Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night completely drenched in sweat? We’re not talking about too many blankets or the warmth of a summer night causing you to perspire.
We’re talking drenched where you not only need to change your pajamas, but you also need to change your sheets!
If you’ve experienced this phenomenon, you may have night sweats! While the causes may vary, we have some suggestions for the solution.
Why, Night Sweats? Why?
Medications, medical conditions, and diseases can play a role in excessive sweating during nighttime hours.
Night sweats are a side effect of some medications, including antidepressants, diabetic medications, and hormone therapies used in treating cancers. Women experiencing menopause commonly complain of night sweats and hot flashes, as well.
Also, a long list of medical conditions and diseases, from anxiety disorders to thyroid disease, can cause night sweats. If you haven’t already seen a doctor, night sweats could be a sign of a bigger problem. Get your night sweats checked out.
Too Cool for You
If your doctor has already found the cause of your night sweats, we’ve come up with a few tips to help you find relief during your nightly sweat storm!
Let’s start with your bedroom. Turn down the thermostat and turn up your fan. That’s easy, right? Not to mention your body stops releasing melatonin, which encourages sleep, when sleeping in a room warmer than 70 degrees. A cooler bedroom helps you sleep in general.
Now, let’s jump to the bed. Did you know there are sheets made from the same material athletes wear to wick away sweat? Now, you can benefit from athletic wear technology to keep your bed dry.
And what about your pajamas? Well, if you decide to go with pajamas, try a pair that also are made of synthetic material useful in repelling moisture.
You can also place a cool pack under your pillow and flip it when you start to feel uncomfortable. And for a more advanced cooling system, you could try one of a variety of sleep gadgets.
Technology to the Rescue
If you need something a little more advanced than a cool pack under your pillow, there is a whole world of bed cooling systems from cooling mattresses to a bed fan – whaat?
Yes, there are many mattresses designed to cool. Or, in a much less expensive bracket, products like bFan and Bed Jet blow cool air between the sheets of your bed.
Two more products, Chilipad and Ooler Sleep System, are water-based cooling systems made by Chili Technology. Both products look like a mattress cover and deliver cool water through little vessels, keeping your sleeping body chill.
Ooler Sleep System, this water-based smart bed cooling product, provides more features than the Chilipad, such as the OOLER app offering sleep scheduling.
We’re Cool on the “Inside”
And when you’re not in your bedroom, you can still take proactive measures to help you stay cool at night.
First, try to avoid night sweat-triggers like spicy food, alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes or second-hand smoke, which elicit night sweats.
Spicy food and nicotine contain chemicals that trigger your nerves, causing you to sweat. Caffeine and cigarettes stimulate your nervous system, and your body reacts by sweating to regulate your temperature. And alcohol widens blood vessels in the skin, known as vasodilation, which leads to sweating.
Also try toiletries infused with menthol or any kind of mint, all of which have cooling effects on your body. Face washes, body washes, and moisturizers come in menthol or mint. And there’s always good ol’ mint toothpaste!
The Cool Down
A nightly bedtime ritual may help set you up for sleeping success.
Maybe start with a meditation or yoga practice, which will help calm your mind. Anger and stress cause the release of stress hormones, which spike your heart rate and blood pressure, which lead you to… yes, you are correct: sweat.
Then, try icing your wrists and the base of your neck for 30 seconds at a time. The chilled blood from your wrists will recirculate to the rest of your body, cooling your body for up to an hour. And the base of your neck will tell your brain that it’s cooler than it really is.
And when you do finally lie down to go to sleep, try a relaxation technique including deep breathing and visualization to not only chill your mind, but to also chill your body temperature. You can choose from many online.
Sweet dreams!
