When you sweat at night. What to do if you sweat a lot in a dream

“I sweat a lot in my sleep” - people who are conscious of their health often turn to the doctor with such a complaint. Night sweats can affect people of all ages, men and women. For what reason does it arise? Sweating in a dream is a consequence, you need to fight the cause.

“I sweat a lot in my sleep” - doctors know how to respond to this complaint.

Why do people sweat a lot in their sleep: reasons

The function of sweating is a normal physiological process for any person. However, if you wake up in the middle of the night in a sweat, then this is a more serious problem. It has its own name - hyperhidrosis, that is, increased sweating.

The causes of hyperhidrosis can be very diverse. The most common of them:

infectious diseases;

thyroid disease;

lowering blood sugar levels in diabetes;

hormonal disorders;

tuberculosis;

tumor diseases.

Snoring people are characterized by a temporary stoppage of breathing - obstructive sleep apnea.

In children, the heat exchange system is not yet completely perfect. Therefore, the choice of bed linen and nightwear should be approached with great care.

Causes of night sweats in children:

lack of physical activity during the day;

infectious diseases;

beginning rickets;

vegetative-vascular dystonia.

If a child sweats a lot during sleep, this often indicates a lack of vitamin D. You should also check the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Both children and adults often suffer from one common cause - gastroesophageal reflux. With this disease, a hernia of the esophageal opening of the diaphragm is formed. From the stomach, the contents enter the respiratory tract. The stressful state of the body is caused, which leads to night sweats.

How to eliminate night sweats

The first step to fixing the problem is to conduct a comprehensive survey. Since the causes of the phenomenon are diverse, you must first pass tests: general blood and urine tests, blood for sugar content, X-ray examination.

If threatening conditions such as cancer and tuberculosis are ruled out, the examination should be continued until the true cause is found. You will need the advice of many experts.

When the disease is eliminated, the problem of excessive sweating disappears. In rare cases, it persists for some time after recovery, but then still disappears.

The problem of "sweating in a dream" appears in women during menopause. They are prescribed special medicines. They help to cope with the manifestations of age-related hormonal changes.

Night sweats in children should alert parents. If the problem is not addressed, the opportunity for early treatment of a serious disease can be missed.

To prevent increased night sweats, you need to follow these rules:

maintain optimal temperature and humidity in the sleeping room;

avoid eating spicy food before bed;

adhere to a healthy lifestyle;

maintain a level of physical activity.

Excessive night sweats indicate a problem in the body. If it lasts more than a week, you should undergo a medical examination. Treatment begins when the true cause is identified. The sooner this happens, the better. Recovery will relieve the unpleasant sensations of sweating in a dream.

Night sweats in women is a fairly common phenomenon that causes significant discomfort, disrupting sleep and not allowing you to fully relax. Soaking wet linen and damp bedding force you to wake up in the middle of the night, causing a feeling of weakness and chronic fatigue. Dealing with this unpleasant symptom is not always easy, but with the right choice of treatment, excessive sweating can be eliminated forever.

Causes of night sweats

It is natural for a person to sweat, but in sleeping people, body temperature normally drops, so there is no pronounced sweating. The appearance of excessive sweating ( night) is a sign of:

unfavorable influence of external factors;
the presence of certain diseases;
hormonal disorders.

External factors that cause increased sweating during sleep include:

Air temperature and humidity level in the room. Comfortable sleep temperature in the bedroom is from 18 to 20 ° C, relative humidity should not exceed 70%. At higher temperatures and humidity, even an absolutely healthy woman's body can react with increased sweating, thus preventing overheating.
The wrong blanket. It may be too warm for the temperature in a particular bedroom (for example, a well-warmed natural wool blanket is not suitable for comfortable sleep at 22 ° C) or contain synthetic winterizer and other artificial materials that do not allow air to pass through and provoke sweating. Thermoregulation can also be affected by sheets or pajamas made of synthetic fibers, as well as padding pillows.
The use of alcoholic beverages, coffee, spicy and spicy dishes in the evening, which increase blood circulation and activate sweating. Difficult to digest meals containing a large amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates can also increase body temperature at night.
A stressful situation, a state of anxiety that cause an increase in adrenaline in the blood. Unused adrenaline during the day is released along with sweat during sleep.

If the factors listed above are absent, and profuse sweating persists, a woman should consult a doctor to find out the cause and eliminate the pathology.

Nocturnal hyperhidrosis as a symptom of the disease

Increased sweating during sleep is often a symptom of both widespread, clinically mild infectious diseases, and dangerous diseases:

ARVI is a group of acute respiratory diseases caused by pneumotropic viruses. These widespread diseases include respiratory syncytial, rhinovirus, adenovirus and other clinically and morphologically similar infections accompanied by catarrhal phenomena. Acute respiratory viral infections in most cases are accompanied by an increase in body temperature, resulting in severe sweating.
Infectious mononucleosis is a disease characterized by a change in the composition of the blood (normally absent atypical mononuclear cells are detected), damage to the pharynx, enlargement of the liver, spleen and lymph nodes. The disease is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung tissue caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi. It can be hospital and community-acquired, may be accompanied by impaired immunity, be primary and secondary. Separately, eosinophilic pneumonia can be distinguished, which is associated with the accumulation of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the alveoli.
Lung abscess is a purulent-destructive limited process in the lungs, in which one or more cavities containing pus form in the lung tissue. The causative agent is a variety of microorganisms that penetrate the lungs with a decrease in general and local immunity, due to chronic diseases, with prolonged use of glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants and cytostatics.
Endocarditis - inflammation of the inner lining of the heart, which in most cases is a particular manifestation of other diseases (tuberculosis, brucellosis, etc.). Separately, subacute bacterial endocarditis caused by streptococcus (comprises the normal flora of the respiratory tract) is isolated.
Fungal infections - visceral (systemic) candidiasis, which affects the internal organs, aspergillosis, etc.
Tuberculosis - a disease that affects the lungs and less often other organs, which is caused by Koch's sticks. Usually, after infection, the disease proceeds in a latent form, sometimes (in 1/10 cases) passing into the active phase. Sweating is a constant but non-specific symptom of the disease.
HIV infection is a slowly progressive disease caused by various strains of the human immunodeficiency virus.

Night sweats in women can occur when:

Hyperthyroidism is a syndrome that occurs when the thyroid gland is hyperfunction and is accompanied by an increase in the level of hormones T3 and T4. It can be primary (disturbances are associated with the work of the thyroid gland), secondary (associated with the pathology of the pituitary gland) and tertiary (disorders are associated with the work of the hypothalamus). It develops with toxic diffuse goiter (Graves' disease) or nodular toxic goiter (Plummer's disease), subacute thyroiditis, with uncontrolled intake of thyroid hormones, with excessive secretion of pituitary tumors or ovarian teratomas, with excessive administration of iodine.
Diabetes mellitus is a group of endocrine diseases that are associated with absolute or relative insulin deficiency caused by impaired glucose uptake. With a persistent increase in blood sugar, water-salt, carbohydrate, protein, fat and mineral metabolism is disturbed. The disease is characterized by a chronic course.
Diabetes insipidus is a rare disease that occurs when the function of the pituitary or hypothalamus is impaired. It is manifested by an increase in the amount of urine (polyuria) and develops with tumors of the hypothalamic-pituitary system, as a result of traumatic brain injury, primary tubulopathy, may be hereditary.
Digestive disorders (biliary dyskinesia, gastritis, etc.).
Sleep apnea syndrome is a condition that is accompanied by periodic pauses in breathing during sleep, often leading to awakening. It can be obstructive (occurs when the upper respiratory tract is narrowed) and central (occurs when the respiratory center in the brain is depressed).
Chronic fatigue syndrome, which is manifested by a prolonged feeling of fatigue, which even a long rest does not help to get rid of. This syndrome occurs with an unbalanced emotional-intellectual and physical load, which leads to the development of neurosis of the central regulatory centers of the autonomic nervous system.
Vegetovascular (neurocircular) dystonia, which is a complex of symptoms that occur with autonomic dysfunction of the cardiovascular system. It can occur only in stressful situations or be present all the time. It is provoked both by various diseases (observed with chronic infections, cervical osteochondrosis, etc.), and by overwork, a sharp change in climate and other similar factors.

Increased sweating in women at night can also be a consequence of rheumatological diseases (temporal arteritis and Takayasu's arteritis), malignant neoplasms (Hodgkin's disease, leukemia).

Some medications (OCs, antibiotics, antidepressants, etc.) can cause increased sweating.

Night sweats due to hormonal disorders

Heavy sweating at night in women is often a sign of hormonal changes characteristic of the female body. Night sweats increase:

At some stages of the menstrual cycle. Sweating increases with an increase in estrogen, a hormone that is produced mainly in the ovaries. Estrogens include estradiol (produced in large quantities before menopause), estrone (the dominant hormone during menopause), and estriol (produced by the placenta during pregnancy). Estrogens and progesterone affect the activity of the hypothalamus, in which the thermoregulatory center is located, therefore, in a certain part of women, with a change in the amount of estrogen and progesterone in the blood before menstruation, increased sweating is observed at night.
During pregnancy, during which the placenta produces a large amount of progesterone and estriol, which affects the activity of the temperature center. Especially often, night sweats disturb absolutely healthy pregnant women in the first trimester, when the body is just adapting to a new state. After the baby is born, the hormonal balance is restored and the excess sweating disappears on its own.
With menopause, which is accompanied by a sharp decrease in estrogen production and the associated decrease in vasomotor and thermoregulatory instability. Hormonal imbalance is accompanied by “hot flashes” (sensations of heat), sleep disturbance (which can itself cause sweating), sweating that is not related to the actual ambient temperature, etc.

A change in the hormonal balance that causes increased sweating is also observed in inflammatory diseases of the ovaries, puberty, breastfeeding and after an abortion or childbirth.

Night sweats are a frequent companion of the first trimester of pregnancy.

How to deal with night sweats

In cases where night sweats in women are not associated with hormonal imbalance, it is recommended to eliminate excessive sweating:

Follow proper nutrition - refuse to take sweat-provoking food at least 3 hours before bedtime, exclude coffee and alcohol in the evening. Take herbal teas with the addition of ginger and honey at night to calm the nervous system.
Do not eat large amounts of food during dinner, as a full stomach can put pressure on the diaphragm in a horizontal position and provoke gastroesophageal reflux that causes excessive sweating.
Do not consume hot food and drinks at night, which speed up the metabolism and can cause night sweats.
Do not engage in vigorous physical activity a few hours before bedtime - physical activity not only provokes sweating in itself, but also causes excitation of the nervous system, which in overly sensitive people is also the cause of sweating.
Take a contrast shower before bed. Water procedures should be started with dousing with warm water, which helps open the pores (the body gets rid of excess moisture in this way), and end with dousing with cool water, which closes the pores.
Take a warm bath with herbal infusion (you can use sage, oak bark, chamomile, St. John's wort, walnut leaves, strawberries, mint, rose petals, etc.). You can also add pine needles, essential oils (tea tree oil, coconut, etc.) or sea salt. Such baths can be combined with taking a decoction of sage or infusion of motherwort inside - this helps the nervous system to relax and reduces sweating during sleep.

After water procedures, apply antiperspirants to a clean, dry body (antiperspirants containing 15-30% aluminum salts are more effective). Products containing a large amount of aluminum salts block pores and prevent sweating not only at night, but also during the next day. It is not recommended to use these products during pregnancy and kidney disease, immediately after shaving the armpits and if the skin is irritated.
Apply talcum powder to clean, dry skin - this harmless powder, due to its ability to absorb moisture, will reduce the manifestation of night sweats.
Provide a constant flow of air in the bedroom and try to adjust the temperature to optimal values.
Choose a light blanket and pillow made of natural materials, change bedding (use linen and other natural fabrics).
Choose clothes for sleep only from natural fabrics (for example, you can use 100% cotton).

Since the use of antiperspirants is not recommended for pregnant and lactating women, they can replace these products with organic deodorants. You can also wipe the skin with solutions - a soda solution or a solution prepared from 9% vinegar, salt and boiled water (for 0.5 liters of water, 1 tablespoon of salt and vinegar).

When do you need a doctor to treat night sweats?

If excessive sweating is the result of hormonal disorders, you should seek the advice of a gynecologist.

Excessive sweating during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as a temporary and transient phenomenon, does not need specific treatment - you can reduce discomfort using the local remedies listed above (when choosing herbal teas, you should pay attention to contraindications).

Sweating during puberty, after childbirth and abortion requires hygiene and also does not need treatment - when the hormonal level is balanced, sweating at night will stop.

The gynecologist may prescribe:

in the presence of inflammatory diseases of the ovaries, antibiotics, restorative drugs, sulfonamides and painkillers in acute conditions;
drugs that reduce the manifestation of symptoms and, if necessary, hormone replacement therapy (drugs are selected on an individual basis).

Since night sweats can be a symptom of a disease, if you have other symptoms or preventive measures to control sweating are not effective, you should consult a doctor.

First of all, you should visit a therapist, who, if necessary, on the basis of examination, clinical manifestations and test results, will give a referral to narrower specialists (cardiologist, neurologist, somnologist, oncologist or psychologist).

Sweating in viral diseases is eliminated on its own with a decrease in body temperature or in the treatment of the underlying disease:

With ARVI, infectious mononucleosis and other viral diseases, symptomatic therapy is carried out, and when bacterial microflora is added, antibiotics are added to the treatment regimen.
For tuberculosis, anti-tuberculosis drugs, immunity-enhancing drugs and physiotherapy are used.
In HIV infection, antiretroviral therapy is carried out and drugs intended for the treatment of associated infections are used.
With hyperthyroidism, drug treatment is possible (aimed at destroying excess thyroid hormones), surgical (aimed at destroying the gland) and treatment using computer reflexology (aimed at restoring the functions of the gland).
In diabetes mellitus, treatment is selected depending on the type of disease (includes insulin therapy, low-carbohydrate diet, etc.).
In diabetes insipidus, synthetic analogues of the antidiuretic hormone are introduced, frequent meals with a high content of carbohydrates are recommended, in the nephrogenic type of the disease, lithium preparations and thiazide diuretics are prescribed, and in the presence of a tumor, surgical treatment is performed.

In most cases, after the end of the course of treatment, night sweating in women returns to normal.

Sweating, if excessive, is unpleasant at any time of the day. It leads to a feeling of awkwardness, the impossibility and inaccessibility of many simple actions (not all outfits can be worn), to constant self-control, which can reach paranoia. At night, excessive sweating seems to be a little less painful: at least there are fewer witnesses to it. But still, a person is worried - what is happening to him, why does the body sweat a lot at night?

Causes of night sweats

Disease or an unpleasant feature? The answer can be yes to any of the assumptions. Unfortunately, it is possible to exclude the possibility of a serious illness only after an examination. Tuberculosis, diabetes mellitus, oncological diseases are manifested by high sweating. But set aside the panic: extremely rarely, only severe sweating signals a serious illness, usually other markers of the disease go together with it. If you have any doubts, go through a detailed examination.

But more often, high sweating at night is not associated with illness. This is just a physiological reaction of the body to overheating. And it is the result of some wrong actions.

Why do you sweat a lot at night:

Too warm bed linen. The reason is very common, and many simply do not realize that they are not sleeping under what they need. Do not be stingy when choosing a good blanket: if you bought a cheap product on a padding polyester, you will, of course, keep warm, but it will also make you sweat decently. Buy breathable bed linen that does not interfere with air exchange. Refuse terry sheets and synthetics, which interfere with healthy thermoregulation of the body.
Wrong pajamas. Pay attention to your sleepwear as well. Synthetics, of course, will interfere with normal thermoregulation here, and disrupt air exchange. Therefore, get cotton or silk pajamas, nightgowns.
The temperature in the bedroom. If the room is hot, of course you will sweat. The optimal temperature values of the air in the bedroom are 18-20 degrees. Be sure to ventilate the room at night when you go to bed, it should be light, pleasant and refreshing.
Large meals and/or alcohol before bed. If you arranged a whole feast for yourself in the evening, or ate spicy and spicy dishes, drank alcohol, this will increase blood circulation. As a result, the body will begin to work on cooling the blood and this will lead to heavy sweating during sleep.

These reasons are the most obvious, the most common, but for some reason actively ignored by many people. Check the compliance / non-compliance with each item listed: it is possible that the problem of excessive night sweats is solved very simply.

What if it's a disease?

Sweating is a physiological process, reasonably provided by our nature. The standard of healthy temperature indicators of the body: the numbers on the thermometer are within 36-37 degrees.

To maintain such a comfortable regime, the body will secrete a special moist layer on the skin with the sweat glands, which does not allow the body to overheat. If there is some kind of failure in the functionality of the structures of the human body, then it can cause high night sweats.

Internal causes of hyperhidrosis at night:

Infectious diseases. Typically, such ailments are accompanied by a feverish state. If a person's temperature has jumped, then night sweats will be a protective reaction, and this means that the body is fighting the infection;
Complex diseases are associated with a progressive course of infections. Heavy sweating at night will be the result of high temperatures. This happens if a person has a lung abscess with pus, infectious mononucleosis, HIV infection;
Oncological diseases. During the development of complex malignant tumors, the thermoregulatory system receives erroneous signals, because the patient sweats a lot;
Hormonal imbalance. Endocrine failure often leads to increased sweating. Often a similar phenomenon is noted in patients with diabetes mellitus;
Cardiovascular diseases - shortness of breath, tachycardia, atherosclerosis may be accompanied by excessive night sweats.

Do not look for signs of the most terrible diseases. But if doubts prevail, it is better to undergo diagnostic measures.

Sweating due to severe stress

Often, excessive sweating during sleep can be explained by an increase in the production of adrenaline. High anxiety, frequent stress, overwork lead to increased production of this hormone.

Roughly speaking, if you did not spend your adrenaline supply during the day (restrained, did not give vent to emotions), this can turn into a release of unspent energy in the form of night sweat.

Such situations cannot be called harmless. When people say "all diseases are from the nerves," this will not be just a common buzzword. The human body is not designed for constant stress. The restructuring of the work of systems and organs allows you to save the body from the consequences of fright, fear, running. The change in heart rate and increased blood flow to the lower body is designed by nature so that a person can quickly run away in case of danger. But if danger signals are received frequently, literally every day, the body's reserves are depleted. Simply put, it is difficult for him to adapt all the time to anxiety conditions that have become frequent.

This is where pathologies come from. The immune system fails, its own resources of self-regulation fail, and the person becomes ill. Therefore, if you understand that heavy sweating at night occurs on a nervous basis, you need to look for ways to solve the current problem. Go to a psychologist or psychotherapist, do not refuse therapeutic measures that have a beneficial effect on the nervous system. Do not bring the situation to sad consequences.

Heavy sweating before period

PMS (premenstrual syndrome) is unfamiliar to some women - they go through the entire cycle relatively smoothly. But most of the ladies with a negative perceive this abbreviation: the manifestations of premenstrual syndrome can be different. One of them is increased sweating at night. Why does PMS cause increased sweating?

Hormonal changes

At a certain stage of the menstrual cycle, estrogen is actively produced in the female body - it is they who prepare the body for a possible pregnancy. As some hormones begin to be produced in large quantities, the production of others, on the contrary, is suppressed, a short-term hormonal imbalance occurs. And it can be noticeable to the woman herself - the mood drops (or “jumps”), the appetite changes, there may be a feeling of constant nausea, and finally, thermoregulation is disturbed. Sometimes a woman wakes up in the morning covered in sweat, although there are no visible reasons for such high sweating.

Increased load on the central nervous system

In the period before menstruation, a woman is distinguished by a decrease in stress resistance, weakness, depressive moods, increased anxiety. It seems that she can burst into tears because of any trifle. If a woman, in principle, with a powerful anti-stress resource, well in control of her emotional sphere, then sweating will occur only at moments of great excitement. Ladies with a finer mental organization are prone to prolonged emotional stress. It may not let go even at night, which will be expressed in increased sweating.

And here it is in the individual characteristics of the organism. Someone suffers from the manifestations of PMS "in full", someone fixes only a slight increase in sweating at night. It is not difficult to deal with this phenomenon: monitor the air temperature in the room, actively ventilate the bedroom, take a warm shower in the morning and evening, and eat right.

Menopause and night sweats

It is impossible not to mention such a common cause of night sweats as menopause. For women, the time of extinction of reproductive functions is a huge stress and even a test, not only physical. And even ladies who have entered the period of premenopause are already faced with such an unpleasant phenomenon as hot flashes.

Tides are characterized by:

redness of the skin, heat waves in the upper body;
Flushed face;
Tachycardia;
Increased blood pressure;
subsequent chills;
Drying of the mucous membranes;
Excessive sweating.

According to statistics, 8 out of 10 women at the age of menopause experience increased sweating. Due to profuse sweating, it is difficult to fall asleep, insomnia can continue until the morning.

This condition is sudden, it can happen at any time of the day (but more often during the day). According to doctors, women themselves aggravate their situation: they increase perspiration by some wrong actions.

For example, women wear tight, too warm, possibly synthetic clothing. They do not follow their menu, allowing fatty, fried, spicy and spicy foods to take a considerable place in it, which provokes sweat even more. Exhausting, almost protein-free diets, weight loss products, and antidepressant addiction can also aggravate the situation.

For correction of the situation, contact a doctor (gynecologist, endocrinologist). With a mild form of hot flashes, a woman notes no more than 10 such attacks per day, with an average - up to 20, a severe course is associated with more than 20 attacks of hot flashes per day. Hot flashes are more common in the early morning hours and before bed. If night sweats prevent you from falling asleep, you should not hesitate to contact your doctor. Modern medicine knows how to deal with this, and how to make menopause not a difficult test for a woman, but a natural period that can be passed calmly and without shocks.

no nocturnal hyperhidrosis

It seems that everything in this treatment regimen is simple - remove all provoking factors, and sweating will go away by itself. But, you see, it is easier to act according to the algorithm. And the person himself cannot always keep in his head all the dangerous moments that can cause undesirable phenomena in the form, for example, of high sweating at night. What to do? Change your life for the better, and let it be small steps, but they will lead you on the right path.

How to deal with night sweats:

According to statistics, about 40% of people who go to the doctor with the problem of excessive sweating, it turns out, do not ventilate the room before going to bed. Do it always, at any time of the year;
Change bedding regularly. It should be made from natural fabrics, fresh and appropriate to the size of the bed;
Do not sleep in stuffy pajamas and nightgowns;
Don't eat before bed! Overeating is fraught not only with high night sweats, but also with bad dreams. People who have eaten a heavy meal before bed often complain of nightmares;
Try not to watch TV for an hour or at least half an hour and not to walk in the wilds of the Internet. Any excitation for the nervous system is undesirable if you really want to get enough sleep. But you can read for a dream to come;
Take an evening shower. Abstract from all affairs, problems, fuss, and literally wash away fatigue under a warm pleasant shower. Ideally, take a contrast shower. But for many people, it is good only in the morning, before going to bed after such a shake for the body, it is difficult for them to fall asleep;
Try not to fall asleep with problems in your head. This is difficult, and people tend to play out all possible negative scenarios in their minds many times, but this habit still needs to be fought. If your life is not the easiest period, take mild sedatives. Many of them act cumulatively and do not affect activity during the day. A person can be cheerful, enterprising, not feel tired, but as soon as his head touches the pillow, he falls asleep. For an individual prescription, contact a neurologist or therapist.

If all these points are familiar to you firsthand, and you are doing everything right, but the problem “I sweat a lot at night in my sleep” still does not go away, it’s time to get tested.

Sleep is not just a certain element of the cycle, it is the most important time for our body. He needs recovery, and sound sleep gives him that recovery. Do not ignore such a powerful resource by abandoning the sleep mode. Remember that the peak production of melatonin (the hormone of youth) falls at 23.00. And if you go to bed at least at 22.30, then the likelihood that you will really get enough sleep and feel alert and active is very high. If strong sweating interferes with healthy sleep, you need to fight it - and this is possible.

Increased sweating at night may be due to the use of certain medications and stimulants.

Sweating at night - causes

Periodic night sweats are a common symptom and do not always indicate the onset of an illness.

May occur:

When sleeping in a hot room (such as during the summer heat),
as a result of overheating
as an effect of unnecessary emotions (for example, in people who have vivid, exciting dreams or as a result of a busy day),
after the use of alcohol, drugs and other psychotropic substances.

Increased sweating at night is more common in people who are obese. Physiological sweating at night is also characteristic of pregnant women and in the postpartum period.

Excessive sweating at night is a very common symptom of an infection, especially a bacterial one, accompanied by a high fever. These can be simple infections like the common cold, but can also be the result of severe infectious diseases like tuberculosis, AIDS, and Lyme disease.

Excessive sweating at night is the result of high body temperature. The build-up of fever is accompanied, most often by chills and a feeling of coldness. In general, fever reaches its highest levels in the evening and at night, hence the symptoms that accompany its increase (including sweating and chills).

Night sweats are a sign of menopause

Excessive sweating (especially in the evening and at night) and hot flashes (combined with facial flushing) can be symptoms of menopause. These symptoms are often unpleasant for a woman - they create a feeling of discomfort, often accompanied by weakness. In this case, hormone replacement therapy is necessary - the use of natural preparations containing phytoestrogens and isoflavones.

Excessive sweating at night - hormonal causes

Hyperthyroidism is characterized by increased heart rate (rapid heart rate) and breaths, increased metabolism, weight loss despite increased appetite, increased sweating, especially at night, and decreased tolerance to high temperatures.

Under optimal temperature conditions, patients with hyperthyroidism complain of feeling hot and often sweat. If you find these symptoms in yourself, you should consult a doctor and undergo diagnostic tests (the main study is the study of the concentration of thyroid-stimulating hormone and the total concentration of thyroid hormones).

Cancer and excessive night sweats

The most serious disease that can manifest itself as excessive sweating at night is cancer. Night sweats appear, most often in the course of leukemia and lymphoma, especially if the patient additionally complains of weakness, fatigue, fever, and this increases the tendency to infection, fainting and bleeding. Additional symptoms are pale skin, swollen lymph nodes.

Excessive sweating in cancer patients is a symptom caused by tumor formation. It may also be the result of infection, which often occurs in the course of leukemia or lymphoma, or the withdrawal of drugs (eg, opioid analgesics).

Other causes of night sweats

Excessive night sweats may indicate hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) - the sudden onset of night sweats, accompanied by pallor and anxiety, may indicate a decrease in blood glucose levels. This situation can lead, in patients with diabetes, eating food after taking insulin. In the event of the above symptoms, it is necessary to diagnose the concentration of glucose in the blood.

Excessive nighttime sweating after medication is rare. Night sweats are most often caused by drugs from the glucocorticoid group, but can also be observed with the use of antidepressants, salicylane or analgesics. It often also appears as a symptom of the withdrawal of the above drugs.

Night sweats in a child - what are the causes?

Excessive sweating in children may indicate rickets, especially if it appears on the head and neck. The reason may be an imbalance of calcium phosphate dehydrogenase, which leads to changes in the bone-framework system. If parents constantly observe bedwetting and sweating in a child, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

In addition, the child cries at night due to fever, especially high. Sweating is so strong that the baby has to be picked up. This is not always a bad sign. Many parents deliberately use diaphoretic drugs to reduce the temperature of the child. Sweaty skin of a child, a wet forehead, can be a symptom of overheating. If the baby is under stress, he also sweats intensely at night, and these symptoms are exacerbated, for example, by nightmares.

How to deal with night sweats?

If no other warning symptoms accompany night sweats (eg, weight loss, weakness, fainting), the first step should be to ensure optimal bedroom conditions and hygiene. The room temperature should be around 18°C, the air should be humidified, and pajamas, bed linen and mattress should be made of natural materials. It is also desirable to use antiperspirants and other agents that inhibit the secretion of sweat.

It is worth trying herbal preparations that reduce sweating. Extract from the leaves of sage, affects the reduction of sweating. In addition, topical gels and ointments can be applied to reduce night sweats.

If night sweats persist despite following the above guidelines and/or are accompanied by other symptoms, you need to see a doctor and have the diseases and conditions listed above diagnosed. Rapid diagnosis is especially important in the case of cancers - the sooner they are detected, the greater the chances for successful treatment.

Sweating can occur regardless of the time of day. As a rule, this process is not able to attract special attention, and it can be justified by various weather conditions or physical exertion. With the onset of night, sweating can occur during sleep, when a person is not able to control it. However, in some cases, it happens that a person’s body sweats a lot during sleep. What could be the reason why a person sweats at night? Let's figure it out.

What causes sweating at night?

First of all, when a person sweats heavily in a dream, this may indicate the presence of some serious illness. First of all, it is recommended to assess in detail the conditions during which a person is in a dream.

The reason that a person sweats a lot in a dream is external factors, which include the following:

warm bed linen and blanket. When choosing a blanket, especially with the onset of winter, it is extremely important not to overdo it. Warm modern blankets, especially those of a cheap price, have a filler in the form of synthetic winterizer and other materials of artificial origin, which not only warm, but also make you sweat a lot. The situation is exactly the same with bed linen - various terry sheets made of synthetic fibers can have a significant impact on the thermoregulation of the human body;
night clothes. While looking for the reason why you sweat a lot in your sleep, you need to pay attention to your sleepwear. Like a blanket, clothing made from satin and silk can cause excessive sweating. Pajamas made of silk are ideally able to save sleep;
air temperature in the room. Excessive sweating at night can result from too high a temperature in the room where you sleep. For healthy sleep, the norm is a temperature of + 18-20 degrees. If the room is not ventilated, then the person contributes to the conditions during which the skin cover seems to “suffocate”. If the reaction of the body is healthy, then the sleeping person begins to sweat;
alcohol and food. The use of spicy and spicy dishes, strong alcoholic drinks, especially at night, contributes to a strong activation of blood circulation. As a result, the need to cool the blood becomes the cause of severe sweating during sleep.

Internal causes of sweating during sleep

If, after all external factors have been eliminated, sweating continues during sleep, then this is a serious reason to consult a doctor. In most cases, excessive sweating during sleep is a sign of a serious illness.

Sweating is the basis of thermoregulation in the human body. The thinnest layer of sweat located on the skin is able to cool the blood that enters the dense capillary network, while maintaining the ideal body temperature of 36-37 degrees. This temperature can be considered the standard of good health. If there are any violations in the work of the body, then they can manifest themselves in the form of severe sweating of a person in a dream. Many infectious diseases can cause fever. In such a situation, excessive sweating during sleep becomes a protective reaction of the body and a sign of the immune system's fight against infection.

If the patient goes to the doctor because of heavy sweating at night, then he will definitely be prescribed an x-ray of the lungs - developing tuberculosis may be the cause of this phenomenon in a dream. In addition, sweating, especially at night, may indicate the presence of a tumor - pheochromocytoma, lymphoma and malignant neoplasms, during which false signals from cells go to the thermoregulation center, causing hyperhidrosis.

People who have hormonal imbalances and metabolic problems can regularly throw themselves into sweat. Sleep sweating occurs in people with hyperthyroidism, orchiectomy, diabetes mellitus, and other thyroid disorders.

The occurrence of hyperhidrosis at night can be a symptom of pathologies of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Most often, they suffer from patients with tachycardia, hypertension, people with atherosclerosis and sleep apnea. It is necessary to highlight the reasons associated with the emotional state of people. Often, anxiety and stress, as well as severe overwork, can lead to an increase in adrenaline in the blood. If during the day it does not have time to be spent, then its “remains” can come out in the form of sweat.

Excessive sweating at night in women can result from hormonal and physiological causes that occur:

a few days before menstruation;
at the beginning of menopause;
during pregnancy.

In each of these three cases, hormonal changes begin in the woman's body. There is a significant fluctuation in the level of progesterone and estrogen, which causes a response from the hypothalamus - the part of the brain of the head responsible for thermoregulation. At such moments, a woman can be thrown into a cold sweat at night. As a rule, after the normalization of the level of these hormones, a woman's sweating disappears on her own, without medical intervention.

What to do about night sweats?

If you have such a problem as night sweats, then most likely you are also interested in how to get rid of it. Today, there are many different ways that can be divided into three categories: cosmetic, medical and folk. It is recommended to determine the reason why you sweat at night, and if possible, deal with the factors provoking it.

If you start to sweat a lot every night during sleep, then you need to make an appointment with your doctor. Together with the establishment of the initial cause of sweating in a dream (which can take some time, for example, during treatment or weight loss), you can use the means aimed at eliminating this problem.

adjust your diet, refuse to consume spicy foods at dinner. Swap a heavy meal for a light one. Do not drink alcohol in the evenings - this contributes to more sweating at night;
take a warm shower before bed - this will allow the body to get rid of excess moisture through enlarged pores. After that, you need to turn on cool water in order for the pores to decrease;
before going to bed it is very useful to take relaxing baths with the addition of medicinal herbs;
against night sweats, a decoction of sage will be a very effective remedy. It should be drunk every day for 15 days. The course can be repeated after a few days. The decoction reduces sweating and soothes;
if you have very strong sweating in a dream, then you can wipe the skin with apple cider vinegar or a decoction of oak bark before going to bed;
you can apply an antiperspirant to the skin at nightfall, which has the ability to normalize the work of the sweat glands and narrow the pores. It is much more convenient to use than a decoction of oak bark or vinegar - you do not have to cook, you can take it with you when going on a trip (it is in trains, hotels and airplanes that the problem of night sweats becomes most noticeable). At the same time, such a remedy can be much more effective than folk remedies, as it allows you to reduce sweat production by 95%.

In summarizing

So, as you can see, the causes of night sweats are incredibly varied. With the onset of night, sweat can annoy no less than during the day. Although during sleep a person does not try to take care of his own appearance, but still, wet night clothes or sheets do not allow you to sleep normally and fully relax.

As a result, you get a tired look, nervousness and a bad mood. For this reason, if you could not cope with sweating at night on your own, it is recommended to visit a doctor - an experienced specialist will quickly find the cause and make your sleep serene and calm.