How to Cool Down If You Sweat at Night
This post originally appeared on the Kaia Naturals blog and is shared here with permission. We're proud to carry this excellent Canadian deodorant and body care brand at ShopEco.
If you’re someone who sweats at night, then know that you’re not the only one. Unfortunately, I also sweat at night, and it’s extremely aggravating. That is why today I’m going to share what’s causing you to sweat at night and some simple hacks that will help you cool down before bed.
In this article, I’m discussing the common reasons for sweating at night, NOT the medical condition sleep hyperhidrosis. A study was conducted by the Journal of Family Practice involving 2,267 people regarding how many people sweat at night. The study found that 41% of people who visit their primary care physicians say they experience night sweats.” However, the Journal of American Board of Family Medicine (JABFM) writes that, “most patients who report night sweats to their primary care clinicians probably do not have a serious disease causing the symptom.”
What’s Your Body Temperature Like at Night?
The Journal of Physiological Anthropology states that, “our core body temperature, decreases during the nocturnal sleep phase and increases during the wake phase.” The pineal gland located in our brain is responsible for releasing the hormone melatonin which is what makes us feel tired. Your brain knows that when the daylight fades it should release melatonin. After releasing melatonin the brain signals the body to lower the metabolic heat which causes your body temperature to drop.
So Why Do We Sweat at Night?
Causes for sweating at night include medications, fluctuations in hormone levels, and stress, but ultimately it’s your lifestyle that contributes to how sweaty you are at night.
This includes what you do before you sleep. It’s not recommended you drink caffeinated or alcoholic drinks before bed because they can make you sweaty. You should also not be eating spicy foods or exercising before bed because those things can increase your body temperature.
Here's How to Bring Your Body Temperature Down
1) Keep Cleansing Cloths on Your Bedside Table
I know you can place ice packs on your pulse points to cool down, but an ice pack requires you to get up and go to the freezer. Something I’ve been doing to cool down and remove the sweat at night is by putting The Vitamin Cleanse Cloths in the fridge during the day to become cold. Since I created these cloths, I know it’s safe to do this.
Before I sleep, I put them next to my bedside table while I’m sleeping. This way I don’t have to physically leave my bed when I’m sweating at night. Whenever I reach for them, I always place them on my neck. The neck is a pulse point so placing it there helps my body cool down faster. Then I use the cloths to wipe away the sweat.
When trying to cool down it’s very important to know where your body’s quick cooling spots are. These spots are otherwise known as your pulse points. In an interview with CBC, Professor Stephen Cheung says that when you apply something cool to your head, neck, and wrists, “the blood vessels open near the skin and that allows us to cool down deeper tissues throughout the body.”
The Vitamin Cleanse cloths are made from bamboo making them much more resilient to temperature fluctuations. The combination of the jojoba oil and the vitamin blend will not only nourish the skin but make them ideal wipes for cooling down at night. They are at my bedside every night.
2) Take a Bath Before Bed
Ultimately what is going to help you sleep better at night is developing a nighttime routine in which you eliminate any sweat triggers and incorporate activities that will cool your body temperature down. It’s proven that baths can cool your body temperature down and help you sleep better, it’s called the “warm bath effect.” According to a study by the National Institute of Health, “Immersion in hot water prior to, but not immediately before, the sleep period decreases sleep latency and increases sleep depth.”
Clean beauty industry maven Mary Futher founded Kaia Naturals after spending 20 years working for global beauty companies. Mary now shares her weekly content series, The Little Book of Human Discomforts, delivering a quick fix, home remedy, or beauty product suggestion for a variety of issues that some may find too embarrassing to discuss.
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