Night Sweats In Menopausal Women

A phenomenon which usually occurs during the late 40s or early 50s in the lifespan of women, menopausal period is a transition not only of the body’s physiologic functioning but also of the chapters in the life of a woman.

There are many symptoms that can be experienced prior to the menopausal period.

Some of these symptoms are hot flashes (night sweats), migraine headache, fast heartbeat, urinary changes, bleeding, itching and dryness in the genitals, breast tenderness, and bone pain.

Among these, night sweats is considered as one of the most bothersome symptom in menopausal women. It also affects a considerable number of people- that is, as many as 75% of menopausal women.

During menopause, several hormonal changes take place as the woman moves on to a non-reproductive state. The hormones progesterone and estrogen are produced in fewer amounts.

These hormonal fluctuations lead to the disruption in the function of the hypothalamus, the thermoregulation center of the brain. As a result, it signals the body to increase blood, which triggers the production of body heat and sweating.

This profuse sweating which is more commonly experienced at night is what is referred to as night sweats. 

Night sweats is a type of hot flashes that is, as the name says, experienced during the night. Night sweating can last from 20 seconds up to 30 minutes.

This can be really annoying because the discomfort is experienced during sleep, the time when a woman is supposedly taking a rest from all the stresses of her day. It can certainly wake any person up and make it hard to go back to sleep again.

This annoying condition is further worsened by the mood swings and other behavioral changes that are also characteristic of the menopausal period.

There are several remedies that a menopausal woman can try in order to reduce the night sweats and the discomforts that they bring. Making the bedroom a cool place to sleep in can surely reduce the body’s temperature. This can be achieved by using the electric fan or air conditioner or by simply opening the windows.

Several pre-bedtime rituals such as taking a shower, drinking cold water, and avoiding eating spicy foods and drinking alcohol can also dramatically reduce the occurrence of night sweating.

Using breathable pillows and cotton bed sheets is also advisable because these tend to allow better escape of heat and are therefore cooler. A bowl of water and a sponge should also be prepared near the bed. This is used to wash off the sweat and cool down the body if the woman wakes up from sweating profusely.

Aside from these, another means of managing night sweats is through the use of herbal remedies. Herbal medicines known as dong quai and chaste berry reduce excessive sweating by regulating blood flow and regulating the release of hormones, respectively.

The last alternative in treating night sweats is hormone replacement therapy. This is, however, the least recommended option because it is associated with breast cancer.

At the end of the day, night sweats are but natural conditions that women should deal with during the menopausal period. It is just one of the challenges in the “rites of transition” from the reproductive stage to the non-reproductive stage, a remarkable chapter in the life of any woman.