to Ayurveda, the debilitating heat that accompanies this stage of life marks a transition point for the hot and fiery ‘pitta’ phase of the lifecycle. The resulting hot flashes and night sweats are an expression of this imbalance in pitta (heat) energies as well as the accumulation of “ama” (toxins) in the deeper tissues and channels in the body.
The restricted flow of heat that results from this menopausal imbalance builds up and eventually must find an outlet. When the heat does find an avenue to leave the body our energy channels quickly balloon with heat in a flashing fashion which leaves you feeling hot, bothered, and overwhelmed.
As a result, the key then to treating hot flashes is to find ways to balance our internal fiery qualities while also seeking to cleanse any accumulated toxins in the body.
Finding natural treatment methods
While there are pharmaceutical treatments available for hot flashes, they aren’t without their risks.
Many of the medications available are expensive and the active ingredients are also used to treat psychiatric disorders and depression. Most of these drugs tend to cause more harm than good, sometimes even increasing the likelihood of developing additional health problems. Doctor-administered hormone therapy is also prescribed for hot flashes, but it can have serious side effects of its own.
Due to this, the application of drugs for hot flashes is not recommended, as it can raise additional health concerns for menopausal women.
In an ideal world, we could find natural resolutions for our hot flashes.
And luckily, we can – there are many natural treatments, such as essential oils, that can provide the cooling relief that we need.
In this post, you will find a variety of essential oils and application methods that you can use to soothe your senses, body, and mind.
The most important quality of the oils we’ll focus on is that they are cooling for both the body and mind.
7 Essential Oils & Oil Blends for Hot Flashes & Night Sweats
1.) Clary-sage Essential Oil
Clary sage is a valuable oil for balancing hormones, especially those hormones associated with women’s bodies. Clary sage relieves symptoms of PMS, eases menstrual cramps, and reduces the intensity and frequency of hot flashes and night sweats.
Clary sage also improves digestion, inspires mental clarity, lowers blood pressure, and sedates and relaxes to reduce insomnia. Its ability to regulate female hormones means it can improve mental strength, uplift low moods, fight depression and reduce bloating.
2.) Geranium Essential Oil
Geranium is a calming, soothing heart-mending oil. Its revitalizing and detoxifying qualities help cleanse the body by improving digestion and enhancing elimination. Because geranium oil is a powerful regulator in hormone secretions, it’s a perfect oil to use when treating symptoms linked to PMS. Geranium helps lessen anxiety, alleviate mood swings, reduce irritation and anger, and promotes feelings of euphoria and contentedness.
3.) Lemon Essential Oil
Lemon has a refreshing effect on the body and mind. It is a tonic for soothing indigestion, improving nutrient absorption, and relieving constipation. Lemon helps the body clear out energy and freshens the system in the process.
4.) Sage Essential Oil
Like clary sage, the other kind of sage (known as dalmation sage or just sage), is a useful tonic for hot flashes. It comes without the hints of sweetness and peppermint flavor that its cousin clary sage has. Regular sage brings with it the usual scent we would associate with sage grown in our garden.
Studies have shown that sage reduces both the frequency and intensity of night sweats and hot flashes. Though not completely understood, the estrogenic compounds in this plant are effective at balancing hormones and limiting the hormonal occurrences that create excess heat in the body.
5.) Cypress Essential Oil
Cypress is a detoxifying oil that is especially useful for limiting fluid retention and reducing cellulite. It helps build hormonal and emotional balance with its soothing effects on the nervous system that restore calm and reduce excessive emotions that can unbalance the system.
Cypress’s soothing properties are enhanced by its cooling properties which makes it a great option for treating menopausal symptoms like hot flashes.
6.) Lime Essential Oil
Lime, like lemon, has uplifting and stimulating effects on the mind and body. It clears mental exhaustion and fights off infection. Lime cleanses, uplifts, and brings clarity.
7.) Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint is a refreshing and uplifting oil that helps reduce mental fatigue and improve concentration. Peppermint, like lavender, is a well-known essential oil with broad applications.
Peppermint’s effective at soothing achy joints, easing congestion, improving energy levels, treating and limiting hot flashes, and combating headaches. And these are only a few of the many uses for this versatile.
3 Essential Oil Based Recipes and Application Methods for Hot Flashes and Night Sweats
1.) Simple hot flash message formula
Ingredients:
- 10 drops clary-sage
- 11 drops geranium
- 7 drops lemon
- 2 drops sage
Directions:
- Dilute essential oils into 2 tablespoons of carrier oil (argan, coconut, sesame, sweet almond, jojoba, grapeseed, macadamia).
- You could also combine oils without a carrier oil and use 5 drops to 1 teaspoon carrier oil when desired for massage.
- Massage all over the body. The blend can also be added to a bath with 5-7 drops of the neat oil blend.
2.) Day & night sweats formula
Ingredients:
- 10 drops grapefruit
- 10 drops lime
- 5 drops thyme
- 5 drops sage
Directions:
- Dilute mixture into 2 tablespoons of carrier oil (argan, avocado, coconut, sesame, sweet almond, jojoba, grapeseed, macadamia)
- OR combine oils without a carrier & use 5 drops of your blend to 1 teaspoon of carrier oil for massage when needed
- Massage all over the body. The blend can also be added to a bath with 5-7 drops of the neat oil blend
3.) Hot flash borage seed blend
Ingredients:
- 20 drops of borage seed oil
- 20 drops of clary sage
- 20 drops geranium
- 15 drops cypress OR peppermint
Directions:
- In a 5 ml glass dropper bottle combine borage seed oil with the rest of your essential oils
- Shake to blend
Treatments:
In the bath
- Fill your tub with warm water. While it’s filling combine 1 tsp of milk and 4-7 drops of your blend in a non-reactive bowl
- Add mixture to the tub and agitate to disperse the oils
- Soak for 30 minutes or more.
- Massage any floating droplets of oil into your skin
Massage
- Using a small-non reactive bowl combine 2 tsp grapeseed or sweet almond oil with 6 drops of your borage seed blend
- Mix well and massage over your abdomen, chest, upper arms, and lower back
Body spray
- Combine your essential oils in a 4 oz glass bottle
- Add 1 tsp unpasteurized honey
- Add 1/4 cup peppermint hydrosol
- Add 6 tsp distilled/filtered water
- Shake to blend
- Spray mist over your body when experiencing a hot flash
- If you suffer from nighttime episodes, consider spraying over your body before bed and keep it near your bedside for nighttime episodes
Additional (Non-Essential Oil Based) Natural Remedies for
Alright, hopefully, you enjoyed those oils and blends. Lots to try out!
Now, as promised, here are some more natural remedies that you should make use of to treat your hot flashes.
Shatavari (Organic Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine)
Shatavari is a prized rejuvenating, nutritive tonic herb used to maintain the healthy production of female hormones and support the menopausal transition.
It is an amazing female tonic all around, as it reduces PMS symptoms, encourages healthy milk production for young lactating mothers, and significantly reduces menopausal heat for older women. Shatavari is also supportive of a healthy immune system and improves both physical and mental digestion. It’s a very grounding herbal medicine.
Many women have reported that taking a 1/2 teaspoon of powdered Shatavari a day in water or a smoothie was enough to eliminate their hot flashes.
Women’s Natural Transition (Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine)
This herbal formula from Banyan Botanicals was designed for women who are in the perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal stages.
This formula was created to provide the following support:
- Nourishes the female reproductive system
- Cools you down and prevents excess heat from building up in the body
- Encourage the female body’s natural balance of hormones – particularly the hormones that predominate menopause
- Rejuvenates the mind by enhancing concentration, memory, and the subtle emotions of courage, love, and acceptance
This formula brings together some of the best and most potent Ayurvedic herbs that are particularly beneficial for women in the later stages of life. It nourishes and grounds the entire female reproductive system, including the hormones while mitigating stress on the body.
It includes the following herbs:
- Shatavri
- Vidari
- Ashwagandha
- Vetiver
- Guduchi
- Brahmi (Gotu kola)
- Shankapushpi
- Arjuna
Together these herbs ground, rejuvenate, promote cooling and heat mitigation in the body, cleanse toxins, provide tonic and emotional support to the heart and bring forth qualities of acceptance, strength, and love.
Eight Flavor Rehmannia Teapills (TCM – Traditional Chinese Medicine)
Menopause can create a variety of different effects on the body, not all including excess heat like hot flashes. Because of this TCM has different recommendations for different symptoms.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the fundamental changes that occur during menopause can be attributed to kidney deficiency.
Resolving the root cause of hot flashes
Perhaps most importantly, we want to address the root imbalances in our bodies and stop hot flashes and night sweats from occurring in the first place.
While Western Medicine does not have an explanation for why hot flashes happen, other medical schools do.
Both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine have explanations for why hot flashes occur and they provide herbs and treatments that directly target the condition and can prevent hot flashes from occurring in the future.
While this post is focused on essential oils, I want you to have access to all of the best methods to treat and prevent your hot flashes. We are about to dive into the recommended essential oils, please do stick around after you read about the oils.
By utilizing both essential oils and the Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine approaches you should have all you need to put the dread of hot flashes behind you – perhaps for good.
Additional Lifestyle Recommendations to Prevent Hot Flashes
Focus on a cooling diet
In addition to using herbal remedies and essential oils, you’ll want to be sure that your diet is calming, cooling, and hot flash preventative.
Certain foods should be avoided – spicy foods in particular. Spicy foods with their intense heating qualities can cause anybody to feel sweaty, flushed, and overheated.
Hot/heating/agitating foods to avoid include:
- acidic foods like tomatoes, onions, garlic, red wine, sour fruits
- fried foods
- alcohol
- red meat
- caffeine
- processed sugar
For prevention, we should instead be eating foods that cool and pacify the excess heat in our bodies.
Cooling foods to include:
- cucumbers
- mint
- cilantro
- coconut
- Sweet fruits like watermelon
- fennel
- legumes
- fresh dairy products
- leafy greens
Reduce stress levels
Reducing hot flashes with stress reduction techniques is always a good idea.
By now in life, you likely have a good understanding of what stresses you out and how to avoid it.
Here is a shortlist of some stress reduction ideas that you may or may not be thinking of already:
- Avoid time pressure/deadlines
- Avoid overworking
- Don’t skip meals
- Eat your biggest meals around lunch when your digestive power is at its peak
- Drink room temperature water – avoid ice water
- Avoid getting involved with toxic people or family members
- Get to bed early
Relaxing in the evening and getting to bed early can be especially helpful for those late-night hot flashes and night sweats. Hot flashes tend to peak in the late evening hours around 10 pm.
If you are prone to late-night hot flashes you can be preventative by consciously cooling yourself down with relaxing activities that soothe your mind, body, and emotions.
I recommend slowly sipping some cooling Ayurvedic herbal tea before bedtime.
Conclusion
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any questions, comments, or recommendations of your own please let us know in the comment section below!