Daily, 20-minute sessions of self-administered audio hypnosis were associated with significant reductions in the frequency and intensity of hot flashes among postmenopausal women, new research finds. 

Results of a randomized clinical trial published in the JAMA Network Open showed participants who engaged in 6 weeks of daily hypnosis reported a 53.4% decrease in the frequency and intensity of their hot flashes compared to a 40% reduction among participants who received sham hypnosis. 

“What we found was that there’s generally a shift toward the hot flashes becoming more mild as the intervention progresses,” said Gary Elkins, PhD, professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, the lead author of the study. 

An estimated 25 million women in the United States experience hot flashes, with up to 80% of women reporting experiencing them during menopause. Common therapies used to manage the condition include hormonal and nonhormonal drugs, as well as antidepressants. 

The trial was conducted from 2019 to 2024 and included 250 postmenopausal women who reported experiencing hot flashes at least four times a day (or 28 times over a week). Nearly one quarter of women reported a history of breast cancer, which usually excludes more conventional treatments like hormonal drugs because of an increased risk for cancer recurrence. 

The intervention consisted of listening to prerecorded, digital audio recordings designed to invoke images of scenery like beaches, lakes, or mountains. 

At the third week of the trial, researchers included hypnotic instructions to focus on a personal image that prompted feelings of “coolness and comfort,” according to the study. 

Control group participants were asked to listen to white noise audio recordings under the guise of self-hypnosis, or sham hypnosis. 

A hot flash score was calculated for each participant by multiplying frequency by severity, divided by the number of days of trial participation. A lower score signaled fewer and milder hot flashes. 

The study found the mean score in the hypnosis group fell from 88.7 at baseline to 34.7 at 12 weeks. Scores for the control group dropped from 94.6 to 52.8 over the same time period. 

Intervention participants with a history of breast cancer experienced a mean baseline score of 98.2, decreasing to 37.4 at 12 weeks. Breast cancer survivors in the sham group dropped from 84.7 to 54 over the same timeframe. 

Elkins said he was surprised by the benefits of sham hypnosis. 

“I think it reflected that some people found the white noise in the placebo hypnosis to be soothing and pleasant,” Elkins said. 

The study found participants tended to administer self-hypnosis more often as the trial progressed, slightly increasing from an average of 7.6 times per week at the start to 8.3 after 12 weeks. 

By contrast, women who used sham hypnosis steadily decreased over the course of the trial, going from roughly 7 times per week to 5.6 times by week 12. 

Participants in both groups reported a decrease in how much hot flashes interfered with their daily activities, although those who received intervention showed a slightly greater decline. 

Another Treatment Option

Elkins said self-hypnosis may offer an easily accessible option that could supplement medication or serve as an alternative for those who cannot (or choose not to) take pharmaceutical drugs. 

“Our primary intention is to give women a choice,” Elkins said. “Self-hypnosis is a safe and effective behavioral intervention that could be used in combination with whatever the individual’s healthcare provider may recommend.” 

Jennifer Lew, MD, an ob/gyn at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb, Illinois, said that while alternative options like acupuncture have been available for many years for hot flashes, hypnosis is not a commonly recommended treatment. However, some patients may be interested because of the low barrier to use. 

“There is a place for both treatments in the basket of options available to patients,” said Lew, who was not involved in the study. “The more safe options available for patients, the better.” 

The study was funded by a grant from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health. Elkins reported receiving personal fees from outside the submitted work. Other authors reported receiving grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Steven Ross Johnson is a journalist who covers public health and healthcare delivery issues.