Top 10 Tips for Peri- & Menopausal Women
Hot flushes and night sweats can be made worse when your body temperature rises. The NHS describes hot flushes as sudden heat in the face, neck and chest, often with sweating, palpitations, anxiety or dizziness — and hot weather can pile on top of that.
Our Top 10 goddess-approved ways to keep your cool:
1. Never leave home without a fan
Fan first. Questions later! A handheld fan, fold-up fan or rechargeable mini fan can be a lifesaver when a hot flush hits in public, on transport, in queues or anywhere with “why is there no air?” energy.
2. Drink cold fluids regularly — before you feel desperate
Keep sipping water or cold drinks through the day. The NHS recommends extra fluids in hot weather and advises avoiding alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, as these can worsen dehydration or trigger flushes in some people.
Hydrate like you mean it! Rotate the colour of your flasks and insulated tumblers to remind you to keep drinking.
3. Stay out of peak heat where possible
Avoid the strongest sun between 11am and 3pm, stay in shade, wear a hat, use sunscreen, and avoid exercise or strenuous activity that makes you hotter. This is especially important if you already struggle with flushes, night sweats, poor sleep or heat-triggered headaches.
4. Eat cold, light meals
Go for salads, fruit, yoghurt, chilled soups, smoothies, cold salads, protein bowls, and easy picnic-style meals. This avoids heating up the kitchen and helps stop that “I am being cooked from the inside” feeling.
Check out the best way to eat for menopause which is perfect for hotter weather:
https://aphroditereimagined.com/boost-energy-and-focus-through-menopause/
5. Cool your skin fast
Use a cool shower, cold flannel, cooling spray, damp cloth on your neck/chest, or run cool water over wrists and forearms. The NHS specifically recommends cool showers, cold drinks, fans and putting cool water on your skin or clothes. Budget cooling mist: fill a fine mist spray bottle with cold water (think refillable travel bottles from high street stores) — and if you’re at home, keep it in the fridge for instant goddess-level relief. Rose water is ideal for this – try KTC Rose Water (£1.50 at Sainsburys)
Pet cooling mats aren’t just for pampered pooches — pop one under your pillow or on your office chair for instant cool-goddess energy.
6. Dress like a clever onion
Lightweight, loose, breathable layers are your friend.
Think cotton, linen, bamboo, loose dresses, wide-leg trousers, floaty tops — anything that lets heat escape. The NHS recommends lightweight clothing for hot flushes and night sweats.
7. Turn your bedroom into a cooling sanctuary
Bring in the insulated glamour.
Use insulated beakers, bottles or flasks to keep your drinks icy-cold for longer – because lukewarm water is not goddess behaviour.Chill your tumblers in the fridge. Extra chill, extra goddess points.
Keep the bedroom as cool as possible at night: close curtains/blinds during the day, open windows when the outside air is cooler, use a fan if its safe, switch to cotton bedding, and keep a cold drink by the bed.
Go big on ice! Larger cubes last longer, so supermarket bags of ice are your heatwave best friend.
Use a pet cooling mat under your pillow for extra ‘Ahhhh’ factor.
Invest in a fan – A fan doesn’t just feel fabulous — it helps sweat evaporate faster, which helps your body cool down. Science, but make it breezy.
Keep your refillable misting bottle by your bed.
Sleep problems can be worse when night sweats are in the mix, so this is not indulgence — it is survival logistics.
8. Keep the house cool before it overheats.
Close windows, curtains and blinds during the day, especially on sunny sides of the house. Open windows at night when the outside temperature drops. Electric fans can help when temperatures are below 35°C.
9. Know your personal triggers
Common flush triggers include spicy food, caffeine, hot drinks, smoking and alcohol. Not everyone reacts to the same things, but during a heatwave it is worth reducing anything that already lights your internal furnace.
Drink lots of eater to combat triggers.
10. Take symptoms seriously – heat exhaustion is not “just menopause”
If you feel unwell with a high temperature during hot weather, it could be heat exhaustion or heatstroke.
Heatwaves can affect anyone, but risk is higher for people over 65, people with long-term health conditions, those on multiple medicines, people who live alone, and anyone already dehydrated.
Extra menopause-specific note
For longer-term hot flush and night sweat management, NHS advice includes keeping cool, reducing stress, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and considering CBT for hot flushes, sleep and mood. Women’s Health Concern also notes that CBT can reduce the impact of hot flushes and sweats, improve sleep problems and reduce stress — useful because heat, poor sleep and mood can become a very unholy little triangle.
Find out more
This article draws on guidance from the NHS, UK Health Security Agency, British Red Cross and Women’s Health Concern. For medical advice about menopause symptoms, hot flushes, night sweats or heat-related illness, speak to your GP, pharmacist or another qualified healthcare professional.
