(TL;DR: Night sweats absolutely dont need to be severe to warrant seeking help!)
What are night sweats?
You might also experienceheart palpitations.
These symptoms can continue for yearsup to a decade in some cases.
What causes night sweats during menopause?
Everyones body has a comfortable temperature range.
OB/GYN in Santa Monica, California, and medical co-founder of Perelel
As women approach menopause, this range becomes more limited.
Theres a lot we still dont understand about why this happens.
But like most changes that occur during perimenopause and menopause, estrogen is thought to be a likely culprit.
One theory is that decreased estrogen causes a disruption in the way body temperature is regulated in the brain.
The brains thermostat is completely offset, causing body temperature to fluctuate and triggering erratic night sweats.
Other internal and external factors can lead to night sweats:
1.
If the room is too hot, its natural for your body to start sweating to cool down.
So when you are hot, no melatonin, and no sleep.
Enter: night sweats.
OB/GYN in Santa Monica, California, and medical co-founder of Perelel
Alcohol can also trigger night sweats, Dr. Vyas says.
The mechanism is a little complicated.
But according to the American Addiction Centers,alcohol acts as a vasodilator, meaning it widens your vessels.
Wider blood vessels let blood travel faster throughout your body, distributing heat and making you flushed.
Your liver also creates heat as it works to process the alcohol.
This might make you feel warm and trigger sweating.
Heres Exactly How It Can Affect Your Poop
There are various reasons why a medication could cause night sweats.
(In fact, an estimated20 percent of people on antidepressantsdeal with excessive sweating.)
Common colds and the flu are known to trigger fevers, chills, and cold sweats.
Your night sweats might coincide with other symptoms like fever, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes.
Hyperhidrosis
Breus says hyperhidrosis is another potential cause of night sweats.
In most instances, hyperhidrosis shows up on the hands, feet, face, and under the arms.
People with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also oftenexperience night sweats and other sleep disturbances.
In fact, researchers found that people with hyperhidrosishave anxiety and depression at higher ratescompared to the general population.
How to stop night sweats
1.
Try the following nighttime habits to keep your body temperature as cool as possible:
2.
Ultimately, the best way to manage disruptive night sweats is HRT, says Dr. Ross.
Hormone replacement therapy is often thought to be unsafe, but this is a common misconception, experts stress.
And other women may simply prefer to avoid hormone treatments.
If thats the case, there are other medications that have also been shown to ease hot flashes.
you’ve got the option to search for a CBT therapist via theAssociation for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
You dont have to have tried everything before coming in.
Thats important, and not only because night sweats are unpleasant when theyre happening.
Severe night sweats may also increase your risk of cardiovascular disease,researchhas found.
We dont want to have to wait to deal with them, says Dr. Patil.
…
Got it, you’ve been added to our email list.
