A possible relief for women suffering with hot flashes

Hot flashes are one of the many uncomfortable side effects that women who are experiencing the menopause suffer with. For some a hot flash may not be too much to worry about but there are many women who feel that their hot flashes have the ability to consume them.

 There are very few options of relief when it comes to hot flashes. There are hormones that can be taken in the form of a tablet or a cream but many women are uncomfortable with the idea of adding more hormones into their cocktail of already wild hormones.

 Mindfulness classes are perhaps a way that can help women cope with the impact that hot flashes have on their life. A mindfulness class is a class that focuses on teaching anti-stress techniques, stretching, meditation, body awareness and breathing.

 There was a study supported by Dr. Ellen Freeman, a menopause expert at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, to determine exactly how mindfulness classes can be. 110 women were involved in a study. Two groups were formed. One group was enrolled in mindfulness classes that took place for 2.5 hours a week. Meanwhile the other group was put on a waiting list for mindfulness classes, basically to provide a group to compare to group one.

 Before the study the women categorized their hot flashes from moderate to extremely bothersome. After participating in the mindfulness classes' group one expressed a happier disposition in life, they said that their hot flashes were more manageable, they said their overall health had improved.

 Although the women from group one who had participated in the mindfulness classes there was not an obvious difference between both groups frequency of hot flashes. It seems that the mindfulness classes did not take away hot flashes rather it provided the women with the tools to deal with them and therefore they were less affected by them.