How Menopause Clothing Can Help Ease Hot Flashes

Good old, unpredictable menopause – you literally don’t know what you’re going to get until you start experiencing things that you’ve never had trouble with before in your life. From mental fog and irritability to itchy skin and frozen shoulder, there are so many changes that happen to us in our 40s and 50s that can be tied back to those erratically declining hormones, estrogen and progesterone.

By far, the most common symptom is hot flashes. The Menopause Society estimates that approximately 75% of all women in some stage of menopause suffer from hot flashes and night sweats. Up to 25% of those women experience symptoms so severe, they need to see a health practitioner to help alleviate them.

If you are in this cohort, you know just how debilitating hot flashes and night sweats can be. Night sweats are especially insidious because they rob you of your sleep. Worse, if you already suffer from another common menopause symptom – insomnia – night sweats will make your insomnia worse.

The simple act of sleeping can feel like an uphill battle. Now, pile on the drippy, swampy, sleepwear and bed linens and you might want to raise the white flag of surrender and walk around in a fog for the next few years (or more).

Fear not.

There ARE solutions to help you get through your days and nights so you can get your life back. From Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to non-hormone treatments, there are a plethora of options to help you deal with your hot flashes and night sweats. Seek help by finding a certified menopause practitioner and get started on feeling better.

The remarkable benefits of menopause clothing and sleepwear

In addition to managing your hot flashes through HRT and alternative therapies, choosing the right clothing and sleepwear will help your comfort.

There is a new segment of apparel emerging called “menopause clothing and sleepwear.” There are several brands that are devoted to helping hot flash sufferers live more comfortably.

There is a distinct difference between real menopause clothing and regular clothing, even clothing that is touted as “breathable” or cooling. In general, regular clothing cannot respond to the changes in body temperature and moisture level the way menopause clothing was designed to do. When your body temperature is consistent, clothing only depends fashion style and fabric preferences. 

But when your internal body temperature is fluctuating like a roller coaster, you need clothing than can actively respond to your heat and moisture events.

What is menopause clothing?

Menopause clothing (including sleepwear) is made with very specific fabrics in styles that are designed to help manage heat and sweat, especially in the most affected areas – typically, the torso, chest and underarms.

It draws heat and moisture away from the body, pushing them to the other side of the fabric quickly. The fabric rarely gets completely soaked because the drying process happens so quickly.

Don’t overlook the chill phase of hot flashes

If you have hot flashes or night sweats, you know that after a hot flash comes the chill phase. While some of that chill is due to your clothing’s dampness, it’s also due to your body temperature plummeting below your normal body temperature before rebounding. During this phase, heat-managing menopause clothing will retain some of the heat in its fibres and release it back to you as your body cools down.

This whole process of a fabric’s absorbing and releasing heat and moisture can be described as self-regulating or thermo-regulating fabric. This type of fabric responds naturally to its changing environments. The result is that it helps flatten the feeling of the peaks and valleys of hot flashes and night sweats so that the wearer stays dry and comfortable.

A final feature of menopause clothing – and sleepwear in particular – is that it is anti-bacterial. This is an important feature as it means it will control odour and need to be washed less often.

More than just “breathable” or “cooling” 

Watch out for terms like “cooling” and “breathability” as the only attribute of the product.

It’s a given that all menopause clothing and sleepwear will be breathable. “Breathability” means that a garment allows air and water vapour to pass through the fabric.

Just because a fabric is breathable doesn’t mean that it is suitable for managing hot flashes.

For example, 100% cotton is breathable, but it is terrible as a hot flash fabric. Cotton loves water and clings to it in the fabric. Unless it’s a super light cotton fabric, it will likely stay damp for a long time. Further, cotton isn’t a great heat manager. It will not keep you comfortable during a chill phase.

”Cooling” fabric may not be as cool as it seems

Take silk products for example. Silk feels super cool when you first place it next to your skin. But after a few minutes, that silk will absorb the heat produced by your body and keep it next to you for much longer than you need, essentially, making your hot flashes feel worse. Silk is a natural thermal insulator.  In addition, silk does not play nice with water. Unless it’s washable silk, silk generally degrades over time when exposed to water.

In general, “cooling” fabrics will only feel cool initially. Once your body has transferred your heat to the fabric the important question is: How quickly will the fabric release heat so you stay comfortable?

Menopause clothing is designed to moderate heat and moisture

Look for brands that are specifically made to manage heat and moisture due to hot flashes and night sweats. These are brands that have done research and testing into what will help women feel comfortable while experiencing a hot flash. The types of fabric they choose will vary between all-natural to cotton/poly blends to 100% synthetic – but they are reputable companies who’ve created essential clothing lines for a previously ignored segment of the population. Note that no reputable manufacturer in this space uses bamboo as its fabric – bamboo is just not effective enough to manage the heat and moisture produced by hot flashes (it is also just rayon made from bamboo instead of the usual beech trees).

The ultimate goal of menopause clothing and sleepwear is to help hot flash sufferers be more comfortable when hot flashes strike. Clothing and sleepwear made from fabrics that are specifically used for this purpose may help night sweat sufferers sleep better, drier and more comfortably promoting a less disturbed, more restorative sleep.

Menopause clothing is a growing and much needed segment of the apparel industry. As awareness of this segment increases, more options will become available.

Our favourite Menopause clothing and sleepwear providers:

*Most companies start with sleepwear because of the debilitating effects of night sweats

CoolYourSweats 

Lusome

Dagsmejan

Cool-Jams