7 Effective Ways to Reduce Hot Flashes

Mention menopause to anyone, and hot flashes are what they’ll likely think of first. Interestingly, experts aren’t exactly sure why hot flashes (also known as vasomotor symptoms) occur and why most women (about 80 percent) experience them as they go through menopause.

“We think hot flashes are caused by dysregulation in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus due to a drop in estrogen,” says Sarah Yamaguchi, M.D., an ob/gyn in Los Angeles.

While these sweat-inducing episodes tend to ease over time, experiencing a flash can be debilitating in the moment.