Night sweats

A night sweat is essentially a hot flash you have during sleep. Night sweats can be mild (waking up with slight perspiration) or severe (waking up with drenched sheets, pillow, pajamas and hair).

Night sweats are one of the most common symptoms of perimenopause (the first stage of menopause) and often appear even before periods become irregular. You may experience night sweats before or after your first hot flash. They may happen more often at a certain point in your menstrual cycle, or they can come and go with no obvious trigger. 

How long you have them depends on how much time your body takes to transition through perimenopause and menopause. The menopausal transition usually lasts about seven years but can last as long as 14 years.

On their own, night sweats are not damaging. They’re a natural response to an increase in body temperature. However, severe night sweats can rob you of sleep, which impacts your relationships, mood, work and even thinking.

Manage night sweats with simple lifestyle changes.

If night sweats affect your quality of life, talk to your doctor. You may benefit from one or more of these treatments.