Heavy sweating at night: The best tips & tricks against night sweats

When you wake up from sleep at night. Your shirt is sticking to your upper body, your bedding is wet and your pajamas are damp too, then you suffer from heavy sweating at night. (1). The profuse sweating is not caused by the room temperature being too high or the duvet being too warm. People who suffer from heavy night sweats are usually tired and very exhausted the following day. (2)

In this guide, we have summarized the possible causes of heavy night sweats and possible solutions to prevent heavy night sweats. If you also suffer from heavy night sweats, you should find a solution to this problem in this guide.

the essentials in brief

• Heavy sweating at night can have various causes, but night sweats are not always dangerous.
• Treatment for excessive night sweats depends on the cause.
• Heavy sweating at night can be prevented with the help of certain home and herbal remedies.

Definition: What does heavy night sweats mean?

If you sweat at night for a longer period of time, this is called night sweats from a medical point of view. However, heavy night sweats mean that the night sweats become so profuse that the sheets and pajamas get soaked. Sometimes the affected person even wakes up in the night and has to change clothes or even take a shower. Heavy night sweats are also known as nocturnal hyperhidrosis. (2)

Background: What you should know about heavy sweating at night

In the following we have summarized all possible background information about heavy sweating at night:

What causes night sweats?

There are many possible causes of heavy night sweats, such as poor sleeping conditions, zinc deficiency , alcohol consumption, magnesium deficiency, but also psychological causes. Some of these causes are listed below:

1. Poor sleeping conditions

A common reason for heavy sweating at night is a bedroom that is too warm or too much humidity. A disturbed biorhythm can also have a negative effect on sleep.

Irregular bedtimes can be a reason for night sweats. (Image source: unsplash / pulse shane)

If you e.g. For example, if you often go to bed at very different times and get little sleep as a result, you put a strain on your organism and suffer from problems falling asleep . Physical stress also leads to heavy sweating at night. (3)

2. Consumption of alcohol or spicy food

The consumption of alcohol, a lot of coffee and spicy food also leads to profuse sweating at night. This is because these substances make the heart beat faster, stimulate blood circulation and dilate blood vessels.

This increases the body temperature and at the same time the body has to take countermeasures to prevent overheating, which leads to profuse sweating at night. (3)

3. Psychological causes as a trigger for night sweats

Another reason that causes profuse night sweats is mental health issues. Examples can be a lot of stress in private life or at work but also anxiety disorders.(1)

Consciously or unconsciously, everyday problems are often taken to bed with them. As a result, the body is under tension and cannot switch off properly at night, so that the subconscious also works during sleep.

Among other things, this leads to nightmares and profuse sweating at night. This also includes mental illnesses such as depression or burnout syndrome, which cause heavy sweating at night. (3)

4. Illnesses as a trigger for night sweats

Physical illnesses can also be the cause of heavy sweating at night. Some of these diseases are listed below.

Illness	Explanation
infectious diseases	With infectious diseases, the body temperature increases, which can lead to profuse sweating at night. (3)
metabolic diseases	Another cause of heavy sweating at night are metabolic diseases such as hyperthyroidism or diabetes mellitus. (3)
autoimmune diseases	In the context of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system turns against the body for mostly unknown reasons, which usually leads to inflammation in the affected body regions. These overreactions of the body also cause profuse sweating at night. (3)
neurological diseases	Neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease or paraplegia can also lead to heavy sweating at night. (3)
cancer and blood diseases	Blood disorders and cancer can also cause profuse night sweats. However, these are among the rarer causes, but should still be considered. Unspecific signs such as weight loss and heavy night sweats can also indicate a tumor or blood cancer. (3)

In addition, idiopathic (primary) hyperhidrosis, which is abnormally increased sweat production for no apparent reason and without another medical condition as a possible trigger, can also be considered.

How dangerous is heavy sweating at night?

Heavy night sweats can also be a symptom of a serious medical condition.

Heavy sweating at night can often have harmless causes. However, heavy sweating at night often indicates serious illnesses such as cancer or tumors, but then there are usually other signs of illness as well. As long as you sweat profusely at night, but still feel healthy and are developing healthily, night sweats are not dangerous. (4)

How can excessive night sweating be treated?

Treatment for profuse night sweats depends on the cause. Symptoms usually subside when an infection is over. In such cases, a specific drug is responsible for the night sweats.

Here the doctor can adjust the dosage or choose a different composition that can reduce heavy sweating at night. But certain therapies can also help reduce stress and sweat-related anxiety. Such treatments may also help eliminate profuse night sweats with an underlying medical condition. (5)

Which medications trigger profuse sweating at night?

The side effects of medication can also lead to profuse sweating at night. Especially those that affect the autonomic nervous system. In addition to the metabolism and breathing, these also cause heavy sweating at night. Some of these drugs are listed below:

• Medicines for asthma and bronchitis
• Drugs used to treat depression (such as antidepressants)
• diabetes medication
• Antipyretics (e.g. paracetamol)

In some cases, however, heavy sweating at night is only a temporary and one-off phenomenon. The problem does not occur with other medications, or if it does, then only after a longer period of time. (3)

Why do children sweat at night?

Parents are usually concerned because their toddler sweats excessively at night. Heavy night sweats in toddlers is not a bad thing in most cases. As long as your child's heavy sweating at night is not accompanied by symptoms of shortness of breath, it is usually an individual predisposition and not a disease.

If the heavy sweating in children is not accompanied by symptoms of shortness of breath, then there is usually no disease behind it, but only an individual predisposition. (Image source: unsplash /Igordoon Primus)

However, it mostly depends on the children's activities how much they sweat at night. Because some children are always busy with quiet things and others run and jump constantly and then of course sweat a lot. (6)

When should you see a doctor for heavy night sweats?

If you have been suffering from very heavy night sweats for several weeks and the symptoms are particularly severe. For example, repeated night sweats, weight loss or fever over 40 degrees, then you should definitely see a doctor. (5,7,2)

Heavy sweating at night: The best tips & tricks against night sweats

In the last step, we clarified the possible questions about heavy sweating at night and its causes. But how can you avoid heavy sweating at night? To explain this, in this part we have summarized the possible tips that you can use to avoid heavy night sweats.

Home remedies for heavy night sweats:

As previously mentioned, treating excessive night sweats depends on the cause. Depending on the cause, the treatment of heavy night sweats also varies. However, there are a few tips that can help prevent excessive night sweats:

• Drink enough water a day
• Avoid fatty and spicy foods in the evening
• Try to avoid stress and take a break before bedtime, for example by reading a book or taking a warm bath
• Avoid bed linen made of synthetic materials. Instead, use light linens and wear light, airy clothing
• Ventilate the bedroom well before going to bed

You should also protect the bedroom from the summer heat in summer. For example, you can darken the windows of your room so that the bedroom does not heat up from the sun's rays. You can also put a fan in the room before you go to bed to provide some fresh air.

When sleeping, the room temperature should ideally be between 15 and 18°C.

In winter you should be careful not to heat up the bedroom too much. The ideal sleeping temperature is between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius. You should also not forget to air your room in winter, because airing creates a pleasant room climate that can prevent heavy sweating at night. (8.9)

Herbal remedies for heavy night sweats:

Sage is a particularly proven medicinal plant that can eliminate severe night sweats. (Image source: unsplash/ Phillip Larking)

Often, certain herbal remedies can also help eliminate profuse night sweating. Some of these herbal remedies and their uses are listed in the table below:

home remedies	use
Apple Cider Vinegar	The apple cider vinegar contracts the sweat glands and stabilizes the pH of the skin. The apple cider vinegar also helps eliminate heavy night sweats. Before going to bed, you can dab the parts of your body that sweat particularly heavily with a cloth soaked in apple cider vinegar or a washcloth and leave it on overnight. (10)
sage	Sage is also a particularly tried and tested medicinal plant that can also eliminate heavy night sweats. It is best to drink a cup of sage tea before going to bed. You can also use ready-made sage remedies from the pharmacy, which work against heavy sweating at night. But before using these remedies, it is important that you seek advice from a doctor to avoid unwanted side effects. (11)
tomato juice	Tomato juice also helps eliminate heavy night sweats and can reduce unpleasant body odor. To prevent heavy sweating at night, you can take a tomato bath. To do this, you need to pour three liters of tomato juice into the bath water and bathe in it for about fifteen minutes. You should repeat the process twice a week. (11)

From these tips, the best thing you can do is try them all and then find out which tip works best for you.

Conclusion

Heavy night sweats can have a variety of causes. Heavy sweating can only be dangerous if you notice other symptoms besides sweating, such as: B. weight loss or severe headaches. In such cases, you should consult a doctor immediately to have possible diseases clarified. (11)

Also, heavy night sweats are not dangerous until the other symptoms are recognized. Especially with small children, it is usually the case that they sweat profusely at night. But as long as your child is developing healthily, heavy night sweats are not a bad thing. You can also get rid of heavy night sweats with home remedies and herbal remedies such as apple cider vinegar, drinking enough water during the day and sage.

itemizations

1. GQ-magazin.de: Health: When does night sweats become dangerous? Maria Berentzen, 12/20/2019 Source
2. German Family Insurance: Night Sweats: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment October 31, 2019 Source
3. Strong against sweating: night sweats - causes and help for excessive sweating at night
4. Pharmacy review: sleep disorders: night sweats Andrea Blank-Koppenleitner, December 22nd, 2016 Source
5. Apotheken Umschau: Night sweats: What you can do yourself Andrea Blank-Koppenleitner, December 22nd, 2016 Source
6. PraxisVita: Extreme sweating in children – how much is too much? dr medical Nadine McGowan, 09/04/2018 Source
7. Netdoktor.at: Ask the doctor - Topic: Family night sweats in the child Prof. DDr. Peter Voitl, 09/05/2018 Source
8. Schlaraffia.de: Night sweats: What helps against sweating during sleep? 07/16/2019 source
9. Vital.de: Women's health: remedies for heavy sweating Christina Liersch, 06/14/2019 Source
10. Strong against sweating: hyperhidrosis therapy: home remedies and herbal remedies against sweating Julia Lindert, February 11th, 2019 Source
11. Men'sHealth: Night sweats: Night sweats are so dangerous Christine Naefeke, 11/11/2019 Source