Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesWhen to See a Healthcare ProviderSummaryFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Night sweats are more than just a nuisance; they can also signify a medical condition. Hormonal imbalances, cancers, or infections can cause night sweats. Symptoms similar to night sweats, such ashot flashesorflushing, can also indicate a health concern.
If you experience night sweats, you should discuss this with your healthcare provider. There is a wide range of causes and solutions that should be explored, some of which may require immediate treatment.
Verywell / JR Bee
Defining Night Sweats
Feelingsweatyor overheated at night can be described in several ways. You may be experiencing clear-cut symptoms of night sweats or several different conditions, including hot flashes and flushing.
Describing detailed symptoms to your healthcare provider may help identify a diagnosis sooner.
If you or your child are experiencing night sweats, you might want to consider recent changes in your environment or other symptoms such as fevers, weight loss, pain, or anxiety.
Environment
Yoursleeping environmentcan cause night sweats.This is especially common for young children, who often do not select their pajamas or blankets.
Excessively heavy pajamas, too many blankets on the bed, or a thermostat set at a high temperature can cause sweating and a general feeling of being too hot.
If the rooms in the house are not heated or cooled to the same degree, your child may be sleeping in a warmer space than you intended. Sleeping without air conditioning or where you can’t adjust the temperature can result in an overly hot room at night.
Medical Conditions
The most common medical conditions that can cause night sweats include:
Treatments for some of the above issues may also cause night sweats. For example, hormone therapy—for menopause treatment or other problems such as fertility problems or cancer—tends to cause more dramatic symptoms than menopause because hormone levels change with these drugs tend to be more abrupt.
Several medications are also associated with night sweats, including antidepressants, chemotherapy, thyroid replacement, and Tylenol (acetaminophen).
Night sweats can be disruptive and frustrating and signify a medical condition. Environmental factors such as heavy blankets and hot rooms can cause sweating at night. Additionally, hormonal imbalances and certain cancers can cause drenching night sweats.
Although it may seem trivial, seeing your healthcare provider for night sweats is essential, especially if you have a fever, shaking, chills, or pain.
A Word From Verywell
Night sweats can interfere with your sleep, resulting in fatigue and feeling run down.Cooling sheetscan help with temperature regulation. If your child has night sweats, first determine whether there is an environmental cause. If you or your child continue to have night sweats for a week or longer without an environmental reason, you should see your healthcare provider and get an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Environmental factors such as heavy blankets are a common cause of night sweats. However, hormonal changes in women in one of the top reasons for night sweats.
Since Covid can cause a fever, night sweats can occur if you have the virus.
19 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.
Mold JW, Holtzclaw BJ, Mccarthy L.Night sweats: A systematic review of the literature.J Am Board Fam Med. 2012;25(6):878-93. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2012.06.120033
So HK, Li AM, Au CT, et al.Night sweats in children: prevalence and associated factors.Arch Dis Child. 2012;97(5):470-3. doi:10.1136/adc.2010.199638
Okamoto-Mizuno K, Mizuno K.Effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm.J Physiol Anthropol. 2012;31(1):14. doi:10.1186/1880-6805-31-14
Taylor RD.Common causes of night sweats in various populations.Am Fam Physician. 2003;68(7):1264.
Mold JW, Roberts M, Aboshady HM.Prevalence and predictors of night sweats, day sweats, and hot flashes in older primary care patients: an OKPRN study.Ann Fam Med. 2004;2(5):391–397. doi:10.1370/afm.72
Kim JH, Kim SK, Kim DC, et al.Recurrent infective endocarditis associated with pyogenic spondylodiskitis.Korean Circ J. 2011;41(3):167–170. doi:10.4070/kcj.2011.41.3.167
Koo S, Ahn Y, Lim JY, Cho J, Park HY.Obesity associates with vasomotor symptoms in postmenopause but with physical symptoms in perimenopause: a cross-sectional study.BMC Womens Health. 2017;17(1):126. doi:10.1186/s12905-017-0487-7
Raff SB, Gershberg H.Night sweats. A dominant symptom in diabetes insipidus.JAMA. 1975;234(12):1252-3. doi:10.1001/jama.234.12.1252
Savic S, Mistry A, Wilson AG, et al.Autoimmune-autoinflammatory rheumatoid arthritis overlaps: a rare but potentially important subgroup of diseases.RMD Open. 2017;3(2):e000550. doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2017-000550
Mold JW, Woolley JH, Nagykaldi Z.Associations between night sweats and other sleep disturbances: An OKPRN study.Ann Fam Med. 2006;4(5):423-426. doi:10.1370/afm.554
Mold JW, Holtzclaw BJ.Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Night Sweats in a Primary Care Population.Drugs Real World Outcomes. 2015;2(1):29–33. doi:10.1007/s40801-015-0007-8
Schlereth T, Dieterich M, Birklein F.Hyperhidrosis–causes and treatment of enhanced sweating.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2009;106(3):32–37. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2009.0032
Mallien J, Isenmann S, Mrazek A, Haensch CA.Sleep disturbances and autonomic dysfunction in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.Front Neurol. 2014;5:118. doi:10.3389/fneur.2014.00118
Sari R, Bayindir Y, Sevinc A, Bahceci F, Ozen S.The triad of weight loss, fever and night sweating: Isolated bone marrow tuberculosis, a case report.J Chemother. 2002;14(4):420-422. doi:10.1179/joc.2002.14.4.420
Dabaghzadeh F, Khalili H, Ghaeli P, Alimadadi A.Sleep quality and Its correlates in HIV positive patients who are candidates for initiation of antiretroviral therapy.Iran J Psychiatry.
Chatterjee B, Hirzel C, Sahli RG.Hypertension, sweating and palpitation in a psychotic patient - don’t miss the somatic cause.JRSM Short Rep. 2013;4(11):2042533313496087. doi:10.1177/2042533313496087
Thurston RC, Luther JF, Wisniewski SR, Eng H, Wisner KL.Prospective evaluation of nighttime hot flashes during pregnancy and postpartum.Fertil Steril. 2013;100(6):1667–1672. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.08.020
Craig GM, Joly LM, Zumla A.‘Complex’ but coping: experience of symptoms of tuberculosis and health care seeking behaviours–a qualitative interview study of urban risk groups, London, UK.BMC Public Health. 2014;14:618. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-618
Mold JW, Holtzclaw BJ.Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and night sweats in a primary care population.Drugs Real World Outcomes. 2015 Mar;2(1):29-33. doi:10.1007/s40801-015-0007-8Wong EMM, Tomlinson G, Pinto MM, Berger C, Cheung AM, Prior JC.Women’s mid-life night sweats and 2-year bone mineral density changes: A prospective, observational population-based investigation from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos).Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 May 26;15(6). pii: E1079. doi:10.3390/ijerph15061079
Mold JW, Holtzclaw BJ.Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and night sweats in a primary care population.Drugs Real World Outcomes. 2015 Mar;2(1):29-33. doi:10.1007/s40801-015-0007-8
Wong EMM, Tomlinson G, Pinto MM, Berger C, Cheung AM, Prior JC.Women’s mid-life night sweats and 2-year bone mineral density changes: A prospective, observational population-based investigation from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos).Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 May 26;15(6). pii: E1079. doi:10.3390/ijerph15061079
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
