If you have been suffering from sleepless nights due to night sweats, it will be good to know whether it is an ordinary night sweat caused by a very warm room that lacks enough ventilation or due to the use of too much bedding for sleep.
If these two are the reasons, chances are it is just an ordinary night sweat that can easily be managed by having more fans, opening more windows and removing extra bedding and blankets.
On the other hand, causes of night sweats that have medical predisposition vary and may present varying degree of sweating.
Causes of Night Sweats for People with Medical Conditions:
Night sweats with medical predisposition are usually characterized by excessive sweating with no reference to the room temperature and amount of bedding used as they manifest even in fully air conditioned rooms.
In women it is often accompanied by hot flashes and excessive swearing that often drenches the night clothes and bed sheets. There are several causes of night sweats.
Dreaming
Stress or anxiety is one of the causes of night sweats as it stimulates physiological reactions as if the dream is real. Your body reacts to any stimulus in the dream as if it were real so when you dream of a frightening or a nerve wracking adventure, you wake up with a fast heartbeat, gasping for breath and sweating excessively.
Sometimes excessive dreaming can also be due to an underlying neurological condition that needs professional management.
Menopause
A common cause of night sweats for women is menopause and this is due to the fluctuating hormones, which affect the activation of the sweat glands that lead to excessive sweating.
Infection
Another common cause of night sweats is the manifestation of an ongoing infection in the body like pulmonary tuberculosis, urinary tract infection, osteomyelitis, appendicitis, diverticulitis and endocarditis.
Sweating is the body’s defense mechanism to get rid of too much heat inside the body. Although sweating alone in this scenario is not the direct culprit, it is a signal that will tell you that something is wrong.
Other Health Conditions
Several other conditions cause night sweats; HIV infection, cancer, hypoglycemia and sleep apnea are some of them. In these conditions, it is recommended to see your healthcare provider as soon as possible to address more serious health ailments.
Side Effect of Certain Medications
A common cause of night sweat is the side effects of some medications like anti-depressant drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), cortisone, prednisone, prednisolone and antipyretic drugs.
Basically the cooler you can make yourself at night better you will feel and the more you will be healthy; but it’s not simply about what sheets you’re wearing; it also comes down to what you take and drink.
In the evenings, there are certain things that you should refrain from drinking. Basically, try to limit your intake of coffee and alcohol and refrain spicy foods; all of these could aggravate your body and cause night sweats.
