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Menopause & Night Sweats

You have just awakened in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat. Your hair is wringing wet and your nightgown is stuck to your sweaty body like glue. This is a night sweat and comes with being menopausal. Even though lots of jokes are made about hot flashes and night sweats, it is not a laughing matter. Both can be disruptive and the night sweats can certainly interfere with a woman's ability to get a good night's sleep.

  1. Hormones Go Crazy

    • During peri-menopause, the period leading up to menopause, which is the cessation of your menstrual cycle once and for awhile, hormones get out of whack, according to Womentowomen.com. You can have too much of this hormone and not enough of that hormone and the next thing you know you are sweating as if you had just run a marathon. The body's temperature regulatory center in the brain can be flummoxed into thinking that the body needs to get rid of what it perceives as excess heat, this perception coming about as a result of the hormonal imbalance or imbalances. When this happens, blood vessels are instructed by the brain to dilate and the heart starts pumping faster. The sweat glands open up and you begin sweating profusely.

    Medications Can Increase the Problem

    • According to the Mayo Clinic, if you are taking medicines such as antidepressants, antipyretics (to lower your blood temperature), hypoglycemic medications or hormones, this can worsen your night sweats.

    Food and Beverages to Avoid

    • If you have experienced some night sweats and suspect it is due to being peri-menopausal, be careful about what you eat. Eating too much sugar or spicy foods will make your night sweats more intense. Drinking alcohol and smoking will also exacerbate the problem. In addition, if you are overweight and/or anxious, this will make night sweats worse.

    Try This

    • Earthclinic.com suggests drinking 2 tbsp. apple vinegar right before you go to bed. Some physicians recommend that menopausal women take magnesium supplements to lessen night sweats.

    Herbs

    • Many women have successfully fought night sweats by using herbs. Project-aware.com recommends taking common elder and violet, because these herbs work to cool your body. Other herbs that may quash your symptoms include chickweed and dandelion. Ho shou wu and dong quai reportedly work well because these two herbs have the ability to nourish oxygen in the liver as well as increase oxygen levels. Black cohosh is an option; it is rich in phytosterols and may help reduce your symptoms.

    Safer Than Conventional Methods?

    • Menopause-herbs.femhealth.com explains that non-estrogenic herbs are herbs that have estrogenic effects but do not actually contain estrogen (e.g., maca). Non-estrogenic herbs can help a woman maintain healthy hormone levels and may be safer than resorting to conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT has its risks, including an increased chance of getting breast cancer and developing cardiovascular disease. It is believed that herbs nourish the hormone-producing system, which is the endocrine system. Phytoestrogenic herbs are used primarily to relieve menopausal symptoms, such as night flashes; however, they are reportedly also effective in treating any disorder related to low hormone levels.

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