Night sweats

Night sweats
Other namesSleep sweats, nocturnal hyperhidrosis
SpecialtyInfectious disease, oncology

Night sweats or nocturnal hyperhidrosis[1] is the repeated occurrence of excessive sweating during sleep.[2] The person may or may not also perspire excessively while awake.

One of the most common causes of night sweats in women over 40 is the hormonal changes related to menopause and perimenopause.[3] This is a very common occurrence during the menopausal transition years. Over 80% of women experience hot flashes, which may include excessive sweating, during menopause.[4]

Night sweats range from being relatively harmless to a sign of underlying disease. Night sweats may happen because the sleep environment is too warm, either because the bedroom is unusually hot or because there are too many covers on the bed.[2] Night sweats have been associated with a long list of clinical conditions.[5] However, there is very little evidence that supports clinical recommendations for this condition.[5]

  1. ^ "Hyperhidrosis - MeSH - NCBI". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Night sweats - Mayo Clinic". www.mayoclinic.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  3. ^ T. F. Kruger; M. H. Botha (2008). Clinical Gynaecology. Juta and Company Ltd. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-7021-7305-9.
  4. ^ Bansal, Ramandeep; Aggarwal, Neelam (January–March 2019). "Menopausal Hot Flashes: A Concise Review". Journal of Mid-Life Health. 10 (1): 6–13. doi:10.4103/jmh.JMH_7_19. ISSN 0976-7800. PMC 6459071. PMID 31001050.
  5. ^ a b Mold, James W.; Holtzclaw, Barbara J.; McCarthy, Laine (November–December 2012). "Night sweats: a systematic review of the literature". Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 25 (6): 878–893. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2012.06.120033. ISSN 1558-7118. PMID 23136329. S2CID 24179827.