What Causes Night Sweats And How To Prevent Them?

Night Sweats, also known as Sleep Hyperhidrosis described as sweating profusely or flushing and this completely wets the sheets and pajamas. This happens irrespective of the factors that govern the environment like the bedroom being very warm.

Are you waking up very frequently and having your sheets completely wet and sticking to your body? It is an experience very common that night sweats are experienced by many people and is very troublesome. It need not be like this forever.

If you can’t be free from sweating then at least there is a lot that you can do to make your sleep a cooler experience.

But it is very important to consult a doctor as to why it is occurring and how to get relief from these night sweats.

Common Causes of Night Sweats:

Night sweats can arise due to various reasons some of them being benign when compared to others

The sleep hyperhidrosis is known as sweating and flushing to be very frequent. If it completely wets your pajamas and sheets and also sleeps also disrupted and interfered with. It occurs irrespective of the environmental factors like bedroom being very warm.

The last one being very important as it can differentiate between night sweats which are benign and can be relieved very easily and night sweats that are of serious nature and as there is something underlying and takes a lot more time in getting resolved.

For instance, hot flashes occurring at night and sweating intermittently which accompanies menopause is the real night sweats but wherein sweating because of wearing synthetic wear during hot and humid conditions can be easily resolved by switching over to light sleepwear which is natural fiber and not synthetic.

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Not Actually Night Sweats:

Let us see the three environmental factors which can cause sweating in bed but not recognized as night sweats.

1- Warm Clothing or Bedding

If you are wearing synthetic clothing or wearing heavy clothing then you will be sweating profusely when you wake up.

It will be better if you sleep without any clothes as it helps in keeping your body cool and thermo-regulation takes place properly. Your body will be maintaining a very standard temperature.

Thermo-regulation is related to the circadian cycle. When you are sleeping your body cools down naturally and then rises during the daytime giving a boost in levels of energy.

When you are sleeping keep your body cool to get a good night’s sleep. Sleeping without any clothes on the body helps in cooling the body. If you use quality Mattress and Pillows, it will help in cool sleeping.

2- Overly Warm Bedroom Temperature:

Warm clothing can cause you to sweat at night so does setting the thermostat in the bedroom on a high and that can cause sleep disturbance.

Experts on sleep studies always recommend the temperature setting for thermostat to be around mid-60s degree Fahrenheit. It is very cooler than we imagine.

3- Illness:

When we are suffering from any disease or illness or an infection like cold or fever then the body’s immune system gets into auto mode to make us get back to good health. This results in body temperature raised thus resulting in night sweats.

In all the above cases if you change Mattress and Pillows or the adjust the thermostat to the right degree or recovered from illness fully then night sweats subside. If on the other hand night sweats still occur very frequently then there is some hidden health condition needs to diagnose.

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Health Conditions that are Responsible Night Sweats:

If after waking up flushed and you find out sheets are completely wet and this happens very often then it means you are suffering from it and these are the reasons that are causing them to occur:

1- Menopause:

In women one of the top contributing causes is menopause. Hot flashes occur because of hormone imbalanced levels and this raises the body temperature, adrenaline. Thus waking up the sleeping person and night sweats occur.

2- Hormone Imbalances:

Just like menopause wherein changes in hormones make hot flashes appear, sweating or flushing appear as side effects in other disorders of hormones or imbalances.

In pregnancy hormone imbalances can cause night sweats and in cases of hormone disorders like hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma and carcinoid syndrome it occurs.

3- Obesity:

It is very difficult for the body to regulate the temperature if the person obese as insulation added to having excess weight. Sleep apnoea which is due to obesity if not treated will give rise to night sweats.

4- Untreated Sleep Apnoea:

Sleep apnoea is obstructive breathing condition which in the sleep breathing all of a sudden stops which results in snoring, gasping for breath and choking.

Treatment for this condition of sleep apnoea is either BIPAP or CIPAP therapy. In this case, persons suffering should wear a mask which connects to a machine that pumps air or oxygen when they are sleeping. Because of the irritability that occurs with the mask many people don’t follow up on this type of treatment.

In these people, the risk of getting night sweats is very high.

In a study conducted on persons suffering from this type of condition, it noted that night sweats were higher by three times when they were not following their PAP therapy as prescribed.

Read More: Is Sweating Normal While Sleeping?

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5- Anxiety Disorders:

People suffering from anxiety disorders have a nervous system that is chronically activated. In these types of personal anxiety and mental issues and also heart rate increased and night sweats also occur.

6- GERD:

Persons with GERD suffer heartburn along with sweating during the night.

7- Cancer:

In some type of cancers, an early sign of warning is night sweats. In cases of thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma this sign is common. Other symptoms also associated with it.

8- Medications:

Medications like antipyretic, anti-depressants, psychotropic medicines cause side effects such as night sweats. In chemotherapy, it occurs as a side effect.

9- Hypoglycemia:

Night sweats occur as a side effect in hypoglycemia also known as low blood sugar. Patients who are on insulin to treat their diabetic condition experience when their blood sugar drops.

10- Infections:

In many cases of infections such as HIV and bacterial infections such as brucellosis, tuberculosis we see as a side effect.

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11- Idiopathic Hyperhidrosis:

In this condition which affects about 3 percent of the American population, profuse sweating consistently without any explainable cause occurs.

12- Neurologic Disorders:

In some conditions like these excessive sweating and night sweats can be seen and neurologic conditions are post-traumatic syringomyelia, autonomic dysreflexia, stroke, and autonomic neuropathy.

Try to use Coldest Mattress and Coldest Pillows to get a better night sleep and avoid night sweating.