Nighttime Sweating

Nighttime Sweating

Nighttime Sweating

Nighttime sweating or night sweats is a medical condition where your body sweats an abnormal amount during the night when conditions in the bedroom are not overly hot. There is no physical explanation for why the body produces this abnormal amount of sweat.

I have had several periods in my life where I have woken up with my pillow and sheets where I was laying drenched with sweat and I have had to change my bed clothes as well.  Usually these episodes do not last for more than a few days. In every case my bedroom was not too hot; in fact in all cases I keep my room below sixty five degrees to be able to sleep better.

In most cases nighttime sweating is not a cause for medical concern. If you are worried about what might be causing your nighttime sweating consider whether you have recently started taking a new medication. Some medications have sweating as a side effect.

If you are female, your sweating could be due to the onset of menopause.  In other cases an infection, a nervous system problem or endocrine system problem could be triggering the sympathetic nervous system to cause you to sweat excessively.

Drugs with nighttime sweats as a common side effect include anti depressants, antipyretics (lowers body temperature), hypoglycemic drugs (used to lower your blood sugar) and various types of hormone therapy. If you are concerned about the frequency or amount of nighttime sweating that is happening, you should consult a doctor if the condition occurs on a regular basis for over two weeks straight.

You should also check with a doctor if the condition wakes you up in the middle of the night more than once or if the sweating occurs in conjunction with another symptom like a high fever or sudden weight loss.