How To Stop Hot Flashes Fast: 7 Cooling Tricks Doctors Say Work in Seconds
Plus learn how to help keep them at bay in the future
Key Takeaways
- Doctors say cooling pulse points and popping a mint help stop hot flashes quickly.
- Certain foods, supplements and breathing tricks may reduce flare-ups naturally.
- Experts say today’s hot flash treatments can ease symptoms and improve sleep, too.
Ever been hit with a sudden wave of heat that leaves you flushed, sweaty and reaching for the nearest fan? Hot flashes are one of the most common—and most disruptive—symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. The good news? There are plenty of simple, proven ways to cool down quickly. Here’s everything you need to know about how to stop hot flashes fast, plus smart strategies to keep them from coming back.
What is a hot flash?
Hot flashes are part of a group of symptoms doctors call vasomotor symptoms, or VMS. They feel like “a sudden, intense heat that generally starts in a core, like the center of a woman’s torso or chest, and goes up into the neck, face and head,” explains ob-gyn Jennifer Ashton, MD. “Hot flashes can be associated with drenching sweat, redness, flushing (or not), but they can also be associated with chills.”
They affect up to 80 percent of women during midlife, and by 2025, an estimated 21 million U.S. women will be experiencing them. Common hot flash symptoms include:
Woman's World Answers
- Sudden rush of heat
- Flushing
- Sweating
- Heart palpitations
- Chills afterward
- Drenching night sweats that disrupt sleep (when they strike overnight)
What causes hot flashes?
Fluctuating hormone levels trigger hot flashes. “There’s an area in the brain that acts as an internal thermostat, and if you’re not producing enough estrogen, this thermostat malfunctions,” says Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern. “Essentially, your body’s thermostat is broken, and it thinks it has to heat up when it doesn’t” as your estrogen levels fall.
How to stop hot flashes fast
When that wave of heat hits, you want relief right now. These doctor-recommended tricks work in minutes to stop this bothersome menopause symptom:
- Run cold water over your wrists. The pulse points there contain blood vessels close to the skin, so cool water brings near-instant relief. You can also apply ice or a cold compress to your wrists, temples, the back of your neck or behind your knees to help stop hot flashes fast.
- Pop a peppermint. University of Southern California research shows that menthol tricks your nervous system into cooling you down from the inside out. “Although peppermint itself isn’t cold, it contains a protein that triggers signals in the brain to send a message of coldness,” says Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS.
- Grab a fan. A small foldable fan or water spritzer tucked in your purse is a speedy treatment for hot flashes. The dry, moving air evaporates sweat almost immediately.
- Sip cold water. “Cold water can lower body temperature slightly, which can help if you’re experiencing a hot flash in the moment,” says Mindy Goldman, MD, of UC San Francisco.
- Cool your neck. A Korean study found that chilling the neck extracts two-and-a-half times more heat than cooling the face. A cooling scarf filled with water-absorbing beads can stop hot flashes fast and keep you comfortable for hours.
- Try paced breathing. Slow, steady breathing calms the nervous system quickly. Aim for six breaths per minute. Mayo Clinic researchers found that practicing this for 15 minutes twice daily led to a 52 percent drop in hot flashes.
- Sniff lavender. A study in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice suggests lavender essential oil—dabbed on wrists or inhaled—can soothe symptoms by calming the nervous system. Keep a rollerball in your bag to help stop hot flashes fast.
Smart strategies to prevent hot flashes
To reduce how often these bothersome episodes strike, try these study-backed approaches to manage hot flashes:
- Eat more edamame. Research in Menopause found that women following a plant-based diet that included a half-cup of soybeans daily for three months experienced a 79 percent decrease in the frequency of their hot flashes. Soy is rich in phytoestrogens, plant compounds that mimic estrogen.
- Brew sage tea. In an eight-week Swiss trial, women who took fresh sage extract daily saw up to a 79 percent decrease in flushing, with the most severe hot flashes disappearing entirely.
- Try magnesium. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University found that 400 mg of magnesium oxide daily reduced hot flashes by 41 percent in four weeks. “For women going through menopause, magnesium plays an important role in mitigating vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats,” says Gina Nick, NMD, PhD, a licensed naturopathic physician with a focus on hormone balance and women’s health.
- Consider black cohosh. A Mayo Clinic study found supplementing with this flowering herb cut hot flashes by as much as 71 percent.
- Practice mindfulness. Women who practiced mindfulness-based stress reduction for eight weeks reduced vasomotor symptoms by as much as 67 percent, according to research in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings.
Tip: Worried about waking up from a night sweat feeling less than fresh? Swipe on Secret Clinical Sleep, Don’t Sweat It Invisible Solid Antiperspirant/Deodorant before bed, which helps build a powerful barrier against sweat and odor while you sleep and offers 100 hours of protection against night sweats.
When to talk to your doctor about how to stop hot flashes
If hot flashes are interfering with your sleep, work or quality of life, reach out to your doctor. Hormone replacement therapy (now called menopausal hormone therapy, or MHT) remains the most effective treatment, and non-hormonal options like Veozah—FDA-approved in 2023—can also help.
“It is okay to ask for treatment,” assures gynecologist Robin Noble, MD. “Just because you can suffer through these symptoms, forgoing treatment is not always the best choice.” There are real, proven ways to help treat hot flashes and feel like yourself again.
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