Night Sweats - Causes and Tips

What are night sweats?

Nocturnal sweating is quite natural and the average person loses up to 0.5 L of sweat per night. Sweating is used to cool the body because it releases internal heat in the form of perspiration. If the environment is cooler than the body temperature, it can absorb the heat of the body. This happens every night as the body cools up to 2 °C during sleep, which allows the internal processes to regenerate sufficiently. Night sweat can range from a light moist film on the skin to a soaked bed. In extreme cases severe sweating is referred to medically as hyperhidrosis. Nightly hyperhidrosis means that you sweat regularly and excessively during your sleep for an extended period of time. In these cases the person wakes up often through the night and is soaked in sweat. This causes sleep disturbances and has an overall negative effect on health. Other circumstances, such as overly warm blankets or heaters are not causes for the condition.

Health causes

In addition, spicy foods, alcohol consumption, warm blankets or heating can lead to excessive nocturnal sweating. Excessive night sweating can lead to health problems. Causes of nocturnal hyperhidrosis can be, among other things, due to a variety of drugs, hormonal fluctuations, mental stress or due to a viral disease. You should contact a doctor in the case of regular excessive sweating during sleep, whether the problem occurs during the day or at night. An attempt to change your life habits, such as reducing alcohol consumption or avoiding spicy food, is not sufficient enough in cases of hyperhidrosis and the medical condition requires medical attention.

Tips and Solutions for Night Sweats

If the nocturnal sweating is not due to a health condition, there are a few ways to combat against heavy nocturnal perspiration:

• Airy sleepwear prevents heat build-up and allows the skin to breathe better
• Do not eat excessively spicy or greasy food
• Avoid strong alcohol and coffee consumption
• Avoid stress
• Stretching exercises before going to sleep can be very helpful

Emma Original Mattress and Night Sweats

Emma’s highly breathable material won’t make you sweat:

• The top cover has a special climate fibre structure that regulates humidity by releasing moisture to give you the ideal sleeping climate. The cover is made 99% polyester and 1% elastane. It is also removable and machine washable!
• The first foam layer, the Airgocell^® foam , provides you with ideal comfort thanks to exceptional point-elasticity and has an open-pored cell structure for ideal air circulation.