Menopause Night Sweats - How to Beat Them and Get Some Sleep
There are 3 certainties in a woman's life: death, taxes and going through the menopause. Some women are lucky enough to be able to sail through the menopause without suffering any uncomfortable symptoms. Others suffer terribly from symptoms that are both embarrassing and painful. One of the most common of these is menopause night sweats.
Night sweats are excessive sweating that occurs at night. It may be so bad that you wake up with drenched nightwear and bedcovers. This has an obvious effect on the woman and also their sleeping partner.
The cause behind hot flushes and night sweats is that the body's hormonal system becomes imbalanced. This can confuse the brain's 'thermostat' into thinking that it is too hot and that it needs to loose heat. This results in the all too familiar symptoms of sweating, palpitations and redness particularly around the face, neck and shoulders.
This hormonal imbalance is most likely to occur in the run up to the menopause, a period often referred to as the peri-menopause. At this time the levels of estrogen is reducing. But it is something that can occur at other times in a woman's life.
The symptoms at this time are often very much related to the individual. But there are some things that can increase your likelihood of suffering night sweats or make them worse. These include being stressed, eating spicy foods, being overweight, smoking and drinking too much caffeine. Being in hot environments can also contribute, as you would expect.
If you do suffer, it would be worth considering what you wear to bed. There are actually special menopause pajamas that you can wear. These pajamas have high wicking fabric that moves sweat away from the body where it can then evaporate. If you have been into sportswear or snow wear you may be familiar with this concept. Even if you don't want this type of high tech nightwear, you should at least wear natural fibers.