Night Sweats – An Uncomfortable Situation
Do you sense nights are the toughest part of your ‘day’? Other than the ever-tiring insomnia that riddles you, are you constantly waking up drenched like it accidentally rained in your bedroom? This is just a common side effect of menopause referred to as hyperhidrosis or ‘Night Sweats’. As is evident from the name, this is nothing but extreme perspiration while sleeping. When you don’t exercise because you hate sweating, well, here comes your personal hell! While there are a number of reasons night sweats can be attributed to, the most prevalent is hormonal changes as a result of menopause side effects.
Doctors typically hear their own patients associate excessive sweating at night to their environment. But turning up the air-conditioner to rid it will only give you a very bad case of cold. While a defective fan could lead you to lightly dampen your pillow, hyperhidrosis will give you a completely soaked nightwear and bedclothes. As this symptom is nothing but the continuation of hot flashes which occur during the day, excessive sweating during the night time will usually be accompanied by an intense wave of heat on the face, neck and chest. If you are still continuing to have your periods, you may then be in peri-menopausal stage preceding the actual termination of menstruation.
Even for those who don’t have extensive flashes in the day, several medicines will make their nights highly sweaty. Most anti-depressants happen to be known to cause excessive perspiration at night. So taking an anti-depressant could possibly turn out to be counterproductive leaving you cranky because of lack of sufficient and peaceful sleep. Instead of getting dejected at this icky sticky occurrence, remember that it is just another hurdle which should be crossed while combating menopausal side effects.
A healthy lifestyle which includes routine workouts and balanced diet will help you manage night sweats more naturally. Light meals with low fat content will make digestion easier leaving less fat inside the stomach. The lesser work you provide for the body to do at night, the lesser the sweating. Stopping or reducing smoking and alcohol intake may also help reduce the occurrence of these sweaty menopause side effects. Another pointer – you stress, you sweat! Listening to calming music undoubtedly puts the body and mind in a relax mode, welcoming sleep.
