Often people turn to doctors with complaints of profuse, unpleasant sweating of the body during sleep. If this is the result of an infectious disease with a fever or the use of warm bedding, then this process is normal. But what if the problem persists and it is not possible to get rid of it?
About the problem
Why does a person sweat? This happens when the body needs to cool down or remove unwanted substances from the body. In a normal state, we get rid of 700-1000 ml of fluid every day with sweat, an ailment in which this figure becomes larger is called hyperhidrosis. Nocturnal hyperhidrosis occurs in people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. It is important not to close your eyes to this problem, because it can be not just your unpleasant feature, but a symptom of a serious illness.
While many people think they're the only ones who sweat heavily while sleeping, it's not uncommon. Many patients admit to doctors that they wake up in the morning on a wet bed, and usually not the whole body sweats, but mainly the head and back. This delivers not only inconvenience for the person himself and his loved ones, the disease can greatly affect the psychological state, social communication and self-confidence. Therefore, at the first manifestations of increased sweating during sleep, it is necessary to consult a doctor. If there are no complaints about anything else, you need to consult a therapist, he will conduct an examination and, having discovered the problem, will refer you to the right specialist.
Idiopathic hyperhidrosis
In another way, this pathology is also called primary hyperhidrosis. This is an individual feature of the body, which is not a symptom of any other disease. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis is the rarest cause of heavy sweating during sleep. It usually begins to develop in childhood or adolescence, if left untreated, it can become a chronic disease. However, after the age of 40, hyperhidrosis usually goes away on its own, but few people are willing to put up with this problem for such a long time.
The causes of this disease have not yet been precisely established. Some researchers believe that the increased number of sweat glands is to blame, and therefore, under normal circumstances, they are all in an active state, and many times more sweat is produced than an ordinary person. The latter are sure that the number of sweat glands in patients does not exceed the norm, but they react more sharply to all the changes that occur. Often, the impetus for profuse sweating in such people is stressful situations or emotional upheavals. In 40% of the patients surveyed, a similar problem was seen in previous generations, so idiopathic hyperhidrosis in some cases can be considered hereditary.
However, usually in a dream in such patients, on the contrary, sweating decreases, because the body calms down and is not subjected to stress. Why this cause is the rarest, more often night sweats are a wake-up call to another disease.
Hormonal imbalance
Due to hormonal disorders in the body, very serious changes can occur. It is in connection with the imbalance of hormones that increased sweating occurs with the onset of adolescence, during pregnancy or menopause in women. The endocrine system is responsible for hormones, all hormonal disorders indicate that it has failed. In this case, you should not postpone visiting a specialist, as this failure can be the beginning of serious diseases, such as diabetes, loss of vision, etc.
Sweating during sleep due to hormonal imbalance is more common in women than in men. For the fair half, a sudden fever and excessive sweating can mean the onset of menopause. Men sweat profusely during sleep if they have an acute testosterone deficiency in their body, usually as a result of some kind of medical treatment. Testosterone naturally decreases with age, but this normal hormonal change cannot lead to nocturnal hyperhidrosis.
Sleep disturbance
In simple terms, insomnia. Excessive sweating is not its symptom, but it itself can be the cause of hyperhidrosis. If you constantly experience problems with sleep, then you should think about going to the doctor, because insomnia can be the starting point for neurological diseases and mental disorders. Influencing directly on the nervous system, sleep disturbance causes stress, irritability, which is why a person begins to sweat profusely.
Another cause of insomnia and, as a result, increased sweating, may be taking medications. Very often in our time, people do not consider it necessary to consult a doctor with their problem and begin to self-medicate. Without taking into account the characteristics of their body, they use antidepressants that can be bought without a prescription. Of course, not in every case, but quite often they entail insomnia and heavy sweating.
Oncological diseases
Oncological diseases are difficult to detect immediately, since they often manifest themselves in the later stages, when treatment is no longer possible. That is why cancer is the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease. If a person sweats a lot in a dream, a tumor may be the reason for this. In 99% of cases, neoplasms are benign, but do not forget about the remaining 1%.
Sweating during sleep occurs in oncological diseases due to the fact that metabolic products and decay of the neoplasm enter the bloodstream, which cause an increase in body temperature. The sweat glands react to these changes with increased work, which is why a person wakes up in a wet bed. Therefore, if you notice unhealthy sweating during sleep, you must definitely undergo an examination. If nothing serious is found, during the treatment you will get rid of this unpleasant feature of your body, but if a malignant tumor is diagnosed in the early stages, it can be cured.
Sweating in tuberculosis
Why does a person sweat with tuberculosis during sleep? There is no definite answer to this question, but researchers believe that the negative effect of toxins on the nervous system is to blame. In the classic work of S.P. Botkin on tuberculosis, it was mentioned that night sweats are the reason for the body's desire to balance the balance of the body in changing conditions. In addition, a person may sweat due to impaired thermoregulation and metabolism.
If the body temperature remains unchanged, excessive sweating can be explained by the need to remove a large amount of toxins from the body. This phenomenon greatly affects the psychological state of the patient, because in addition to the main symptoms of tuberculosis, they also have to deal with excessive sweating.
Prevention of excessive sweating at night
If you figured out why sweating occurs in a dream, you need to create conditions for yourself so that it no longer bothers you. In addition to the above causes of excessive sweating, there can be very commonplace:
- High temperature in the room, warm bed linen. Each reacts in its own way to changes in ambient temperature, some do not notice it at all, while others feel even small fluctuations, which is why they begin to sweat. A warm blanket or sheet will not improve the situation, especially in the hot season. Before going to bed, open the window, if it gets too cold, just ventilate the room for 10-15 minutes, close the window and go to bed, it will be much more comfortable. In addition, choose high-quality bedding and pajamas made from natural materials, if you are often hot at night, choose a thin fabric.
- Bad habits. Smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages can cause excessive sweating, especially before bed, as your body flushes out toxins from your blood. To avoid this, you should reconsider your lifestyle, because such addictions can cause not only sweating, they can cause very serious diseases, the result of which can be fatal.
- Wrong nutrition. Modern supermarkets provide us with a huge selection of all kinds of delicacies, as a result of which we succumb to the temptation and buy many of them. But it should be understood that the body has certain needs for saturation with the necessary substances, their excess just leads to increased sweating. Usually the causative agent of nocturnal hyperhidrosis is spicy, sweet and fatty foods that were taken just before bedtime. The body cannot cope with the amount of substances harmful to it that came with food, and removes them through the sweat glands.
- Excess weight. Overweight people are familiar with the problem of increased sweating, not only at night, but also during the day. The best option for them would be to review the diet and treat with a nutritionist, this will help get rid of not only sweating, but also other inconveniences that accompany obesity. In addition, you can go in for sports, which will allow you to get in shape to please yourself and others.
- Stress. We live in a hectic world – morning commutes or long hours in traffic jams, dissatisfied customers and unfair bosses, family problems – all this can throw us off balance. The nervous system sends signals about a stressful situation to the sweat glands, and they begin to work actively. To eliminate this cause, you can drink decoctions of soothing herbs, such as chamomile, calendula or mint, before going to bed, do yoga or sign up for a massage.
There is no need to consider the problem of excessive sweating shameful, do not be afraid to visit a doctor. Only you are responsible for your health, so watch it conscientiously so that nothing darkens your everyday life. Getting rid of health problems also entails psychological improvements, you will become more self-confident and open to others.
