Why You Experience Hot Flashes and Sweating

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), one of the liver’s main roles is to store blood. If the liver has sufficient blood, the body becomes more resilient to stress, and emotional fluctuations are less likely. I often explain this to my patients by comparing it to a pot of water.

When a pot is full of water and placed on a flame, it takes time for the water to heat up and eventually boil. However, if the pot is nearly empty, the water quickly heats up and starts to steam as soon as the flame is on. Similarly, if the liver has plenty of blood stored, it can take more time for stress or anger to affect the body. In these cases, the stressful situation may pass without any physical or emotional effects. However, if the liver is blood-deficient, stress causes the remaining blood to dry up further, generating heat in the body.

This heat, known as "deficiency heat" in TCM, is not the same as the heat from inflammation or a fever caused by infection. Instead, it results from a lack of blood (or yin energy). The heat tends to rise, which is why hot flashes and sweating often occur in the upper body, particularly the chest and face. In TCM, yin has a descending nature, while yang has an ascending nature. When yin is deficient, yang becomes excessive, causing heat to rise upward, affecting the upper part of the body.

Do Hot Flashes Only Occur in Menopausal Women?

No, hot flashes and sweating can happen to anyone with a similar imbalance, including men and younger women who have not yet reached menopause. However, menopausal women tend to experience these symptoms more frequently due to long-term blood deficiency, which can result from the continuous menstrual cycles throughout their lives. As a result, stress can easily trigger heat, sweating, and emotional swings in these women.

Why Do Hot Flashes and Sweating Happen at Night?

This might be linked to the liver’s active period, which occurs between 1:30 AM and 3:30 AM, according to the TCM body clock. If you experience more intense symptoms at night, it may indicate an underlying liver imbalance.

How Can Menopausal Symptoms Be Treated?

Acupuncture can help reduce liver heat and improve the liver’s ability to store blood. However, if the blood deficiency is severe, combining acupuncture with herbal medicine is a faster way to achieve results. The duration of treatment and the amount of herbal medicine needed depends on how long the symptoms have been present. If treatment is started as soon as symptoms appear, you may notice an improvement within three days, and significant relief in about ten days. However, if hot flashes and night sweats have been persistent for a long time, the treatment will need to continue until the deficiency is fully addressed.

As always, the earlier you start treatment, the faster and easier it is to see improvement.