Active days cool off those night sweats
But Menopause journal study shows only white and non-obese women reap the benefits
It’s difficult to decide which menopause symptom is worse: daily brain fog, vaginal dryness or waking up soaked to your skin several times each night.
With consequences such as lethargy, even worse brain fog, possible chronic insomnia and increased risk of illness, sleepless nights probably has the edge.
But a new study is offering some hope on this front, showing that being active during the day can lead to cooler, more restful nights.
Even better, you don’t have to join a gym or start training for a mini marathon to reap the benefits.
Hot flashes, also known as vasomotor symptoms, are temporary rushes of heat through the body.
They affect about 65 to 75 per cent of women, reports the Mayo Clinic, and can start during perimenopause — the transitional period to menopause that can start affecting some women as early as in their 30s.
While they generally last for three to five years, hot flashes can affect some women for the rest of their lives.
Herbal supplements, hormone replacement therapy, wicking clothing and cooling sheets are the go-to aids for fighting night sweats — hot flashes accompanied by sweating.
However, for a study published online in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society, researchers at the Pittsburgh site of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation looked at the role activity plays in this nocturnal nuisance.
They focused on women ages 54 to 63 with hot flashes or night sweats.
The women wore sleep monitors, kept diaries to rate their sleep and filled out questionnaires about their activity levels.
The results showed that women who were more active during the day slept better and awoke less frequently at night. But these benefits were mostly related to household and caregiving activity — not to sports or exercise.
Still, not all women benefitted equally.
The positive effects were seen mostly in women who were white and not obese.
The researchers say more studies are needed to determine why obese and AfricanAmerican women didn’t gain the same sleep benefits.
The results showed that women who were more active during the day slept better and awoke less frequently at night.