Consistent, uninterrupted sleep is crucial for your overall health and well-being. It can drastically improve your mood, boost energy and productivity, reset your metabolism and even increase your body's ability to fight disease and illness. But achieving those precious eight hours of sleep is difficult if you keep waking up in the middle of the night, soaked in sweat.
Not only are night sweats annoying, but they can also rob you of the restful sleep you need. Anyone who has experienced night sweats is familiar with the routine: You fall asleep, wake up sweating a few hours later, kick the covers off, toss and turn, then begrudgingly get up, peel off the damp pajamas and put a clean set of sheets on the bed.
If you're waking up too hot, don't sweat it -- there are ways to stay cool while you sleep. We'll discuss the seven leading causes of irritating night sweats and the best remedies to help you sleep soundly through the night.
For even better sleep, read about our favorite mattresses and pillows of the year.
How to stop sweating while sleeping
Tara Youngblood, a sleep expert and founder of Chili Technology (appropriately, a manufacturer of temperature-controlled bed accessories), says that ending night sweats for good is about attacking the root cause. Here, she offers tips for four of the most common causes of night sweats.
1. Take a second look at your mattress
"Your body is an engine," Youngblood says. "It is constantly giving off heat while you sleep, [and] there are some materials that actually increase your body temperature while you sleep." She points to foam as a common culprit, noting that some foam mattresses can reflect heat back to you, causing you to sweat more.
2. Consider your blankets and comforters, too
"Make sure your covers aren't working against you," Youngblood says. "Your blankets could be restricting you from cooling off by blocking out the cool air your fan or AC is bringing."
Youngblood says that when you sleep under covers, you create a "cave" for your body to sleep in, and it's important to make sure that your cave stays cold with cooling blankets or airy materials like linen and cotton.
Your covers and blankets could actually be working against you.
3. Adjust the temperature in your room
Make sure you lower the temperature in the bedroom before going to sleep. This activates your body to cool down naturally. If your room stays the same temperature all day, your body becomes accustomed to the temperature and will not lower in your sleep. If you cannot lower the temperature of your room, take a cool or cold shower before jumping into bed.
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4. Refrain from alcohol or heavy meals before bed
Youngblood says alcohol and dense food before bed can also crank up your body heat at night. Try to avoid both a few hours before bed to encourage your core body temperature to lower, which will reduce sweating during sleep. If you need to eat a meal before bed or have a late-night snack, learn about the best foods for better sleep.
What causes night sweats? Here are 7 potential reasons
The easy answer would be that your AC isn't set low enough, but people who sweat in their sleep no matter the temperature know it's not that simple.
When you feel like you've tried everything -- from frigid AC temps and fans on full blast to "cooling sheets" and sleeping in the nude -- but nothing has worked, you may want to give up and accept daily sheet-changing as your destiny.
Not so fast: The first step to solving any health-related condition is understanding the cause. From there, you can work with a health professional or try home remedies to eliminate the symptom.
Night sweats can come about for a ton of reasons. Here are some of the most common.
1. Your bedding
Your sleep setup might honestly be the problem. Your sheets, mattress pad, pillows and mattress itself may be causing you to sweat at night. Look into cooling or temperature-regulating sheets -- best-case scenario is you solve your night sweats; worst-case scenario is you get some nice new sheets.
2. Hormonal changes
When your hormone levels fluctuate wildly or go through a period of change, you might sweat at night. A common example is women going through menopause. One of the unpleasant symptoms of menopause is night sweats, and it's mainly due to the decreasing levels of estrogen in a woman's body. Pregnancy and menstrual cycles may also influence your body's core temperature at night. For men, low testosterone might contribute.
3. Medications
Some prescription medications may cause you to sweat at night. If you're on any prescriptions, ask your doctor if night sweats are a side effect.
4. Medical conditions
Likewise, many medical conditions can cause night sweats. According to Mayo Clinic, that includes hyperthyroidism, anxiety disorders, autoimmune disorders, sleep apnea, drug addictions, neurological conditions and more. Viral infections can also cause night sweats due to a fever.
5. Alcohol and diet
Drinking alcohol before bed can cause you to sweat at night because it affects your nervous system functioning and core body temperature. While there's little evidence to suggest that food alone can cause night sweats, it's thought that certain types of food, especially spicy and high-fat foods, can make preexisting night sweats worse.
6. Hyperhidrosis
Since we're talking about sweat, hyperhidrosis -- excessive sweating -- deserves a special mention. If you tend to sweat excessively during the day and at night, you may want to talk to your doctor about this condition and whether you could have it.
7. Stress
High levels of stress can manifest as physical symptoms, including night sweats. Stress-induced night sweats may be accompanied by scary nightmares or stressful dreams, rapid breathing, elevated heart rate and trouble falling asleep because of worries or anxiety.