Researchers studied nearly 200 post-menopausal women who experienced 50 or more hot flashes per week. That amount of hot flashes takes a toll on sexy time, understandably, so researchers enrolled half of the women in five sessions of hypnotherapy weekly to see if it would increase their overall sexual health. The other half received more standard structured attention control therapy. Lest you’re imagining a swinging pocketwatch, the hypnotherapy sessions went a little like this: once the patient was in a deeply relaxed state, the therapist suggested mental images for coolness. You’re walking through the mountains on a cool day, you’re being coated by gentle rain or a soft blanket of snow. (Mmm. Relaxed yet?) “We find that as women are more able to become absorbed in these images, they actually begin to experience the sense of coolness,” said lead study author Gary Elkins, PhD, professor of psychology and neuroscience and program director of the clinical psychology Psy.D. program at Baylor University. After five weeks of these sessions, the hypnotherapy group was having more and better sex—and, not coincidentally, far fewer hot flashes — 70% fewer, in fact. And at a three-month followup, when women had learned how to self-hypnotize, the decline became even greater, at about 80% fewer hot flashes. In the structured attention group, hot flashes only decreased by about 15%. So what makes hypnotherapy so effective at improving sex? A big part was reducing hot flashes, since “they can range from being simply annoying to being almost intolerable," Dr. Elkins said. But another is learning how to manage stress and relax. Less-stressed individuals are more receptive to sex, he said—incentive for all of us to do some more deep breathing. More from Prevention: Can Yoga Save Your Sex Life?
