Menopausal night sweats: how to stay cool and dry.
There are numerous reasons for sweating at night and they are not all caused by the menopause. You might have a temperature, you might have the heating on too high, you might have gone a bit excessive on the alcohol and spicy food or it might just be a warm night. These are all bearable because you know they are going to go away after a few days; the temperature will return to normal; you can turn the heating down; you can break up the nights out with nights in and let’s face it, with an English summer, we know the hot nights won’t last long😊.
Night sweats were one of the first noticeable symptoms in my menopause journey. I had been having hot flushes, but my brain didn’t click in, however, there is nothing like waking up feeling like you’ve just taken a swim but not having the benefit of the hot sun to dry you off, to have the realisation dawn on you that, this might be the start. I’ve lost count of the nights I went to bed with the windows open and a thin duvet (even in the middle of winter) in the hope this would help only to wake up in the middle of the night drenched and with chattering teeth - having to change pj’s, change the bed (or just kick the Hubbie out so I could sleep on his side 😊) and close the windows because I’m so cold - for it all to happen again. There are only so many pairs of pj’s and sheets a girl can wash in one week 😊. Luckily for me, HRT and healthy eating have helped with my night sweats. You cannot beat that feeling the first time you wake up in the same pj’s you went to bed in. Unfortunately, the sweats do still materialise especially when I’ve had a rubbish food week/month/year; when I’m poorly, or when I’m stressed, and then suddenly, you’re back to night swimming again (currently have the REM song in my head).
If you’d rather not go down the HRT route, then there are certain things that might help:
1. Exercising during the day. This will help relieve stress and tire you out for a good night’s sleep.
2. Wear loose-fitting, light cotton clothes. I’ve been trying our PJs made from bamboo and these have helped considerably (review to follow).
3. Avoid alcohol and caffeine (yes, I did just write that – easier said than done I know, but these are big triggers). Perhaps a compromise is needed – if you know you’re going out, keep to points 1, 2, and 4 to try and reduce the effects 😊.
4. Cotton bedding. I now have 2 Egyptian cotton sheets (show off I know) that get rotated all the time.
5. Try a cooling pillowcase. This is not something I have tried but will give it a go myself and report back.
Perhaps you have an amazing tip that helps you?
Remember what helps one person might not help the other. The amazing and frustrating thing about our bodies is that we are all different and all react to things in different ways.