Cannabis may offer a gentle, natural way to ease temperature spikes like hot flashes and night sweats. Let’s explore the science, real-world relief and what current research says to answer the question: Can cannabis help with hot flashes?
Hot flashes and night sweats are a frustrating, on-going challenge for many people. We most often associate these overheating events with older women in their perimenopausal and menopausal years, but the reality is that these uncomfortable sensations can affect anyone. In addition to shifts in hormones, they can also be attributed to stress, thyroid problems, certain types of tumors or side effects from certain medications.
Treatment is typically focused on hormone therapy, which isn’t a viable option for a number of folks, for many reasons. And while lifestyle changes can sometimes help, they do’t often go far enough to minimize occurrences or ease the discomfort.
Enter cannabis, which—according to recent research—appears to help ease the severity of hot flashes.
What Are Hot Flashes?
Hot flashes are intense feelings of warmth that aren’t caused by an external source. Hot flashes can come about suddenly, or the sensation can build up over the course of a few minutes.
Some common hot flash symptoms are as follows:
- Sweating or redness of the skin, especially above the waist
- A faster than usual heartbeat
- Tingling in the fingers
Hot flashes that occur at night are also called night sweats. These night sweats are one of reasons why women who are going through menopause also suffer from insomnia.
What Causes Hot Flashes in Menopause?
For menopausal women, hot flashes are thought to arise due to hormonal changes, with estrogen playing an important role.
During menopause, estrogen levels fall. This can cause the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates body temperature, to go haywire and register a rise in body temperature when there isn’t one.
In response, the brain may release other hormones to help reduce body heat. These hormones can cause an increase in heart rate and the dilation of blood vessels, which in turn increases blood flow, causing the body to sweat and cool off.
Hot flashes often have triggers. Some common ones include the following:
- Spicy foods, alcohol and caffeine
- Being in a warm room
- Smoking
- Stress and anxiety
Hot flashes themselves aren’t life-threatening, but they can be severe enough that they lower your quality of life.
There’s no cure for hot flashes. For menopausal women, the most common way to treat them is via hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which supplies the body with estrogen. And for women who can’t undergo HRT, other treatment options include antidepressant and antiseizure medications.
While these drugs work for some, for others, they don’t work well enough or can have unwanted side effects like bloating, headaches and mood swings.
If you decide to go the natural route to help address hot flashes or night sweats, avoiding or managing them is dependent on lifestyle changes like these:
- Limiting alcohol, hot beverages, caffeine and spicy foods
- Lowering room temperature
- Reducing stress
People who experience hot flashes may also want to consider is adding cannabis to their daily regimen.
Can Cannabis Help with Hot Flashes and Night Sweats?
A case study from the Journal of Palliative Medicine suggests that the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that’s found in cannabis could reduce the severity of night sweats experienced by cancer patients.
Researchers retroactively looked at case studies of five cancer patients who all reported that night sweats interfered with their quality of life. After agreeing to take dronabinol, a synthetic form of THC, all reported a positive outcome.
Two of the subjects said that dronabinol completely resolved their night sweats, while the other three said that their symptoms were less severe. It seems that once these subjects were able to manage their night sweats, other symptoms like fatigue and anxiety also began to improve.
All reported that they saw these improvements within just one week of starting dronabinol treatment.
While this case report was small and has many shortcomings, it aligns closely with the anecdotal reports of many women who say that cannabis helps them manage their menopause-induced insomnia. It also fits in well with animal studies that point to THC’s ability to reduce body temperature.
What the Latest Research Says
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A systematic review in 2022 noted the lack of clinical trials on cannabis for menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats—but also confirmed the high demand and widespread anecdotal use.
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A 2022 Harvard‑led survey of 131 perimenopausal and 127 postmenopausal women found that while cannabis helped anxiety, sleep and mood, improvements in hot flashes were present but less dramatic.
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A new 6‑month case study found that topical vaginal cannabis creams with THC and CBD significantly reduced hot flash frequency among participants—though more evidence is needed.
Should You Try It?
If hot flashes are disrupting your sleep or day-to-day life, cannabis might be worth exploring—especially balanced THC/CBD products or low-dose THC options. Still, we need more large-scale, placebo‑controlled studies to prove its effectiveness. Until then, use it as part of a broader, lifestyle‑based approach, and always consult a cannabis-informed healthcare practitioner if you have questions or concerns.
Photo credit: pixelheadphoto digitalskillet/Shutterstock.com
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