Self-Guided Hypnosis Shows Real Promise for Menopausal Hot Flashes

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Women using hypnosis experienced better symptom relief and less daily disruption from menopausal hot flashes than those using a white noise control, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

“It is estimated that over 25 million women in the United States have hot flashes, with up to 80% of women in the general population reporting hot flashes during the menopause transition, and 96% of women with breast cancer report hot flashes soon after beginning anticancer therapy,” said lead investigator Gary Elkins, Ph.D., associated with the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University. “While hormone replacement therapy is highly effective in reducing hot flashes, it is not a safe choice for everyone, and therefore, women need additional safe and effective alternatives.”

Clinical hypnosis — guided relaxation combined with imagery — has already been shown to help reduce hot flashes, but access to trained therapists can be limited.

The current study wanted to explore whether self-administered hypnosis, delivered through simple audio recordings, could offer a convenient, effective option for women looking for nonhormonal relief.

Investigators enrolled 250 postmenopausal women who were experiencing frequent hot flashes (at least four per day) from Baylor University. One out of four women had a history of breast cancer. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups for six weeks:

• self-guided hypnosis, which used soothing “cooling” imagery and relaxation techniques, or
• a sham control, which used white noise meant to mimic the experience of listening to an audio recording without providing true therapeutic content.

Women kept daily diaries to track how often hot flashes occurred and how severe they were. They also completed questionnaires on how much hot flashes interfered with daily life — sleep, mood, concentration, social activities — and whether they personally felt the treatment was helping.

What the Study Found

At the six-week mark, women using self-administered hypnosis had significantly fewer and less severe hot flashes than those in the control group — a 53% reduction from their baseline compared with 41% in the white noise group.

They also reported a greater improvement in quality of life, with nearly half the interference from hot flashes disappearing. In comparison, the control group saw improvements too, but not as strong (49.3% versus 37.4%, respectively).

At the 12-week follow-up, those who were in the hypnosis group had a 60.9% reduction in hot flashes. Importantly, women in the hypnosis group were far more likely to say the treatment felt meaningful and beneficial (90% versus 64%, respectively).

“It can be practiced at home without needing to travel for doctor visits, and it is relatively inexpensive compared to in-person sessions,” noted Elkins. “Once a person learns how to use self-hypnosis to reduce hot flashes and improve sleep, it can be used for other purposes such as managing anxiety, coping with pain and for stress management.”

What This Means for Patients

Self-guided hypnosis delivered through audio recordings can be an effective, nonhormonal option for managing menopausal hot flashes. It’s private and low-cost, and doesn’t require weekly visits to a specialist. For women seeking alternatives to hormone therapy — especially those with a history of breast cancer — this approach could offer real relief from both hot flashes and the way they disrupt daily life.

“This was a major breakthrough and innovation, as almost all prior studies of mind-body interventions have only used wait-list, psycho-education or simple relaxation to compare the active hypnotherapy intervention,” said Elkins. “Also, all sessions were self-administered hypnosis, which demonstrated that women could learn how to use hypnosis for hot flashes on their own with support and guidance.”