One of the most common symptoms of menopause is hot flushes, and similar to those, are night sweats. Night sweats menopause could be mild or they could be severe enough to disturb sleep and while some women experience them on a regular basis, others have them infrequently.

Also night sweats menopause could in some cases also be accompanied by other symptoms such as irregular heartbeat, flushing, chills, headaches and nausea as well.

reasons for night sweats menopauseNight sweats menopause is commonly seen, but sometimes night sweats can occur due to certain other reasons, such as a condition called Idiopathic hyperhidrosis, certain cancers or infections, or due to certain medications.

In addition, certain hormone disorders, hypoglycemia, and even certain neurologic conditions could be responsible for the night sweats.

These causes and conditions must be ruled out in order to deal with night sweats menopause effectively.

Night sweats menopause can last for up to 20 minutes in some cases and can be extreme enough to drench one’s nightclothes and even require the bed to be changed. It is the hormonal imbalances that occur at this stage of a woman’s life, that cause hot flashes and night sweats menopause.

This hormonal imbalance causes the heat regulating area of the brain to malfunction and send signals to the blood vessels to dilate, to increase heart rate and open up the sweat glands.

Factors that increase a woman’s chances of suffering night sweats menopause are –

  • Being overweight or obese.
  • Being a smoker or a heavy drinker.
  • Having a naturally anxious nature or having a lot of stressors in life.
  • Having eating habits that include many hot spices, lots of sugar and caffeine.

Here are some tips to naturally managing night sweats menopause –

  • Take note of the instances of the night sweats; and the triggers that bring them on. Certain foods, or beverages or situations could bring them on, so indentify these and try and avoid these.
  • Consider nutritional supplements such as appropriate multivitamins to alleviate the frequency and severity of the night sweats. Consider making dietary adjustments to change the sort of cooking medium you use – switch to healthier oils that are rich in omega 3, and include more and fresher produce in the diet, while cutting out processed and sugary items.
  • Learn relaxation techniques such as meditation or even yoga, to enhance mental wellbeing and reduce stress. Stress can be one of the major triggers of night sweats menopause and lowering stress levels can greatly help.
  • Wear light, loose clothing to bed, and keep the covers light, while keeping the temperature to a low setting in the bedroom so that if you do have a night sweat, you don’t get so overheated and are less likely to sweat profusely. Also keep a change of clothing within arm’s reach so you can change without even having to get out of bed.

If you are able to reduce the severity of a night sweat in this way, and also minimize the disturbance that it causes, you may have better and more restful sleep, which is very important to get.