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Women entering into menopause not only report having night sweats and hot flashes, but often report a significant change in their hair compared to when they were cycling regularly. They say the hair on their head is starting to thin or dry out, while the hair on their face is sprouting more often in areas such as their upper lip or chin. Neither change is any fun and often leads to frustration and embarrassment. In the March, 2011 British Journal of Dermatology, researchers looked at menopausal women 45 years an older of northern European descent and found hair changes to be very common.

The results showed 41 percent of women had hair loss in some form. Twenty-six percent experienced a more generalized “all over” hair loss while 9 percent had frontal or top of the scalp thinning.

THE QUESTION Women experiencing menopause-related hot flashes often do not want to take hormone therapy because of documented risks, and the effectiveness of herbal alternatives has not been proved. Might an antidepressant be an option to lessen symptoms?

THIS STUDY involved 205 peri- and post-menopausal women, most in their mid-50s, who had an average of about 10 hot flashes a day but were otherwise healthy. They were randomly assigned to take the antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) or a placebo daily. After eight weeks, hot flashes were fewer and less severe among those taking the antidepressant than among the others. About 55 percent of the women taking Lexapro, vs. 36 percent of those in the placebo group, reported at least 50 percent fewer hot flashes, and 19 percent (vs. 9 percent) saw a decrease of at least 75 percent.

WHO MAY

Hot flashes are sudden intense hot sensations in your body. They can be very uncomfortable leaving you soaked in sweat. They are caused by hormonal fluctuations during pre-menopause and menopause, due to a declining level of oestrogen and progesterone.

Symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, osteoporosis, aging skin, lack of energy, joint pain, weight gain, headaches, dry and brittle hair, thinning hair and poor memory. They are a classic signs of menopause and the most common reason to seek treatment.

Eighty-five per cent of women in Western countries experience hot flashes. During a hot flash women may also experience irregular heartbeat and pulse, and profuse perspiration. Cold chills often follow hot flashes. Sleep usually gets disturbed due to night sweats.

Beat the heat

Here are some natural ways to help

No one really knows. Menopause in women is characterized by a permanent and precipitous drop in the production of estrogen over a period of a few years. This life-changing event marks the end of fertility and can be accompanied by a constellation of symptoms including hot flashes, mood changes, and other physiological and cognitive disturbances. Men, for their part, suffer a very gradual decline in testosterone over several decades. After age 40, an otherwise healthy male’s testosterone levels decrease, on average, between just 0.5 and 1 percent each year. (A number of common conditions, like obesity, may hasten this decline.)

That doesn’t sound like the kind of abrupt shift women go through. But men have mourned their sagging vigor and vitality for decades (at least). During the 1920s, thousands of men seeking an endocrine boost

One of the highlights of a vacation is a cozy, rejuvenating and restful night’s sleep. The best sleep is often experienced when you are in the mountains, by the sea or in the country. Ideally, that is how we are meant to sleep all the time.

Feng shui is a design method that involves purposefully arranging a space so that it has an uplifting and life-enhancing effect on the people who occupy that environment. Now you can create a Zen, peaceful night’s sleep at home with practical and easy to implement feng shui design tips for your bedroom.

• As you enter the bedroom, your energy, your Chi, should be transformed from your busy, daytime “yang” self to your restful “yin” self. Choose “yin” (calming) colors to ensure a peaceful sleep. Greens, blues and violets are restful to our eyes and

I saw a middle aged lady walking across the street holding a coffee cup on her head. When I asked her what she was doing she said, “I’m trying to save energy by using this crazy hot flash to reheat my coffee.”  I’m not sure if it worked, but it sure was a humorous sight.  I loved the fact that she had a sense of humor.  Laughter can’t cure menopausal symptoms, but it can certainly help when those pesky symptoms get you down.

Census information tells us that there are…

• 2 million women turning 50 every year…yes prime menopause age.
• The average age of menopause is 51
• 85% of all women going through menopause report having hot flashes and night sweats.
• Over 75 million baby boomers and more than half  of them women

With these statistics, that’s a lot of heat to go around.

There are many reasons

I can recall my mothers’ hot flashes, sleepless nights, or unexpected mood swings ,sagging skin, and wrinkles — with apprehension.

One women told me that  her mother always told her  that the best years of her life started after menopause, and therefore she  looked forward to the change.  Another told me that her mother always said that  this is the worst thing that can ever happen to you and she was terrified of what lied ahead.

Either way, your mother’s menopause isn’t always a predictor of what your experience will be. It’s not all hereditary, and there are a few things you can do to make your own transition easier.

Predicting the future

Menopause is defined as the point in a woman’s life when she has stopped menstruating for at least a year. The period of time leading up to menopause is called

Image via Wikipedia

Women in the United States spend billions of dollars every year seeking relief for the symptoms of menopause. Common menopausal issues include hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, decreased libido, vaginal dryness, and fatigue.

Not a lot of fun – it’s no wonder women are putting so much money into treatments.

Hormone-replacement therapy alone costs American women about $3.2 billion per year, and that does not include alternative products like soy or herbal remedies. Hormone replacement remains a controversial issue, with claims that it increases women’s chances of getting certain types of cancer.

Because of the cost and the potential health risks, many women seek less intensive methods for relief.

A new study from researchers in India may provide some reassurance, showing that yoga