Night Sweats

Night sweats, medically termed "sleep hyperhidrosis," are episodes of nighttime sweating, ranging from mild to profuse perspiration. Night sweats are similar to the hot flashes that can affect menopausal women during the waking hours.

Oftentimes, night sweats can be so intense that they interrupt a woman's sleep, which can affect many aspects of her daily life. Common symptoms of night sweats include sudden and intense heat, irregular heartbeat, nausea, flushing, chills, and headaches.

Women with menopause-related night sweats may experience anywhere from mild to severe symptoms, varying in duration, during their usual sleeping hours.

Who Is affected?

Many women in their 40s and 50s develop night sweats, often beginning before the cessation of the menstrual cycle. One study found that approximately 19% of women aged 40 - 55 who still had regular periods experienced night sweats. Most women begin to develop symptoms two to ten years before menopause occurs, during the span of time called perimenopause.

Many different factors contribute to how women experience menopause symptoms. Age, race, and other factors can influence how likely a woman is to develop night sweats during menopause.

Age

Age can affect a woman's experience of night sweats. One large study found that younger women are far more likely to experience night sweats. Another found that only 10% of patients older than 64 experienced night sweats.

Race

Studies have found that the prevalence of night sweats varies by race. One study found that three in four Caucasian women experience night sweats. Another found that African-American women were more likely to have night sweats than Caucasian or Hispanic women. Asian women were the least likely to report night sweats.

Click here to learn more about night sweats, or continue reading below to learn what causes night sweats.

Many women who experience night sweats want to know the reason behind their symptoms. While the exact cause of night sweats is unknown, hormonal fluctuations are one of the primary factors in most menopause symptoms.

Hormonal causes

During menopause, estrogen production levels drastically decrease. This change affects the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for the regulating body temperature. As a result, the hypothalamus often prompts a series of physiological reactions resulting in hot flashes or night sweats.

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Other causes

While hormonal imbalance is the most common cause of menopausal night sweats, there are also rare medical causes, such as diabetes, anxiety, neurological conditions, sleep apnea, cancer, and thyroid disorder.

Night sweat triggers

Certain factors can increase the duration and severity of night sweats. Avoiding these triggers can help to alleviate both hot flashes and night sweats.

Click here to find out more about the causes of night sweats, or continue reading below to learn more about treatments.

Treating of night sweats often begins with lifestyle changes. This approach typically involves avoiding night sweats triggers and taking steps to relieve stress and improve diet and exercise. Tryptophan, for example, is an amino acid that helps aid in sleep and can be found in dairy products, nuts, and eggs. By incorporating more tryptophan in your diet, you can improve your overall quality of sleep.

While these lifestyle changes can help to relieve night sweats and improve sleep patterns, they do not treat the root cause of night sweats, which is hormonal imbalance.

Fortunately, alternative medicine treatments can safely and effectively correct hormonal imbalances with little or no risk. In fact, many experts recommend combining lifestyle changes and alternative medicine for symptom management.

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For some women, however, these changes are not enough to alleviate their symptoms. In such cases, they may want to consider prescription drugs or other clinical methods. Before beginning these treatments, however, it is recommended that women consult a trusted medical professional to better understand the potential benefits and risks of these prescription medications.

Most experts recommend that women begin with lifestyle changes and alternative medicines before trying prescription medications in order to alleviate their night sweats. The best treatment options, however, vary from woman to woman. Click on the following link to learn specific treatments for night sweats during menopause in these three categories.