Oct. 26, 2012 -- Hypnosis is an effective treatment for menopause-related hot flashes and night sweats, new research finds. The alternative therapy reduced hot flashes by as much as 74% in the study conducted by researchers at Baylor University’s Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory and funded by the National Institutes of Health. Only hormone therapy, which many women can’t take or want to avoid, is more effective for treating the most common symptom of menopause, says researcher Gary R. Elkins, PhD. “If you compare this treatment with off-label use of antidepressants or other non-hormonal therapies, it works as well or better,” he says.

Hot Flashes, Night Sweats Hot flashes are a sudden rush of heat, followed by facial flushing and sweating, often followed by chills and clamminess. The progression is familiar to most women of a certain age. Hot flashes and night sweats are the most common symptoms of menopause, affecting some 80% of women. They are linked to declining estrogen levels, but it remains unclear just why the sudden lack of estrogen sends the body into thermal mayhem, and why some women are more affected than others. Hormone therapy is a very effective treatment for menopause-related hot flashes, but concerns about risks have limited its use among women. “There is certainly a need for non-pharmacologic treatments for hot flashes and night sweats,” says North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Executive Director Margery Gass, MD.