 |
|
Severe hot flashes associated with chronic insomnia
June 27, 2006Women who have severe hot flashes may have more chronic sleep problems than women who do not, according to a report in the June 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
As many as 85 percent of menopausal women experience hot flashes, sensations of heat that may also involve sweating, according to background information in the article. Hot flashes often occur during the night and have been associated with insomnia, or difficulty sleeping. The symptoms of insomnia include problems falling asleep and/or staying asleep, sleep that is not restful and an overall dissatisfaction with sleep quantity or quality. Because many other factors also influence sleep in menopausal women, the exact link between hot flashes and insomnia has been difficult to establish.
Maurice M. Ohayon, M.D., D.Sc., Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif., conducted telephone interviews with 3,243 individuals in California, including 982 women ages 35 to 65 years, between June 2003 and April 2004. Of the women, 562 (57.2 percent) were premenopausal; 219 (22.3 percent) were perimenopausal, meaning that they had irregular menstrual cycles with at least one period in the previous year; and 201 (20.5 percent) were postmenopausal, or had reported no menstrual bleeding in the previous year. Hot flashes were defined as mild if they usually did not involve sweating, moderate if they mostly involved sweating but did not require a woman to stop the activity she was pursuing and severe if they typically involved sweating and did require a woman to stop an activity.
About 33 percent of the women reported having hot flashes, including 12.5 percent of the premenopausal women, 79 percent of perimenopausal women and 39.3 percent of postmenopausal women. Of those who had hot flashes, about half reported that they were typically mild, while about one-third had moderate and about 15 percent had severe hot flashes. More than 81 percent of women with regular severe hot flashes had symptoms of chronic insomnia. These women reported difficulty falling asleep, non-restful sleep and overall dissatisfaction with their sleep patterns on a regular basis (at least three nights a week for at least the past six months). Women with mild hot flashes did not report these problems any more frequently than did women with no hot flashes. Women were also more likely to have problems staying asleep as their hot flashes became more severe.
The researchers also examined how insomnia related to women's menopausal status and found that women in perimenopause were more likely to have difficulty falling asleep, non-restful sleep and overall dissatisfaction with sleep. One-third of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women reported that they believed insomnia was related to the development of menopause.
"This study provides evidence that severe hot flashes are associated with chronic insomnia in women aged 35 to 65 years," the authors write. "The dramatic increase in insomnia in women with severe hot flashes indicates that severity of hot flashes should be routinely assessed in all studies of menopause.
"Treating hot flashes could improve sleep quality and minimize the deleterious consequences of chronic insomnia,\\\
JAMA and Archives Journals
About 33 percent of the women reported having hot flashes, including 12.5 percent of the premenopausal women, 79 percent of perimenopausal women and 39.3 percent of postmenopausal women. Of those who had hot flashes, about half reported that they were typically mild, while about one-third had moderate and about 15 percent had severe hot flashes. More than 81 percent of women with regular severe hot flashes had symptoms of chronic insomnia. These women reported difficulty falling asleep, non-restful sleep and overall dissatisfaction with their sleep patterns on a regular basis (at least three nights a week for at least the past six months). Women with mild hot flashes did not report these problems any more frequently than did women with no hot flashes. Women were also more likely to have problems staying asleep as their hot flashes became more severe.
The researchers also examined how insomnia related to women's menopausal status and found that women in perimenopause were more likely to have difficulty falling asleep, non-restful sleep and overall dissatisfaction with sleep. One-third of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women reported that they believed insomnia was related to the development of menopause.
"This study provides evidence that severe hot flashes are associated with chronic insomnia in women aged 35 to 65 years," the authors write. "The dramatic increase in insomnia in women with severe hot flashes indicates that severity of hot flashes should be routinely assessed in all studies of menopause.
"Treating hot flashes could improve sleep quality and minimize the deleterious consequences of chronic insomnia,\\\
JAMA and Archives Journals
Hot Flashes News and Current Hot Flashes Events RSSProstate cancer patients undergoing hormone therapy may experience cognitive effects
A recent review of the literature has found that hormone deprivation therapy, a commonly used treatment for prostate cancer, may have subtle adverse effects on cognition in patients-- such as in the ability to recall and concentrate.
Hot flashes underreported and linked to forgetfulness
Women in midlife underreport the number of hot flashes that they experience by more than 40 percent, and these hot flashes are linked to poor verbal memory, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Complex Changes in the Brain's Vascular System Occur after Menopause
Many women experience menopausal changes in their body including hot flashes, moodiness and fatigue, but the changes they don't notice can be more dangerous.
Study finds it pays to be heart smart if considering hormone therapy
A research study has found that a simple blood test may indicate whether post-menopausal hormone therapies present an elevated risk of a heart attack.
Altered sex hormone levels, higher body temp affects sleep quality in postmenopausal women
In an examination of potential relationships between objective sleep measures, nocturnal sex hormone levels, and the nocturnal course of body temperature of older postmenopausal women.
Hormone therapy boosts sexual interest but not memory, study finds
Hormone therapy in early post-menopause increases sexual interest, but does not improve memory, according to a study in the Sept. 25 issue of the journal Neurology.
Flaxseed shows potential to reduce hot flashes
Data from a new Mayo Clinic (http://mayoclinic.edu) study suggest that dietary therapy using flaxseed can decrease hot flashes in postmenopausal women who do not take estrogen.
New study: Pine bark reduces perimenopausal symptoms
A study to be published in an upcoming edition of the Scandinavian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology reveals that Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all), pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduces "climacteric symptoms" such as hot flashes, depression, panic attacks, cholesterol and other common symptoms associated with women entering menopause transition.
Estrogen therapy in younger postmenopausal women linked to less plaque in arteries
New results from a substudy of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Estrogen-Alone Trial show that younger postmenopausal women who take estrogen-alone hormone therapy have significantly less buildup of calcium plaque in their arteries compared to their peers who did not take hormone therapy.
Estrogen use lowered one risk factor for heart disease among some younger postmenopausal women
A follow-up study to the federally funded Women's Health Initiative should help allay one concern in a subset of women in their 50s who are considering taking estrogen to relieve hot flashes.
More Hot Flashes News Articles
 | The Hot Shoe Diaries: Creative Applications of Small Flashes (Voices That Matter) by Joe McNally |
 | Hot Flash Holidays: A Novel by Nancy Thayer The intrepid women of The Hot Flash Club are back for the holidays, soothing jingled nerves and stressed shoppers in their exclusive spa and celebrating the joys of the season. In her witty and delightfully wisecracking prose, Nancy Thayer tells a heartwarming tale packed with fun, secrets, romance–and an ample dose of good cheer.When the Hot Flash friends gather at the spa to trim the... |
 | The Hot Flash Club Chills Out: A Novel by Nancy Thayer Since opening up their day spa, The Haven, the wonderful women of the Hot Flash Club have been busy indulging the beleaguered, nerve-frazzled throngs. Now, in Nancy Thayer’s hilarious new Hot Flash novel, it’s the friends’ turn to grab some soothing, and much-deserved R&R.When a long-time Haven client asks the gals to housesit her Nantucket hideaway for the summer, they’re... |
 | Not Even If You Begged by Francis Ray Widow Traci Evans happily sits in on meetings with the lovely ladies of the Invincible Sisterhood solely because they reached out to her first. A loner, Traci feels for the first time she belongs. All of the official members are sweet older women who have lost the love of their lives, their husbands. Unknown to them, Traci is more angry than she is grief-stricken because her husband died in the... |
 | The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again: A Novel by Nancy Thayer The fabulous women from The Hot Flash Club are back in top form, welcoming the stressed-out and pampering-deprived through their discreet spa doors–as Nancy Thayer returns with a witty, sexy, and heartwarming novel. The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again also introduces four new women, ready for massages and seaweed wraps, each struggling to reconcile her secret dreams, biggest fears, and deepest... |
 | The Hot Flash Club: A Novel by Nancy Thayer From the bestselling author of Between Husbands and Friends and An Act of Love comes a wise, wonderful, and delightfully witty “coming of age” novel about four intrepid women who discover themselves as they were truly meant to be: passionate, alive, and ready to face the best years of their lives.Meet Faye, Marilyn, Alice, and Shirley. Four women with skills, smarts, and... |
 | Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause: Living and Laughing through Hot Flashes and Hormones (Chicken Soup for the Soul) by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Dahlynn McKowen A laugh-out-loud, pick-me-up collection of stories for the millions of women who are battling hot flashes, mood swings and mental lapses. As baby boomers hit their late forties and fifties, a record number of women are going through menopause. Whether they're in "active" menopause or just beginning to experience their first gray hairs and the hot nights of perimenopause, they'll find support,... |
 | Walk Your Way Through Menopause: The Simple, Natural Program That Fights Fat, Hot Flashes, Bone Loss, Mood Swings, and Premature Aging by Maggie Spilner Walking is the #1 exercise of choice for women over 40. Walk Your Way Through Menopause offers women an entire program of walking and gentle strength training to relieve the symptoms of menopause, fight midlife weight gain, strengthen bones, slow the aging process, and improve mental well-being. Maggie Spilner created a variety of walking programs for her readers, including high-intensity,... |
 | Hot Flashes and Cold Cream by Diann Hunt An eccentric best friend, a leaky Chihuahua, a teenager in trouble, and a workaholic husband with a gorgeous new colleague. Those are the ingredients for Diann Hunt's wise and funny story about growing...well, older...with grace. Midlife isn't a crisis for Maggie Hayden until the day a former classmate fails to recognize her--and her world starts to spin out of control. With an empty nest, a... |
 | Menopause Sucks: What to Do When Hot Flashes and Hormones Make You and Everyone Else Miserable by Joanne Kimes, Elaine Ambrose Do they call menopause "the change" because . . .You have to change shirts three times a day-after you've sweat through them?You have to change addresses, just to avoid all that mail from the AARP?You have to change your diet to nothing but milk and broccoli-just to get your RDA of calcium?With hot flashes, mood swings, and night sweats (oh, my!), menopause might not be your favorite phase of... |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |