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Menopausal women anecdotally report that their hot flashes are worse with stress;1 for instance, if a woman has an unpleasant confrontation, she notices that it will trigger a hot flash. Research supports these anecdotal experiences. Lab stressors such as arithmetic tasks can also increase hot flashes. When women are randomized to a lab stressor condition vs a non-stress condition, those in the stress condition have 47-57% more hot flashes.2 Women are not just reporting more hot flashes during periods of stress; objective measurements of hot flashes confirm the increase during stress conditions. Stress appears to lower the threshold for hot flashes to occur.

Mind-Body Medicine and Menopause