A Practical Guide to Managing Night Sweats

Perimenopause is something every woman has to deal with eventually. There are quite a few bothersome symptoms of menopause to deal with. As your body's hormones change, you can experience issues that include thinning hair, weight gain, hot flashes, changes in libido and, yes, night sweats. Not everyone experiences night sweats, but if you do, they can be really annoying.

Knowing how to deal with this annoying symptom can help you get through this time of your life in comfort.

Understanding Night Sweats

Menopause is not the only cause of night sweats, but up to 80% of women experience either night sweats or hot flashes, or both. Night sweats can also be caused by pregnancy, anxiety, stress, and certain medications. However, if you have other symptoms of perimenopause, then your night sweats are most likely caused by hormonal fluctuations. If in doubt, talk to your doctor, especially if your night sweats are disrupting sleep.

We don't fully understand what causes night sweats, but they are associated by changes in how your brain regulates blood pressure. This impacts the temperature range your body can tolerate, especially when asleep. This causes some level of sweating, which can be enough to sweat through night clothes and bedding, along with feelings of heat or cold, especially around your head, neck, and shoulders. You may also experience red or flushed skin and feel as if your heart is racing.

Night sweats are not the same thing as hot flashes, but many women experience both. Hot flashes can occur at any time of the day and produce a feeling of being overheated that's generally transient, but may or may not cause sweating. Night sweats are generally considered worse, but hot flashes can also disrupt sleep.

Impact on Daily Life

The biggest impact night sweats have on your daily life is that they wake you up. Many women experience significant difficulty getting back to sleep after an episode, and this can result in sleepless nights. Sleep disturbances then cause a higher risk of depression, lost productivity at work, and can impact relationships. If things get bad enough, you may experience daytime sleepiness that can make it dangerous to drive. Night sweats may also cause sleep interruptions for your partner, causing some couples to sleep separately.

Because of this, night sweats can have a disproportionate influence on overall quality of life, and on your relationships with your household. Women with night sweats face a higher risk of depression than those with hot flashes alone.

Lifestyle Adjustments

There are some lifestyle adjustments you can make that may help symptoms and will generally improve your health. These include:

• Creating a cool and comfortable sleep environment. Keep your bedroom a few degrees colder than the rest of the house. Reduce noise as much as you can, or use a white noise machine to drown out distracting sounds.
• Improving your stress management. If you know you are experiencing stress, you may want to talk to a therapist. Menopause itself can be stressful for many women, both because of the changes and the reminder of getting older.
• Exercising regularly. Exercise significantly improves the severity of night sweats, so keep up whatever you have been doing and increase it. Some women also find yoga particularly effective.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and spicy foods late at night. All three can sometimes trigger night sweat incidents. Keeping a food diary can also help you spot specific triggers. If you smoke, try to quit.

All of these can help reduce the number and severity of night sweat episodes.

Sleep Hygiene

One of the most important things you can do is practice good sleep hygiene. This reduces other sleep disturbances and can help you sleep through mild incidents so you don't wake yourself or your partner.

A consistent sleep routine is vital. You should:

• Go to bed and wake up at close to the same time, even on weekends
• Avoid doing anything but sleep and sex in bed
• Stop using screens an hour before your bedtime
• Avoid caffeine in the evening
• Don't overdo naps
• If you can't sleep after 20 minutes, get up and stretch or read for a bit
• Expose yourself to daylight. A quick walk outside right when you get up can do wonders for your sleep pattern.
• Eat your main meal earlier in the evening.

Many people also benefit from relaxation techniques. There are sleep aid apps you can get for your phone that will talk you through a relaxing meditation (keep the phone screen off).

Choose the right bedding and sleepwear. Choose bedding that helps you feel cool. It might be worth investing in a cooling mattress or a cooling mattress topper. Wear loose night clothes, and some people may find it easier to sleep naked. You may need to experiment to find the right combination for you.

Natural Remedies

While medication can help, so can natural remedies. Always use natural remedies carefully and tell your doctor what herbs you are using. Some herbs and supplements that are useful for night sweats:

• Black cohosh. It has been demonstrated to help with hot flashes and has a good safety record.
• Red clover. No studies have proven it works, but many women swear by it, and it has few side effects.
• Vitamin A. Ideally get this from orange and yellow fruits and vegetables rather than by supplements, as it's possible to take too much.
• Vitamin B-6. This helps raise low serotonin levels, which have been associated with night sweats. It also helps with mood swings and depression.
• Vitamin D. Most people are deficient in vitamin D, especially in colder or cloudier environments. A vitamin D supplement can help your bones and your mood.
• Vitamin E. This helps ease stress and reduces depression.

Pay attention to what you eat and how it impacts your symptoms.

Seeking Professional Advice

There is no medication you can take that is guaranteed to stop night sweats. Hormone replacement therapy can relieve the symptom by restoring your hormonal balance, but this is something that should be discussed to your doctor due to potential side effects and risk factors. However, some women find that HRT is the best way to get back their quality of life. Antidepressants can also be used to treat hot flashes and night sweats, specifically SSRIs. Some women also find oral contraceptives reduce perimenopause symptoms.

However, even if you have no intention of taking HRT, you should talk to your doctor. First of all, your doctor can make sure your night sweats are in fact caused by menopause not something else, such as an infection. Your doctor can also monitor your hormone levels and help you track when you actually enter menopause, and do bone density tests to establish your risk of osteoporosis.

Emotional Support and Community

Studies show that women with depression are more likely to experience night sweats. It's vital to share your experiences with friends and family, particularly older women. If you don't have anyone that can help, consider a support group for menopausal women. There's nothing wrong with seeking support. Menopause is often veiled by taboos, and heterosexual women may find their partner is uncomfortable talking about it and they need help elsewhere.

Therapy is another thing to consider, especially if you have a history of depression. A good therapist can help you with techniques to reduce stress and improve mood.

The key takeaway, though, is that if you are experiencing night sweats you need to make simple lifestyle changes, such as avoiding caffeine at night and improving your sleep hygiene. You may also find herbs and supplements helpful (but talk to your doctor about what you are taking). Menopause is a journey, and a completely natural one. Embrace it, but get the help you need.