The medicine

Causes of night sweats: heavy sweating during sleep

Profuse night sweats are an annoying problem that prevents many people from sleeping. It can also be a symptom of some serious illness. If a person begins to be disturbed by severe night sweats, then it is time for him to carefully analyze the environment, his state of health and his daily lifestyle. In the best case, it is necessary to change living conditions, and in the worst case, it is imperative to deal with the treatment of the disease.

The reasons

If a person begins to wake up sweaty, then the body needs to remove unnecessary substances from the body or cool down. In a normal physical state, the body gets rid of fluid in an amount of up to one liter per day by sweating.

If sweating is increased, it is called hyperhidrosis. A condition such as hyperhidrosis can occur in young children and in the elderly.

External causes

Most often, the causes of increased sweating when a person sleeps lie on the surface. External factors include:


Internal causes

  • Infectious diseases. Such diseases go along with fever. Also, heavy sweating at night is associated with increased body temperature. In such situations, measure the temperature more often, and, if necessary, take antipyretic drugs.
  • Tuberculosis. Because of this disease, sleepers often sweat during sleep.
  • Hormonal disorders. Often, night sweats can be caused by diabetes. Also, hormonal disorders include malfunctions of the pancreas and thyroid glands. This can lead to a gradual lack of hormones, while causing sweating during sleep.

Sweating in women

Women often have questions about night sweats and its causes. Excessive sweating at night can result from the onset of menopause. This happens when the ovaries stop producing female hormones.

Such hormonal disorders cause a woman to malfunction in the hypothalamus - a small part of the brain, which is responsible for many functions in the body, including sweating.

With a sharp decrease in the production of female hormones, the body mistakenly associates this failure with a decrease in temperature. At the same time, he tries by all means to increase it in order to achieve thermal equilibrium. Therefore, during such a period, a woman feels severe sweating at night.

Sweating in men

In men, profuse sweating is not uncommon. But in addition to the main internal and external factors, there are also features of the male body, due to which men may experience severe sweating at night:


Sweating in children

Most often, excessive sweating at night during sleep occurs in children under one year old. This is directly related to the development of sweat glands.

Factors that cause increased sweating during sleep in children:

  • Hyperactivity. Excessive increased activity during the day is caused by a violation of the central nervous system of the body. Because of this, the cells give false signals to the brain about the lack of heat.
  • Lack of vitamin D. This condition can be called the initial stage of rickets. And the first symptom of the disease is increased night sweating. At the same time, the sweat and body of the child exude an unpleasant odor.
  • Cold. A few days before the onset of a runny nose and cough, the child sweats profusely at night. If a child complains that he wakes up in a cold sweat, this may be one of the first signs for parents that he is sick.
  • Prematurity of the child. Babies born prematurely may notice increased sweating during sleep, most often during feedings at night. It is quite difficult for a child to absorb milk. To do this, he spends more energy, which causes sweating.

Features of treatment

First of all, it is worth finding out why the disease manifested itself. First of all, you need to be examined by doctors.

If, after all the examinations, doctors do not find a health problem, then it should be assumed that this is hyperhidrosis. This disease is considered an independent disease, and the fight against it is to get rid of the symptoms. For example, if sweating occurs in a certain part of the body, then the doctor begins to treat this particular area.

Popular methods of getting rid of hyperhidrosis:


Prevention

If sweating at night is in no way connected with illness, medication and hormonal imbalance, then the work of the sweat glands can be normalized in this way:

  • Eat less at night. The last meal should be at least 2.5 hours before bedtime. A full stomach will cause you to wake up sweating heavily at night.
  • If possible, sleep with the windows open to ensure a constant supply of air. The temperature in the room should not be higher than 20 degrees.
  • It is worth paying special attention to hygiene. With too much sweating, a contrast shower is useful. Before going to bed, first take a shower under warm water so that all the pores open up and all excess moisture leaves the cells and glands. Then take a colder shower, which will close the pores, eliminating night sweats.

If suddenly you yourself could not determine the cause of the disease, then you should not postpone a visit to the doctor. If you do not understand, do not look for reasons, then this can lead to a lot of serious and unpleasant consequences. An experienced specialist will help get rid of the hated disease and make your sleep serene and calm.