Night sweats can cause excessive perspiration, often drenching one’s clothes and bedding and keeping them awake. Excessive nighttime sweating is typically brought on by an underlying infection or condition. It can also be accompanied by issues like coughing, breathlessness, or a feeling of being choked, which can further disrupt sleep. So, it is important to manage night sweats by recognizing the causes and promptly seeking appropriate treatment from a healthcare professional.

Causes of night sweats
Sweating is a normal physiological activity where the body releases extra water. This helps in cooling the body. However, excessive sweating in any form is not a good sign. One such common phenomenon is night sweats. These factors are prominent causes of night sweats:

• There are a lot of prescriptions that can cause night sweats. Treatments to control and reduce fever, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen, often cause excessive sweating. This is a compensatory mechanism of the prescriptions used to reduce body temperature.
• Antidepressants have tetracyclines that boost the serotonin level and release endorphins. Having antidepressants can commonly result in night sweats.
• An alteration in the transmission of synapses can also cause night sweats. This is what commonly happens in neurological conditions such as neuropathy.
• A sudden change in the level of hormones can often confuse the body in the beginning. At the time of menopause, women undergo major fluctuations in the levels of hormones in their blood. Hormonal disorders such as hyperthyroidism can also alter the level of hormones in the human body. This can lead to night sweats.
• Patients who have hypoglycemic prescriptions can also have night sweats. When the patient has a low sugar level, it is often accompanied by sweating. When the patient takes injections during the daytime, it helps to maintain the sugar level. Hence, in other words, these prescriptions prevent excessive sweating. However, by night, the action of these prescriptions is over. Thus, the body is again in a hypoglycemic state, resulting in night sweats.
• Underlying infections and chronic ailments can often cause night sweats, such as abscesses, endocarditis, and tuberculosis. Patients with cancers such as lymphoma also complain of night sweats and other symptoms.

Apart from treatments, many other underlying conditions can cause night sweats. A few of them are anxiety attacks, sleep disorders, hyperthyroidism, valley fever, etc.

Prevention of sleep sweating
Experiencing night sweats can be traumatic. It adversely affects sleep quality and pattern. As sleep is hampered, it can further cause stress, anxiety, anger, and other psychological conditions. To function better, the body needs to be well rested. To prevent sleep sweating, here are a few steps to take –

• Avoid any food that can trigger night sweats, such as spicy food.
• Caffeine can be a major contributor to night sweats.
• Wear more breathable clothes, such as light cotton, while sleeping. One should check what suits them better. If they have more night sweats in an air conditioner, try sleeping in a more natural environment.
• Avoid sleeping on fluffy beds. Instead, sleep on lighter bedding.
• One needs to cool themselves before going to bed. Taking a shower with cold water or running cold water on the feet and head might be a nice choice.
• Changing one’s lifestyle and sleeping early can limit stress.
• Try relaxing before going to bed. Meditation can often help.

Ways to stop excessive night sweating
If one is experiencing excessive night sweats, they need advanced treatment for it. Here are a few ways which can help one stop night sweats:

• If there is an infection that is causing night sweats, treating the infection can help cure it. Visit a doctor and seek medical help for it. One would mostly be recommended with antibiotics or antiviral prescriptions.
• An underlying cause of night sweats in women can also be hormone changes. Getting on hormone therapy to attain menopause can help reduce the issue.
• Getting tested for the levels of hormones. Disbalance in hormones can cause night sweats. This can easily be treated by prescriptions to balance the hormones.
• Getting therapy from a psychologist can also help calm one down, reducing night sweats episodes.

Knowing the abovementioned factors is crucial for addressing the issues that come with night sweats. This information can come in handy when consulting a doctor if the issue persists. Night sweats are often caused by an underlying illness. They can either be consistent for a long period or recurrent. If one wishes to stop night sweats completely, it is very important to identify and treat the underlying cause. Night sweats are a symptom of many fatal diseases and must not be ignored. If one has been experiencing night sweats for over two weeks, they must see a doctor. Getting a treatment plan is vital when it comes to dealing with a condition like night sweats. The symptoms need to be promptly addressed with little to no side effects.