“I was in the middle of a presentation when a sudden heatwave hit me. It wasn’t nerves, it started in my chest and crept up my neck like a slow moving wave, completely ignoring my schedule.”
If you’re like me, you’ve probably had a moment like this. Maybe it happened in a meeting, at the grocery store, or while sitting in a restaurant, when it suddenly felt like someone turned up the heat just for you. Hot flashes are one of the most common and disruptive symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, affecting about 80 percent of women at some point during this transition.
Here is what you need to know before we dive in: hot flashes are not a personal failing, and they are not something you just have to suffer through. They are a biological response; your hypothalamus, the brain's internal thermostat, becomes more sensitive to slight temperature changes as estrogen levels shift. Your body thinks it is overheating. It is trying to help you. It is just going about it in the most inconvenient way possible.
Here’s the good news: There are practical, evidence-informed strategies that can help you manage hot flashes in real time, especially in the two situations where they feel most out of your control: at work and on the go. If you are like me, you want the specifics. So let's get into them.