Poorer sleep quality associated with greater hot flash burden in survey

Researchers used a 2024–2025 online survey to examine lifestyle and demographic factors associated with hot flash frequency and hot flash-related daily interference. The convenience sample comprised women who self-identified as being in perimenopause or postmenopause; mean age was 56.1 years (SD 6.6). Participants self-reported their symptoms, menopause status and lifestyle. Adjusted ordinal logistic models accounted for age, menopause status and duration, and ethnicity.

Sleep quality was the strongest correlate of both outcomes. Each one-category worsening in sleep quality was associated with higher odds of being in a higher hot flash frequency category (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.44; P=0.001) and with greater daily interference (aOR 4.93; P<0.001). Older age was inversely associated with frequency (aOR 0.42; P=0.002). Ethnicity was associated with interference (aOR 2.66; P=0.037), but not frequency. Diet quality’s inverse association with interference and physical activity’s tendency toward higher frequency were not statistically significant.

The findings identify sleep quality as a correlate of symptom burden, but the cross-sectional design cannot establish direction or causation. Convenience sampling and self-reported measures limit generalizability; the results do not show that improving sleep reduces hot flashes.