Overview
Night sweats are one of the most common symptoms of menopause, leaving women with disturbed sleep and resulting in exhaustion during the day as a consequence.
There is evidence that more than 70% of menopausal women experience this symptom. Often this can happen several times during the night causing broken sleep and inconvenience.
What are Night Sweats?
Night sweats may cause problems with quality of sleep, affect the ability to fall asleep or interrupt your sleep.
Night sweats are related to menopause hot flushes (flashes) in that the symptoms are the same, only that they occur at night and in the midst of sleep and involve excessive sweating. An overwarm environment is not the root cause of menopausal night sweats, but this can contribute to the severity of a night sweat episode.
The Typical Night Sweat Experience
Night sweats affect women in different ways with some women suffering more than others. They can be unpredictable and resulting in you waking up with your pyjamas and bed sheets soaked in perspiration. This can cause problems with partners who cannot work out why suddenly the bed clothes have been thrown off waking them from a warm slumber to find their partner in a lather of sweat.
The disturbance to sleep patterns caused by night sweats in menopause and peri-menopause can lead to a number of other problems which can include irritability, difficulties in concentration, insomnia and other sleep disorders, exhaustion, increased stress as well as extreme tiredness.
Night sweats may cause problems with quality of sleep, affect the ability to fall asleep or interrupt your sleep. This can have an affect on your moods, energy levels and general feeling of wellbeing. If this is the case, then you should consider seeking treatment.
What Causes and Triggers Night Sweats?
Lifestyle changes can also make a difference in reducing hot flushes and sweats including the avoidance of alcohol and caffeine.
Falling oestrogen levels during menopause play havoc with the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus controls the body’s temperature. It is thought that somehow the hypothalamus is confused by the low levels of oestrogen and that the body is overheating. The result is that the usual defences to overheating come into play culminating in excessive sweating and reddening of the skin in an effort to cool the body down.
It is important to know that night sweats are a result of hormonal imbalance brought about by the onset of menopause and while menopause is the most common cause of night sweats in women there are other possible causes which should be considered and ruled out. Sleep apnoea, thyroid dysfunction and diabetes can also cause night sweats.
Other Factors That Cause Night Sweats:
- Side effects from medication such as depression medication, cancer treatment or diabetes medication
- Sleep disorders
- Anxiety
- Other medical conditions