Why You Sweat at Night

You’ve probably had many restless nights where you lay awake wondering why you can’t sleep. As it turns out, sweating at night is a common cause of sleeplessness. There are a number of possible reasons as to why you sweat at night, but luckily most of them have simple fixes.

Pillow with poor airflow

Many pillows, particularly those made of memory foam, make it too hot to sleep at night. To help you sleep cool, try a pillow with cooling gel or a more advanced kind made with special cooling nylon. Eight’s Cool Pillow, an adjustable pillow that makes both sides of the pillow the cool side, is a great option that helps you avoid night sweats.

Mattress with poor airflow

A bed that traps body heat and moisture is unsurprisingly going to cause you to sweat during the night. Replacing your hot bed with one that provides dynamic cooling like the Pod, will help you stop sweating and start sleeping cool.

Wrong room temperature

If your room is set at a higher temperature than about 68 degrees, you’ll likely be sweating all through the night. Make sure your room temperature isn’t too hot by shutting the blinds during the day and running a fan at night if necessary.

Too heavy bed sheets

Sleeping with too many blankets on your bed, especially sheets that aren’t cotton, can cause you to sweat at night. Additionally, keeping a down comforter on your bed all year round isn’t doing your body any favors. Remove extra layers and your comforter if you find yourself being too hot to sleep. Cotton is really the only material you should have on your bed and your body at night. Untreated cotton is breathable, comfy, and cool.

Menopause

Unfortunately, hot flashes are common for women right before and during menopause. Hot flashes caused by shifts in hormones can trigger these hot flashes during the day as well as nighttime.  If you have tried everything else and suspect this is the cause of your sleep problem, talk with your doctor about ways to deal with hot flashes at night.

Alcohol before bed

Drinking too close to bedtime, about two hours of less, can cause you to sleep hot and make it difficult to stay asleep. It messes with your body’s natural temperature decrease before bed, causing you to sweat during the night. Avoid those nightcaps if you want a better sleep.

Exercise too close to bed

Avoid exercise at least two hours before bed. Your body naturally starts to cool down before sleep, and intense exercise can prevent your body’s thermoregulation.  Working out increases your heart rate and metabolism. This in turn increases the heat that your body produces, making it hard to sleep.

Once you know why you sweat at night, it’s a lot easier to sleep cool and wake refreshed.