Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDetermine the CauseStopping Night SweatsAvoid Triggers
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Determine the Cause
Stopping Night Sweats
Avoid Triggers
Night sweatsare excessive perspiration or sweating while you are sleeping. Waking up with wet pajamas and sheets due to night sweats can cause emotional distress, physical discomfort, and sleep disruptions.
While serious conditions such as infections and cancer can cause night sweats, most cases are due to a warm sleeping environment, hormone imbalances (e.g.,menopause, pregnancy), medication side effects,hyperthyroidism,obesity, andgastroesophagealreflux disease (GERD).
This article reviews natural, medical, herbal, non-hormonal, and hormonal ways to stop night sweats and night sweats triggers to avoid.
Robin Gentry / Getty Images
Figuring Out How to Stop Night Sweats: The First Priority
While certain health conditions can causenight sweats, it is more commonly a sign of a hormone imbalance or a warm environment.
Potential underlying causes of night sweats include:
Night Sweats Can Cause Emotional Distress When Sharing a BedWaking up drenched in sweat can cause emotional distress, especially when sharing a bed with someone. Concerns about body odor, wet sheets, appearance, and disrupting your partner’s sleep may contribute to emotional distress. Open communication with your bed partner can help relieve anxiety and foster mutual understanding and support.
Night Sweats Can Cause Emotional Distress When Sharing a Bed
Waking up drenched in sweat can cause emotional distress, especially when sharing a bed with someone. Concerns about body odor, wet sheets, appearance, and disrupting your partner’s sleep may contribute to emotional distress. Open communication with your bed partner can help relieve anxiety and foster mutual understanding and support.
Why Do I Sweat in My Sleep?
9 Ways to Stop Night Sweats
While occasional night sweats may be a minor nuisance, those occurring regularly or interrupting your sleep can decrease your quality of life. The following includes both natural and medical interventions to help stop night sweats.
1. Optimize Bedroom Temperature
An air-conditioner, fans, or open windows can create a gentle breeze, airflow, and a cooler sleeping environment.
When possible, use a programmable thermostat to set your ideal room temperature. While thebest temperature for sleepingvaries for each person, most people find the most comfortable temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees F (15 to 19 C).
2. Adjust Bedding and Sleepwear
Use breathable, lightweight, and natural fabrics for bedding, mattresses, and sleepwear. Consider using a cooling mattress, mattress topper, andpillowsdesigned to regulate body temperature.
It also helps to layer your sheets and blankets, allowing flexibility to remove or add layers depending on your comfort throughout the night.
If you can’t control the temerature of your sleeping environment, apply a cool cloth to your feet, wrist, forehead, or neck to help cool down your body.
Is Sweating at Night Normal? Here’s What to Do About It
3. Healthy Lifestyle
Exercise improves circulation, helps regulate body temperature, boosts mood, helps maintain a healthy weight, and improves overall sleep quality.
Maintaining a nutrient-dense diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, andhealthy fatshelps balance hormone levels. If hormones are the underlying cause of night sweats, adjusting your diet may help.
Anxiety or stress can trigger episodes of night sweats due to nervous system changes.Stress reduction or management techniquesinvolve deep breathing, meditation, aromatherapy, yoga, hobbies, and fun activities.
4. Keep a Sleep Journal
Keeping a sleep journal can help you track and identify night sweat triggers. A sleep journal might include the following:
5. Evaluate Medications
While primaryhyperhidrosis(excessive sweating with no underlying cause) is rare, secondary hyperhidrosis that occurs due to certain medical conditions or medications is more common.For example, 45% of those who take Methadose or Dolophine (methadone) totreat opioid dependenceexperience night sweats.
The most common medications associated with night sweats are:
While this is not an exhaustive list, other examples include:
Evaluate your medications with a healthcare provider. If they believe night sweats are a side effect of medication, they may be able to prescribe you a different type or dosage.
6. Consult a Healthcare Professional
A healthcare provider can help you find the underlying cause of night sweats. Interventions might include lifestyle changes, medication adjustments, or further testing.
The following scenarios are examples of potential underlying causes and treatment options:
7. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
Night sweats are a common occurrence for those in perimenopause or menopause. This is because hormone imbalances (including estrogen) can affect thermoregulation, causing hot flashes and night sweats.Hormone replacementhelps even out the imbalances, improving symptoms.
Males can also experience hormone fluctuations, especially those undergoing prostate cancer treatments.
8. Nonhormonal Medications
Hormone replacement therapy to treat night sweats may not be an option for those with certain health conditions such ashormone-receptive positive cancers.
Nonhormonal alternative medication may include:
9. Herbs and Supplements
While not all research agrees, there is some evidence that using herbal remedies or supplements help regulate hormones for those in perimenopause or menopause:
How to Stop Night Sweats: Eliminate What Makes Them Worse
Eliminating the following triggers may help resolve or reduce night sweats.
Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol can cause hormone imbalances, affect temperature regulation in the brain, and widen blood vessels, increasing blood flow and generating heat.
To reduce the likelihood of night sweats due to alcohol, try the following:
Avoid Spicy Foods
Because spicy foods like hot peppers and chili powder contain compounds such ascapsaicinand increase serotonin levels (brain chemical), they can lower the body’s ability to regulate temperature.Keeping a sleep journal can help you identify if you need to cut out spicy foods or eat them earlier in the day.
Avoid Smoking Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettescan disrupt female and male hormone levels, affect blood vessels, increase heart rate and blood pressure, and introduce toxins into your body. All of which can alter body temperature regulation.
Night sweats can also be a symptom of nicotine withdrawal. If you’re struggling to quit smoking, seeking guidance from a healthcare professional for personalized advice and support is crucial.
Avoid Recreational Drug Use or Substance Abuse
Drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, and hallucinogens affect the nervous system, creating body temperature regulation problems.Night sweats can also be a withdrawal symptom and a side effect of methadone, the medication used to treat opiate dependence.
Don’t Exercise Too Late
Engaging in physical activity raises your body temperature. Exercising too close to bedtime can cause night sweats. To help prevent the risk, give your body time to cool down after moderate to intense exercise.
A general guideline is to finish intense workouts an hour or two before bedtime.Experiment with different timing and keep track of it in your sleep journal to determine what works best for you.
Avoid Heavy Bedding
Heavy bedding can create excessive warmth and restrict airflow. If this applies to you, test different types of bedding. Typically, thin, breathable material and layers give you more control over warmth and airflow.
Address Medication Side Effects
If you and your provider identify a medication that could be causing your night sweats, your provider may suggest a different medication. If that is not possible, they may have other solutions that can help manage this side effect.
For example, for those taking methadone for opiate dependence, the provider may prescribe Ditropan to reduce night sweats rather than discontinuing this vital medication.
Summary
Night sweats can cause emotional distress, physical discomfort, and sleep disruptions. Possible underlying causes include a warm environment, hormone imbalances, medication side effects, lifestyle factors, and some health conditions.
Identifying potential triggers or the underlying cause helps manage or treat night sweats. This may involve keeping a sleep journal to track and avoid triggers, evaluating medications, cooling your sleep environment, or talking to a healthcare provider about hormonal and nonhormonal medical treatments.
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