Red Hot Mamas In Charge of Change.
By: Guest Author
Published: June 13, 2024
Written by Ainsley Lawrence- Guest Contributor
These days, making home choices isn’t just about design and organization, it’s also about integrating the right technologies to make your life easier. This is especially true for older adults who have health-related challenges, such as menopausal symptoms in women.
If you have started menopause, you’re likely all too aware of how challenging and even frustrating managing your symptoms can be at times. While there are medical tips for how to manage menopause at home, emerging technologies are also revolutionizing menopausal care.
From smart thermostats and wearables to AI-powered voice assistance and tracking apps, this article will take a closer look at how home technology is changing the game for menopause sufferers.
Using Smart Technology in the Home to Manage Your Menopause Symptoms
Numerous connections have been made between home upgrades and wellness, such as making mobility upgrades for better accessibility and updating windows and HVAC systems to improve air quality. However, there are also studies showing how digital technologies are improving health outcomes for aging adults, such as women experiencing menopause symptoms.
There are many ways to make technology work for you as an older adult, such as smart speakers, telehealth services, and monitoring devices. Below are some of the latest innovative technologies that can make your life easier at home when it comes to specifically managing menopause.
1. Smart Thermostats
Smart thermostats are great for when you are battling hot flashes and struggling to regulate your temperature. These devices use machine-learning algorithms to learn your preferred settings, so you don’t constantly have to change the temperature yourself. So if you know when you normally experience hot flashes, you can set the thermostat to change accordingly during those times.
If you want to install a smart thermostat yourself, you can. However, to ensure it’s installed correctly and learn the best ways to use it to your benefit, it might be worth hiring a professional to handle the installation for you.
2. Wearables
Getting good sleep is often an issue when you have menopause due to night sweats. Thankfully, there are some amazing wearable technologies hitting the market that can provide relief and improve sleep.
The Embr Wave, for example, is a wearable for your wrist that detects hot flashes and can provide instant cooling to the inside of the wrist, which provides whole-body relief. Thermaband Zone is another wearable bracelet that operates like a mobile thermostat, using AI technology to detect body temperature changes.
3. Tracking Apps
In addition to wearables, there are also smart apps that can be used in the home (or anywhere) to help you better manage your menopause symptoms. Many of these apps work in tandem with wearables, tracking your health data and providing insights and tips to help you alleviate your symptoms.
MBODY, for example, is an app that provides customized programs based on your personal data helping you better manage your symptoms and reach your goals at every stage of menopause. Other apps that can help with various menopause-related issues include Clarity, Moody Month, and Squeezy.
4. Voice-Activated Assistance
Voice-activated assistance devices, like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Siri can make managing your menopause symptoms more convenient. If you are having a hot flash, for example, you can tell your smart home device to turn on the AC.
Reducing stress is advised for menopause sufferers, so you can also use your AI-powered assistance device to help you create a more relaxing environment. You can ask it to dim the lights, for example, or you can ask it to play relaxing music or even guide you through a meditation practice or some yoga.
It’s also important to stay hydrated and eat the right foods to help alleviate menopause symptoms, such as drinking enough water, getting more iron and fiber, and eating more fruits and vegetables. So you can also use your voice-activated assistant to remind you to drink water throughout the day or you can ask it about meals and recipes you can use to improve your nutritional intake.
5. Virtual Home Care
Recent advances in tech have made it so that women can have greater access to the care they need to help manage menopause from home. Telehealth services, for example, enable you to get more immediate assistance when you are potentially having an emergency situation and can’t leave your home or wait for an in-person doctor visit.
There are also apps in the femtech space that can connect you with health coaches and doctors via chat or a video call so you can get the support you need. Midday, for example, is an app that not only tracks your personal health data through wearables to provide assistance but it also enables you to connect directly with specialists who can answer your questions and offer advice.
6. VR for Hot Flashes
XRHealth, a company that creates virtual reality (VR) medical applications recently came out with a new product called Luna, which is designed to help patients manage pain and hot flashes. Already, studies have shown promising results from the technology, which uses an AI trainer to walk patients through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to alleviate and treat pain and hot flashes for both menopausal and cancer patients.
Wrapping Up
If your menopause symptoms feel like they are diminishing your quality of life, integrating some or even all of the technologies mentioned in this article can help you take back control. These smart solutions can help you create a more comfortable home while also providing you with the care and support you need to better manage your symptoms.
Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer who lives in the Northwest region of the United States. She has a particular interest in covering topics related to good health, balanced life, and better living through technology. When not writing, her free time is spent reading and researching to learn more about her cultural and environmental surroundings. You can follow her on Twitter @AinsleyLawrenc3.
The views expressed herein this article, written by a guest contributor, do not necessarily represent those of the Red Hot Mamas organization. The content is for informational purposes and should not substitute the advice of your doctor.
