What is Sleep Hyperhidrosis?

Sleep hyperhidrosis is a condition where people suffer from serious night sweats. This is not generally a disease, but more of a symptom that can be caused by many different things. Sometimes the cause could be something relatively obvious like keeping a room too warm or using heavy blankets. At other times, it can be a sign of some health condition that the person is dealing with. There are a few very serious things that can potentially cause sleep hyperhidrosis, including some kinds of cancer, but most causes are less dangerous.

The severity of sleep hyperhidrosis can vary significantly. Some patients may only have minor amounts of sweating, and they may not even realize they’re having a problem. Some people have sweats that are bad enough to wake them up from a sound sleep. A few patients even have sweats that are so severe that they literally soak right through their bedclothes, and they sometimes feel compelled to wake up and go bathe immediateley. The degree of the problem is often directly related to the severity of the underlying cause.

There are many possible causes for sleep hyperhidrosis, including disorders as diverse as hypothyroidism and lymphoma. Sometimes behavioral issues, such as substance abuse, can also cause it. When people have fevers during the night, they will often suffer from night sweats, and women often develop night sweats during both menopause and pregnancy. In some cases, the body may sweat in response to something serious that is going on in a person’s organs, and this can almost be like a pain response in the sense that it warns of a serious situation going on with the body.

Various kinds of cancer can often cause people to develop sleep hyperhidrosis. When this happens, there will also usually be other symptoms that could be a tip-off. For example, a person may also develop unexplained weight loss or other symptoms depending on the kind of cancer responsible.

The treatments for sleep hyperhidrosis are generally as varied as the causes. If doctors are able to figure out what is causing a patient's problem, they will generally try to treat that underlying cause, which will normally also cure the sweating. In other cases, patients may experience some relief by simply making their sleeping quarters more comfortable, which could involve adding fans and air-conditioning units or sleeping in lighter garments with fewer blankets.