Geek Out: Hot Flashes And Night Sweats?

Collectively, these flashes and sweats are referred to as vasomotor symptoms – I mention this in case you read or hear this term, I’m not going to use it in this post because well, it’s a bit jargony!

But for those of you interested in understanding the jargon - vasomotor because “vaso” means vessel and “motor” in Biology means to do with muscular activity.  Blood vessels have muscle fibers in their walls, through the activity of which, blood vessels can change their diameter.  Therefore, together, when you hear the word vasomotor it’s a quick way of saying “change in blood vessel diameter”.  In the post we talk about increased blood flow to the skin and increased sweat gland output – both of these result from a vasomotor action.  The skin part is hopefully obvious but probably the sweat gland output less so until I tell you that sweat is made by filtering blood so more blood to the sweat gland results in a greater production of sweat.

Up to 75% of women, really? Yes, really and if you don’t believe me (and you should question everything you read on the internet!), take a look at the heavy but interesting article listed below.. 

In this study, the authors reviewed data collected from over 35, 000 women, finding that almost half of the women studied were still experiencing vasomotor symptoms 4 years after their last period and one in ten were still having some symptoms a whopping 12 years after their last period.

However, thankfully, there was some good news. Most women tended to find these flashes and sweats particularly “bothersome” (the authors’ description) up to around 2 years after their last period.  After that, whilst many of the women were experiencing flashes and sweats, they became less frequent and less annoying! Phew!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518020/

Menopausal transition:

more familiar with the term “pre-menopause” or “peri-menopause”? This is definitely an area where people use different vocabulary so I’ve tried to use terms in the way that they are most commonly (and I think, correctly) applied.  All 3 of the above terms are used to refer to the time period that includes the years of no periods for five months then three in four weeks, followed by, finally, one year of no menstruation! I prefer menopausal transition because for me it hints at a journey rather than just an event.

And btw, no one’s menopause is 10 years long!  The menopause is the final pause, a moment in time that occurs 12 months after our last menstrual bleed (menses) so if you happened to notice the exact day that marked no periods for exactly 1 year, then you can claim that day, and that day only as your menopause!

Once we’ve permanently paused our menstruation, we’re post-menopausal, where we’ll remain for the rest of our days!

Here’s a very readable article from the Cleveland clinic that discusses these terms in a little more detail.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15224-menopause-perimenopause-and-postmenopause

home temperature

Things get surprisingly sexist when talking about office rather than home temperature! Research suggests that whilst office temperature tends to be set at a level preferred by men, this may not be the best temperature for greatest office productivity.

Here’s a quick read from the LA times on this issue:

https://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-office-temperature-women-men-study-20190529-story.html

and here’s some of the fascinating research they’re quoting:

Battle for the thermostat: Gender and the effect of temperature on cognitive performance. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216362

97.8 °F

The 98.6°Fnumber that many of us know as “typical body temperature” comes from work carried out almost 200 years ago by a German Physician who collected data from an impressive 25,000 subjects.  However, recent even larger studies using rather more fancy thermometers, showed that normal body temperature actually hovers within half a degree of 97.9°F.

Core body temperature

When we talk about body temperature, we’re referring to the temperature deep inside us which is correctly called the core body temperature, we just tend to be a little lazy about saying the word “core”.  If we’re going to get as close as we can to actually measuring this inner, core temperature, we’ll have to swallow a little temperature probe or use a thermometer placed in the rectum or bladder.  As most of us aren’t especially keen to have our temperature measured this way, we approximate the core temperature by measuring an oral temperature (mouth), a tympanic temperature (ear) or an axillary temperature (armpit) - and that’s usually close enough!

Humans:

Man’s best friend?  Dogs (and cats) have a core body temperature of around 101°F, that temperature in humans would be described as a fever!

35 trillion cells

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-372-trillion-cells-in-your-body-4941473/

9 Well, most of those reactions! Ever wondered why evolution decided to hang the testes in their rather, um, vulnerable position outside the body? Turns out those sperm manufacturing reactions work optimally in cells that are a little slightly cooler than 97.9!

Some researchers have found that wearing tighty-whities and warming up those little sperm factories can reduce sperm count by as much as 25%, compared to those men rocking those baggy briefs! Interested, start with this one:

https://www.health.com/condition/infertility/boxers-briefs-sperm-count

Want to dig even deeper into the effects of environmental factors, lifestyle and underwear choice on fertility? Consider clicking on either of these links for a little light reading!

https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0206

https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey259

goose bumps (goose pimples if you’re British!)

 the technical term for your hair standing on end is the rather lovely, piloerection. This comes from the Latin for hair “pillus”, I guess that’s why your hairy head heads for the pillow at the end of the day, pillus on the pillow? Maybe not!

Skin blood vessels

Depending on our skin color these changes in blood flow may or may not be noticeable but rest assured, it’s happening in all of us.

 For a short but really interesting read on “blushing in black skin” look up this article by Dr. Konotey-Ahulu https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1473-2130.2004.00040.x

When we’re working out, we sweat to keep our body temperature down and this sweat is produced mainly by eccrine glands located everywhere but especially, the palms and soles of the feet.  All sweat is sterile when produced (so not quite as yucky as you think) however, to the bacteria in the atmosphere, on your skin, on the treadmill etc, this sweat is the milk of the gods and when they go to work on it, that’s when the funky smell starts!

To read a really straightforward but still sciency overview of the different types (and functions) of sweat glands, click on this link :https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/sweat-gland

And something most people never think of, but developing a brain disorder such as Parkinsons disease or sustaining a spinal cord injury can result in a real problem maintaining an appropriate body temperature.  If you’ve lost that nervous connection between your brain and your sweat glands and blood vessels, then your hypothalamus can no longer communicate with those structures and regulation of body temperature that we typically take completely for granted now becomes, potentially, a life-threatening problem.

Estrogen

when we see the word estrogen, most of us will think of it as an important female hormone.  In fact, there’s no such thing as estrogen but there is a family of hormones called the estrogen family.  Admittedly it’s odd because the members of this estrogen family are estradiol, estrone and estriol, not an estrogen in sight! As they’re all produced by the ovaries and all act in pretty much the same way, they’re lumped together under the heading “estrogen” just because it’s a bit of a mouthful to say estradiol, estrone and estriol each time!