When it comes to menopause, there are several symptoms that can be experienced. One of these many symptoms is night sweats. Night sweats are the close relations of hot flashes but occur at night. They can be very disruptive to your sleep patterns and extremely uncomfortable. This is an extremely common symptom and occurs in nearly 75% of women in the stages of menopause.
What Are the Symptoms of Night Sweats?
Night sweats can make it very difficult to get a peaceful nights rest and due to this there are several other problems that may be faced. The main symptoms of night sweats include:
- Sudden and extreme feelings of heat
- Irregular heartbeats
- Nausea
- Chills
- Flushing
- Headaches
- Extreme perspiration
These symptoms can range from mild to severe and can come in brief spouts or last the entire night. How bad they are depends on the woman and the stage of menopause they are experiencing.
Because of the above symptoms, the following problems can arise as well:
- Insomnia and other sleep disorders
- Irritability
- Extreme fatigue during your waking hours
- Issues with concentration
- Higher levels of stress
What Causes Night Sweats?
When you are experiencing night sweats, one of the first questions you want answered is why? The truth is that doctors are still unsure of the exact cause of night sweats, but the majority of the evidence points to the imbalance of hormones that is caused by menopause. When menopause occurs, the estrogen levels in the body become erratic in nature. They eventually will begin to decline until they are zero. When this happens, the part of the brain that is responsible for regulating your body temperature becomes confused and hot flashes and night sweats are the end result.
In addition to the hormone imbalances that cause night sweats, there are certain triggers that can bring them on or make them worse. These triggers span over the environmental, behavioral and emotional and include:
- Too many blankets or overly warm pajamas
- Sleeping too close to another person; body heat can become overwhelming during menopause!
- Hot/warm weather
- Hot baths/showers
- Hot spaces (rooms, cars, etc)
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Spicy foods
- Diet pills
- Alcohol consumption
- Cigarette smoking
By knowing what the triggers are you can take whatever precautions necessary (or available) to ensure the highest amount of comfort possible.
Treating Night Sweats
Aside from doing your best to avoid the triggers listed above (or any other trigger you have taken notice of), there are some other things you can do to help diminish or get rid of your night sweats. The majority of menopausal women find that alternative medical treatments, such as all natural herbal supplements, are the most helpful when it comes to night sweats and other symptoms of menopause. Following are some of the more popular natural products for this purpose.
Black Cohosh: This supplement has been scientifically proven to relieve both depression, which is also a symptom of menopause for some women, as well as hot flashes and night sweats.
Motherwort: Many women report that this supplement has helped shorten the amount of time they experience night sweats, as well as the frequency that they occur.
Amberen: This supplement has fast become one of the most popular among menopausal women (read this woman’s review of the supplement), many who report that their night sweats disappeared completely after taking it.
No matter what treatment you go for, finding what works for you is the only thing that matters. If you experience night sweats than you already know that this is a fact!
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