Night sweats are not uncommon and usually nothing to worry about. However, nights sweats may be cause for concern if they:
- Occur regularly
- Disrupt your sleep
- Are accompanied by:
- Fever
- Chills
- Unintended weight loss
- Other concerning symptoms
What causes night sweats?
Night sweats occur when blood vessels in the body expand and contract, causing a rush of heat that spreads through the body that may be accompanied by sweating, skin reddening, and rapid heartbeat. Potential causes of night sweats include:
- Hormone imbalance. Sweating or flushing is a common symptom of hormonal disorders, including pheochromocytoma, carcinoid syndrome, and hyperthyroidism.
- Menopause. Hot flashes can occur during menopause as the ovaries produce less estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which can lead to night sweats.
- Infections. Infections that can cause night sweats include tuberculosis, endocarditis (inflammation of the heart valves), osteomyelitis (bone inflammation), abscesses, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
- Medications. Medications that can cause night sweats include drugs for mental health disorders such as antidepressants, hormone therapies, diabetes medications, medications to bring down fevers (aspirin and acetaminophen), and steroids.
- Hypoglycemia. Low glucose levels can cause excessive sweating as part of a counter-regulatory hormonal response. People who are taking insulin or oral diabetes drugs may have hypoglycemia at night, which causes sweating.
- Cancer. Night sweats are an early side effect of certain cancers, especially blood cancer. This occurs as the body tries to fight the cancer and hormonal changes cause a raised temperature or fever.
Other conditions that are related to night sweats include:
- Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating)
- Neurological problems, including autonomic dysreflexia, autonomic neuropathy (damage to autonomic nerves), syringomyelia (cyst growth in the spinal cord), stroke, etc.
- Anxiety and depression
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Substance abuse, including alcohol and drugs such as heroin and cocaine
How are night sweats treated?
Night sweats are usually a symptom of an underlying issue. To determine the cause, your doctor may take your medical history and order tests to confirm a diagnosis.
Treatment for night sweats involves addressing the underlying condition. For example, if night sweats are caused by menopause, hormone therapies, estrogen, progestin, or both may be used.
Management strategies that can help you reduce night sweats include:
- Wearing loose-fitting, lightweight, cotton pajamas
- Turning on a bedroom fan or opening windows
- Sipping cool water throughout the night
- Avoiding triggers such as alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeine
- Practicing deep breathing, yoga, and other relaxation techniques
- Exercising regularly
- Eating a healthy diet low in fat and sugar
- Not eating 2-3 hours before bed
Cleveland Clinic. Night Sweats and Women's Health. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/16562-night-sweats-and-womens-health
Suni E. Common Causes of Night Sweats and How to Fix Them. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/night-sweats
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Night Sweats
Night sweats are severe hot flashes that occur at night and result in a drenching sweat. The causes of night sweats in most people are not serious, like menopause in women, sleep apnea, medications, alcohol withdrawal, and thyroid problems. However, more serious diseases like cancer and HIV also can cause night sweats. Your doctor will treat your night sweats depending upon the cause.
You may experience other signs and symptoms that are associated with night sweats, which depend upon the cause, but may include, shaking, and chills with a fever caused by an infection like the flu or pneumonia; unexplained weight loss due to lymphoma; women in perimenopause or menopause may also have vaginal dryness, mood swings, and hot flashes during the day; and low blood sugar in people with diabetes.
Other causes of night sweats include medications like NSAIDs (aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), antidepressants, sildenafil (Viagra), and abuse of prescription or illegal drugs and drug withdrawal; hormone disorders like pheochromocytoma and carcinoid syndrome; idiopathic hyperhidrosis; infections like endocarditis, AIDs, and abscesses; alcoholism and alcohol withdrawal; drug abuse, addiction, and withdrawal; and stroke.
A doctor or other health care professional can treat your night sweats after the cause has been diagnosed.
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An individual should be concerned about night sweats when they have been ongoing for two weeks or longer.