How to Cope with Headaches and Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause, which can be difficult to overcome. Feelings of heat rush through your body and can make your chest and face beet red. Shortness of breath and a pounding heart can create a panicky experience where your ability to function is impaired.

Anxiety is a main trigger of hot flashes. Headaches are often directly caused by tension. Many women have headaches in addition to hot flashes, where pain and heat combine into what feels like a nightmare, but there are things you can do to cope with these symptoms.

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Breathe

Deep breathing is the key to relaxation. When a hot flash arises, many women tend to inadvertently quicken their breath. This can make you lightheaded and give you a headache. It also does not provide your body with more oxygen; instead, it decreases your body's ability to release carbon dioxide, which make you feel suffocated.

Every day, practice deep, slow breathing. Take a five second inhale into your belly and then a five second exhale. Continue for 15 minutes, and begin whenever you feel a hot flash coming.

Yoga

When you are stressed and immobile, tension will build up in your head. Through worries about everything going on in your menopausal life, pressure builds in your mind, creating headaches. At the same time, the heat can begin rising while the pain is kicking in.

To balance your mental and physical state, do yoga. The various poses help you relieve tension from the mind, and the movement of the body regulates your circulation. You even have increased levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that deeply relaxes you.

Hydration

Many people's headaches are due to dehydration. When you do not have enough water, your brain will feel tight and throbbing. The lack of water will also make you less able to cool yourself down. Ensure that you are drinking the equivalent of 8 - 10 glasses every single day. Your entire body and brain will function healthier, cooler, and pain-free.

Linden Tea

You should drink this tea iced, since hot beverages are known to prompt hot flashes. This is a European folk medicine that is prized for soothing headaches. The flowers, leaves, and bark work together to ease tension. It acts first by relieving anxiety. As a result, your blood pressure will lower, which will make you feel less pressure in your head. It is also known to relieve inflammation, which is helpful since swelling of the temples can cause headaches as well.

Natural Supplements

Both hot flashes and headaches can be caused by hormonal fluctuations. During menopause, your estrogen hormone levels are all over the place. Decreased levels of estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone can directly affect the hypothalamus in the brain, which controls body temperature. This is what prompts the rush of hot blood, the pounding heart, and throbbing head.

The best solution for this root cause is to safely restore decreased estrogen levels. Supplements, containing black cohosh, red clover and other herbs, are full of phytoestrogenic compounds, which work in the body like estrogen, helping to restore proper function of the hypothalamus.

Experiencing a tight, painful headache in the midst of a steaming hot flash can be dreadful. When you do not know the proper ways to react, all of the symptoms can simultaneously become worse. If you practice these methods to cope regularly, then you will notice profound improvement. Your body will be cool, and your head will be free of pain. Read about relieving headaches by reducing stress.