What are night sweats?

Night sweats are hot flashes that come during sleep. You suddenly wake up feeling hot; often your clothes, pillow or sheets are damp. Chills may follow (The Menopause Society, Hot Flashes). The NHS notes that these flushes last a few minutes (NHS, Symptoms).

Not every sweaty night is a symptom. If the room is very warm or the duvet is very thick, sweating at night is normal (NHS, Night sweats). What we mean here is waking up drenched again and again even though the room is cool.

Night sweats and hot flashes share the same mechanism. The page where we explain daytime flashes in detail: Hot flashes.

Why do night sweats happen in menopause?

During the transition to menopause, the hormone estrogen declines. According to The Menopause Society, this drop affects the area of the brain that regulates body temperature. The body reads even small changes in temperature as overheating and widens the blood vessels in the skin to release heat. The result is sudden heat, flushing and sweating (The Menopause Society, MenoNote: Night Sweats).

Night sweats are common during the transition. The Menopause Society states that hot flashes and night sweats affect up to 80 percent of women (The Menopause Society, Hot Flashes). The NHS also lists the two together among menopause and perimenopause symptoms (NHS, Symptoms). In Türkiye, an information sheet from Hacettepe University’s Department of Public Health also lists hot flashes and night sweats, together with sleep problems, among the symptoms of menopause (Hacettepe HSAD, 2024).

Why are night sweats so exhausting?

What makes night sweats hard is often not the sweat itself but the broken sleep. The Menopause Society stresses that night sweats disturb sleep and cause extra discomfort because of damp clothes and sheets (The Menopause Society, MenoNote: Night Sweats). Hot flashes and night sweats can lower quality of life by contributing to sleep and mood problems (The Menopause Society, Hot Flashes).

The NHS also notes that sleep problems can get worse with night sweats and can affect daily life, leading to irritability, stress and anxiety (NHS, Symptoms). Broken sleep comes back the next day as tiredness and trouble concentrating. We cover the sleep side separately: Menopause insomnia.

Are night sweats normal, and how long do they last?

Night sweats are expected during the menopause transition. The Menopause Society notes that for most people these symptoms ease over time and go away within a few years (The Menopause Society, MenoNote: Night Sweats). It also notes that hot flashes and night sweats together last 7–10 years on average (The Menopause Society, Hot Flashes). The NHS says menopause symptoms usually last 7–9 years, sometimes longer (NHS, Symptoms).

These ranges are wide because everyone’s transition is different. For some people night sweats last a few months; for others they come and go for years.

What causes night sweats besides menopause?

Night sweats are one of the best-known symptoms of menopause, but menopause is not the only cause. The NHS lists these among the common causes (NHS, Night sweats):

  • Hot flushes caused by menopause
  • Anxiety
  • Medications, such as some antidepressants, steroids and painkillers
  • Low blood sugar
  • Alcohol or drug use
  • Excessive sweating disorder (hyperhidrosis): a harmless condition that makes you sweat too much all the time

The NHS adds that sometimes no cause can be found.

The Menopause Society widens the list. Sleep apnea (breathing stopping again and again during sleep), excess weight, reflux, an overactive thyroid gland, diabetes, anxiety and low mood can cause night sweats. Some infections and some types of cancer are among the less common but more serious causes. Smoking, alcohol and withdrawal from some substances are also listed among lifestyle-related causes (The Menopause Society, MenoNote: Night Sweats).

This is why three situations matter. If night sweats started while your periods were still regular, stopped for a while and came back, or appeared years after you stopped hormone therapy, menopause is not the likely cause (The Menopause Society, MenoNote: Night Sweats). In that case you need to see a clinician.

Still, there is no need to be frightened. The Menopause Society notes that most of the time there is no dangerous cause behind night sweats (The Menopause Society, MenoNote: Night Sweats).

What can you observe yourself?

The Menopause Society suggests looking at the room first: is it too warm, are there too many blankets on you? If you keep sweating after fixing these, pay attention to other symptoms. Weight loss, fever and swollen lymph nodes need a medical assessment (The Menopause Society, MenoNote: Night Sweats).

For a few weeks, it helps to note:

  • How many nights a week did you wake up sweating?
  • Were you able to get back to sleep after waking?
  • Did you have alcohol, caffeine or spicy food that day?
  • Do you also get hot flashes during the day?
  • How has your period pattern changed?
  • Have you recently started a new medication?
  • Is there anything else, such as fever, cough, weight loss or tiredness?

These notes make it easier for your clinician to tell menopause apart from other causes.

The bedroom and daily habits

The NHS gives some general suggestions for hot flushes and night sweats: wearing thin, light clothing, keeping the bedroom cool at night, taking a cool shower, using a fan or having a cold drink. It also suggests cutting down on triggers such as spicy food, caffeine, hot drinks, smoking and alcohol, moving regularly and staying at a healthy weight (NHS, Things you can do).

The Hacettepe public health sheet also recommends plenty of rest, building a regular sleep routine, and staying away from smoking and alcohol (Hacettepe HSAD, 2024).

These steps do not always stop the sweating. But they can help your sleep be less broken. This page does not recommend any medication or product; talk through your options with your clinician.

When are night sweats a concern, and when should you see a doctor?

The NHS suggests seeing your GP if night sweats regularly wake you up or worry you. You should also see a doctor if they come with a very high temperature, shivering, a cough, diarrhea or weight loss for no reason (NHS, Night sweats).

Take your notes to the appointment. Bring a list of all the medications you take too. You could ask:

  • Are my night sweats consistent with the menopause transition, or should we look for another cause?
  • Could one of the medications I take be increasing my sweating?
  • Could my snoring, or my breathing stopping at night, be related to this?
  • If my sleep is this broken, what options do I have?

Night sweats are nothing to be embarrassed about. If your clinician does not know how often they happen and how they affect your life, they cannot point you in the right direction.