They strike unexpectedly, heating up the face, neck and chest. The pulse races, the skin reddens and sometimes drenching sweats occur.

Hot flashes are the main signal of menopause in Western cultures, experienced by an estimated 80 percent of American women around the time their menstrual periods end. While some women have two or three flashes a day, others power surge as often as once an hour. Annoying and embarrassing in the daytime, they can awaken women at night -- contributing to the insomnia and moodiness that can be troublesome during this stage of life.

One of the treatments for hot flashes -- and many other health concerns associated with menopause -- is hormone replacement therapy. Yet these drugs are inadvisable for some women with a family history of certain kinds of cancer. Other women may be reluctant to take hormones due to concerns about side effects.

New Alternatives
So as the first of the 38 million female baby boomers reach menopause, the generation that pioneered natural childbirth is searching for nondrug treatments for hot flashes. One of the most promising treatments is called "paced respiration," an abdominal breathing technique adapted from yoga.

"Our studies show that slow, deep breathing can reduce the frequency of hot flashes by about 50 percent," says psychologist Robert Freedman, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. "Women who've been trained to use this technique as soon as they feel a flush coming on are often able to abort the flash or at least reduce its severity.