This condition, sleep hyperhidrosis, is better known to people as “night sweats”. A great amount of sweating occurs during the sleep for someone who has this condition and it can also happen not only during sleep but also during the day, but not necessarily always.
Such sweating is not specific to any particular age, but it is more often observed in younger adults. It is also not gender specific. Night sweats in men and night sweats in women have both been observed.
Is Sweating while Sleeping Harmful?
From one side, sleep hyperhidrosis is harmless, because it is just sweating or discomfort, but does not create any harm to the body, however, it can disrupt the ability of the person to sleep properly and result in a lack of sleep or, in a longer term, sleep deprivation. Looking at this condition from that angle clearly shows that night sweats are harmful.
Night Sweats and Hormonal Changes
Hormonal changes can be the cause of sleep hyperhidrosis. This is often observed in women either when they are pregnant or when they have menopause / perimenopause. Naturally since the cause itself in this case is not a bad habit or some other disease it is not really possible to prevent night sweats from forming.
Just Excessive Sweating or Sleep Hyperhidrosis?
It is also important to understand that not any kind of sweating can be categorized as night sweats. For example an increase in temperature or a warmer bedroom temperature or perhaps new warmer bed sheets can result in excessive sweating, but this is not the same as sleep hyperhidrosis. Night sweats can be seen as a symptom of a much bigger health issue and in some cases the real reason behind is life threatening. This is exactly why it has to be carefully established that you are indeed having night sweats and rule out any of the mentioned “simple” reasons to make certain you are not just having sweating while sleeping.
Other Causes of Night Sweats
- Being overweight or obese will naturally make you sweat a lot more
- If you are under a lot of stress or anxiety, again, you can sweat much more
- Alcohol intake
- Eating more spicy foods
- Smoking
- Side effects of other medications you are taking for other issues
Sleep Hyperhidrosis Treatment or Relief
Curing night sweats is not a simple task. As mentioned you may be having night sweats because of an underlying bigger health problem and therefore that real cause needs to be treated and not the night sweats themselves.
In the meantime, people have been able to find some peace and relief from sleep hyperhidrosis / night sweats by always having a cold glass of water near the bed, avoiding caffeinated or hot drinks, spicy foods or using specially made items like moisture absorbing pyjamas.
