Brief overview
- Causes: Unfavorable sleeping conditions, alcohol, nicotine, spicy food, hormonal fluctuations, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases, medication, psychological stress.
- When to see a doctor: A visit to the doctor is advisable if the night sweats persist for more than three to four weeks and are accompanied by other complaints such as pain, fever, weight loss or fatigue.
- Treatment: Depending on the underlying cause.
- Diagnosis: Initial consultation with the family doctor including physical examination, if necessary further examinations by a specialist (internist, endocrinologist, oncologist, psychotherapist).
- Prevention: sleep hygiene, avoidance of alcohol, nicotine and caffeinated beverages, relaxation, generally healthy lifestyle
Why do I sweat at night?
Possible causes of night sweats are:
Unfavorable sleeping conditions
Lifestyle habits
Excessive alcohol, caffeine and nicotine consumption, as well as spicy foods, cause many people to experience extreme night sweats. Therefore, refrain from smoking and consuming alcohol, coffee, cola as well as spicy food and sumptuous meals, especially in the evening before going to bed.
Hormonal fluctuations
Menopause causes hot flashes and sweating in many women. The frequency and extent of sweating vary from woman to woman. For some sufferers, the sweating attacks also occur at night. The cause of sweating is hormonal changes: while the female sex hormones progesterone and estrogen are decreasing, the amount of the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline is increasing. These in turn boost sweat production, even at night.
Metabolic diseases
Night sweats are a typical symptom of diabetes mellitus. Caution is advised for diabetics who repeatedly sweat profusely, especially at night: Extreme night sweats are a warning sign of impending hypoglycemia. Ask your doctor for advice on what to do in such cases.
In some cases, night sweats indicate pancreatic disease (pancreatic insufficiency).
Infectious diseases
Infectious diseases such as a cold or the flu (influenza) cause the internal body temperature to rise. Fever is a sign that the immune system is active and fighting off the pathogen. To cool down the body, sweat production increases – during the day and at night.
Autoimmune diseases
Medication
In some cases, medications trigger heavy sweating at night. Usually it occurs as a side effect only at the beginning of taking the medication, but sometimes it occurs because the medication is taken in the wrong dosage or for too long. Medications that cause night sweats include:
- Antidepressants (drugs used to treat depression).
- Neuroleptics (drugs used to treat mental illnesses such as neurosis).
- Blood pressure lowering medicines
- Medicines for bronchitis
- medicines for asthma
- hormone-blocking medicines such as those used to treat breast or prostate cancer
- hormone medicines like those used to treat endometriosis
If you suspect that a particular medication is causing night sweats, ask your doctor for advice. Do not discontinue the drug on your own authority!
Neurological diseases
Heavy sweating on cold skin is an alarm signal and possibly a sign of an impending stroke or heart attack. Call an emergency doctor immediately!
Mental stress
Permanent mental states of emergency cause increased sweat to be produced both during the day and at night. Other possible triggers of night sweats are burnout, anxiety disorders and nightmares.
Cancer
In rare, severe cases, night sweats are a sign of cancer. This mainly concerns cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, myelofibrosis or osteomyelofibrosis.
When to see a doctor?
In any case, night sweats should be clarified by the doctor if:
- You sweat frequently and very heavily at night.
- The night sweats persist for more than three to four weeks.
- Other complaints such as pain, fever, unwanted weight loss or fatigue are also present.
- You notice cold night sweats.
What does the doctor do?
It is often helpful to create a kind of “sleep diary” a few days before the visit to the doctor. The patient writes down whether, how often and in what context (alcohol consumption, stress, special foods) the night sweats occur. This gives the doctor initial clues as to the cause of the night sweats.
Necessary examinations for further clarification may include:
- Physical examination (e.g. body temperature, blood pressure)
- Blood test
- Ultrasound, X-ray
- Electrocardiogram (ECG), e.g. if cardiac arrhythmia is suspected
- Neurological examination, e.g. if Parkinson’s disease is suspected
- Bone marrow puncture, e.g. if lymph node cancer is suspected
What is night sweat?
Those affected often suffer from magnesium deficiency, which is noticeable through fatigue, headaches and muscle cramps. The reason for this is that not only fluids but also salts and minerals such as magnesium are released with the sweat.
The symptoms of night sweats differ from normal sweating or disorders of sweat production by the following characteristics:
- Night sweats only occur at night; during the day, affected persons sweat “normally”.
- The upper body (chest, back), neck and head are particularly frequently affected, with beads of sweat on the forehead.
- There is excessive sweating over a long period of time (over three to four weeks).
- Pajamas and bedding are wet, sometimes need to be changed during the night.
Treatment
If the reason for night sweats is a harmless cold, it will subside as soon as the infection is over.
Systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus or thyroid problems can be treated well with appropriate therapy. In the case of cancer, the focus is on treating the tumor.
If medication is the trigger for night sweats, the doctor will change the medication and prescribe another, equivalent medication.
Prevention
These tips can help prevent extreme night sweats:
- Try to live a healthy life! This will prevent general diseases such as diabetes mellitus or high blood pressure, which can trigger night sweats!
- Refrain from nicotine and alcohol!
- Do not consume caffeinated beverages before going to bed!
- Do not eat spicy food in the evening!
- Avoid being overweight!
- Adjust the bed cover to the corresponding season!
- The temperature in the bedroom should not exceed 18 degrees!
- Ensure relaxation before going to bed: Listen to quiet music, read a book, or take a warm bath!
- Drink sage tea before going to bed. The rosmarinic acid contained in it can prevent excessive sweating in some cases.
