Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesHow Common Are Night Sweats?Sleep and IBDTips for Managing Night Sweats
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
How Common Are Night Sweats?
Sleep and IBD
Tips for Managing Night Sweats
Many people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience night sweats. These tend to happen consistently, but may also be intermittent. Night sweats may occur more frequently during a diseaseflare-upwhen switching medications, or changing the dosage of an existing medication.
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It may be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of IBD night sweats. However, some causes may include:
A fever is one of the manysymptomsof an IBD flare-up.Chronic gastrointestinal inflammationcan affect body temperature, causing night sweats. A fever may spike several times over the night, causing your body temperature to rise and fall.
Certain IBD medications may cause a fever as one of their side effects. These include:
Switching medication or adjusting to a new medication may cause night sweats.
You may also experience night sweats if you have an infection, such asperianal disease, which affects 17% to 43% of people with Crohn’s disease.
Additional Symptoms
You may notice additional symptoms that occur with night sweats. Some of these may include:
Night sweats are slightly more common in Crohn’s disease than inulcerative colitis.A year-long survey of 704 people with IBD found that 24% of those with Crohn’s disease experienced fever or night sweats in any three months, vs. 15% of those with ulcerative colitis.
Sleep is intimately connected to the disease course of IBD. While this is a topic that is still being studied, it’s accepted that people who have IBD need quality sleep to help keep their symptoms in check.
A 2018 study found that sleep disturbances are related to disease activity. Overall, 70% of participants with IBD said they had poor sleep quality, and it was more prevalent in those with symptoms (78%) vs. those in remission (35%). However, the researchers concluded that more evidence is needed to confirm that sleep disturbances are a risk factor for IBD.
Some older studies have shown that disturbances in sleep can be the first sign of a flare-up. Waking in the night, being unable to fall asleep, orinsomniamay start before other hallmark symptoms, such as diarrhea, occur.
Poor sleep quality may also be associated with clinical relapse. One study found that participants with IBD who self-reported poor sleep quality during remission had a higher likelihood of a clinical relapse within six months.
Using a sleep tracker may help measure your sleep and its quality, including how many times you are awake during the night. Even if you are feeling well, discuss sleep disturbances with your healthcare provider before the situation worsens and potentially affects your symptoms.
Temperature changes from gastrointestinal inflammation can be unpredictable and frustrating to manage.
The best way to deal with night sweats is to be prepared for them. Minimizing discomfort and getting back to sleep as quickly as possible is key.
Some tips for dealing with night sweats include:
Maintaining a regular sleep schedule—waking up and going to bed at the same time daily may help improve your sleep quality.
If your night sweats persist or worsen, consult your healthcare provider.
Summary
People with IBD are especially prone to poor sleep quality, which is associated with the risk of worsening symptoms (flares) and may negatively affect the quality of life. Night sweats can further impact sleep quality, modify disease-coping abilities, and increase stress.
Adjusting your sleeping environment and having a plan may help alleviate night sweats. However, discussing sleep with your healthcare provider is an important aspect of IBD that should be managed.
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office on Women’s Health.Inflammatory bowel disease.Kelley KA, Kaur T, Tsikitis V.Perianal Crohn’s disease: challenges and solutions.Clin Exp Gastroenterol.2017;8(10):39-46. doi:10.2147/CEG.S108513MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.Singh S, Blanchard A, Walker JR, et.al.Common symptoms and stressors among individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2011;9(9):769-775.Sobolewska-Wlodarczyk A, Wlodarczyk M, Banaski J, et al.Sleep disturbance and disease activity in adult patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.J Physiol Pharmacol.2018;69(3). doi: 10.26402/jpp.2018.3.09Kinnucan JA, Rubin DT, Ali T.Sleep and inflammatory bowel disease: exploring the relationship between sleep disturbances and inflammation.Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2013;9(11):718-27.Ananthakrishnan AN, Long MD, Martin CF, et al.Sleep disturbance and risk of active disease in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013;11:965-971.MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office on Women’s Health.Inflammatory bowel disease.Kelley KA, Kaur T, Tsikitis V.Perianal Crohn’s disease: challenges and solutions.Clin Exp Gastroenterol.2017;8(10):39-46. doi:10.2147/CEG.S108513MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.Singh S, Blanchard A, Walker JR, et.al.Common symptoms and stressors among individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2011;9(9):769-775.Sobolewska-Wlodarczyk A, Wlodarczyk M, Banaski J, et al.Sleep disturbance and disease activity in adult patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.J Physiol Pharmacol.2018;69(3). doi: 10.26402/jpp.2018.3.09Kinnucan JA, Rubin DT, Ali T.Sleep and inflammatory bowel disease: exploring the relationship between sleep disturbances and inflammation.Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2013;9(11):718-27.Ananthakrishnan AN, Long MD, Martin CF, et al.Sleep disturbance and risk of active disease in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013;11:965-971.MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office on Women’s Health.Inflammatory bowel disease.Kelley KA, Kaur T, Tsikitis V.Perianal Crohn’s disease: challenges and solutions.Clin Exp Gastroenterol.2017;8(10):39-46. doi:10.2147/CEG.S108513MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.Singh S, Blanchard A, Walker JR, et.al.Common symptoms and stressors among individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2011;9(9):769-775.Sobolewska-Wlodarczyk A, Wlodarczyk M, Banaski J, et al.Sleep disturbance and disease activity in adult patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.J Physiol Pharmacol.2018;69(3). doi: 10.26402/jpp.2018.3.09Kinnucan JA, Rubin DT, Ali T.Sleep and inflammatory bowel disease: exploring the relationship between sleep disturbances and inflammation.Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2013;9(11):718-27.Ananthakrishnan AN, Long MD, Martin CF, et al.Sleep disturbance and risk of active disease in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013;11:965-971.MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.
MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.Night sweats and inflammatory bowel disease.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office on Women’s Health.Inflammatory bowel disease.
Kelley KA, Kaur T, Tsikitis V.Perianal Crohn’s disease: challenges and solutions.Clin Exp Gastroenterol.2017;8(10):39-46. doi:10.2147/CEG.S108513
Singh S, Blanchard A, Walker JR, et.al.Common symptoms and stressors among individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2011;9(9):769-775.
Sobolewska-Wlodarczyk A, Wlodarczyk M, Banaski J, et al.Sleep disturbance and disease activity in adult patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.J Physiol Pharmacol.2018;69(3). doi: 10.26402/jpp.2018.3.09
Kinnucan JA, Rubin DT, Ali T.Sleep and inflammatory bowel disease: exploring the relationship between sleep disturbances and inflammation.Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2013;9(11):718-27.
Ananthakrishnan AN, Long MD, Martin CF, et al.Sleep disturbance and risk of active disease in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013;11:965-971.
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