What Causes Night Sweats in Men? 10 Causes, When to See Doctor

Night sweats might happen because of nonmedical causes, such as working out, taking a hot shower, or having a hot drink shortly before going to bed. But some medical conditions can also cause them in men.

Read on to learn more about common and less common causes of night sweats, along with potentially serious symptoms to look out for.

Night sweats can often be linked to one of these common causes.

1. Anxiety or stress

Increased sweating often happens if you’re dealing with anxiety or stress. You might notice you’re sweating more during the day when you’re worried about something. But this sweating can also occur during the night.

People experience stress and anxiety in very different ways. You may have more emotional symptoms than physical symptoms or vice versa.

Other signs that you might be experiencing anxiety or are under a lot of stress include:

• persistent worry, fear, and tension
• trouble focusing on things other than the source of your stress or worry
• efforts to avoid the source of worry or stress
• a feeling of dread you can’t explain
• difficulty sleeping
• weakened immune system
• troubled dreams
• aches or pains
• stomach issues
• rapid breathing and heart rate
• increased irritability
• weakness or fatigue
• dizziness and trembling

Without treatment, stress and anxiety can have a big impact on daily life. Talking to a therapist can often help you deal with the source of anxiety and improve symptoms.

2. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

Night sweats have been linked to GERD, which occurs when the muscle that usually keeps your esophagus closed doesn’t work properly. When this muscle doesn’t contract like it should, acid in your stomach can rise into your esophagus and cause the burning feeling you may know as heartburn.

If this happens more than once a week, you may have GERD.

GERD can happen during the day or at night.

Symptoms include:

• heartburn
• pain in your chest
• trouble swallowing
• food or liquid that rises back into your throat (regurgitation)
• cough, asthma symptoms, or other respiratory issues (generally with nighttime reflux)
• trouble sleeping

If your night sweats frequently interrupt your sleep and you need heartburn-relieving medication at least once or twice weekly, you may want to see your doctor.

3. Hyperhidrosis

Sweating occurs as a normal response to warm temperatures, activity, and nervousness or fear. But sometimes, the nerves that activate your sweat glands send signals to these glands even when you don’t need to sweat.

Experts aren’t always sure why this happens, but it can cause extreme sweating across your body or in just one or two specific areas. This is called hyperhdrosis disorder.

Idiopathic hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating that happens for no clear medical reason. Secondary hyperhydrosis has an underlying cause, such as a medical condition, or it may be induced by medication.

With hyperhidrosis, you may:

• sweat through your clothes
• sweat during the day, though you could also sweat at night
• notice sweat on your feet, palms, face, or underarms
• sweat in one area or multiple areas
• sweat on both sides of your body

If hyperhidrosis affects your sleep or day-to-day life, your healthcare provider can recommend treatment, including prescription medications.

4. Medication

Certain medications could make it more likely you’ll experience night sweats.

Many different drugs can cause night sweats as a side effect. Some types linked to excessive sweating include:

• SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants
• steroids, such as cortisone and prednisone
• acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin, and other pain relievers
• antipsychotics
• diabetes medications
• hormone therapy drugs

If you believe night sweating relates to a medication you’ve recently started taking, let your prescribing provider know. They might recommend an alternative medication or methods of coping with night sweats, if sweating continues to disturb your sleep or have other negative effects.

If your night sweats don’t result from one of the above issues, your healthcare provider may want to rule out these less common causes.

5. Low testosterone

If your testosterone levels are low, you might experience night sweats. Your body naturally produces less testosterone as you get older. But other factors, including injury, medications, health conditions, and substance misuse, can also decrease the amount of testosterone produced.

Other symptoms of low testosterone can include:

• muscle weakness
• fatigue
• less interest in sex
• erectile dysfunction
• decreased bone mass
• trouble focusing and remembering things
• mood changes, including depressed or low mood and irritability

If you experience bothersome or unpleasant symptoms, your healthcare provider may recommend testosterone replacement therapy to help raise your testosterone levels.

6. Other hormone issues

Hormone disorders that can cause night sweats include:

• hyperthyroidism
• carcinoid syndrome
• pheochromocytoma

Along with night sweats, some common symptoms among these conditions include:

• increased heart rate
• difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• tremors or shakiness
• diarrhea
• head or abdominal pain
• sleep issues
• anxiousness, nervousness, or other mood changes

If you experience increased sweating and have any of these other symptoms, you may want to talk to your healthcare provider to rule out hormonal issues.

7. Sleep apnea

Night sweats in men can sometimes indicate sleep apnea. With sleep apnea, you stop breathing while sleeping. This can happen many times in a night, but if you sleep alone or if your partner is a sound sleeper, you may not be aware anything has happened.

Sleep apnea is more common in men, and approximately 25 percent of men have this condition.

It can develop when tissue in your throat blocks your airway (obstructive sleep apnea) or when a stroke or other medical issue affects your central nervous system’s ability to function properly (central sleep apnea).

In addition to night sweats, you might also:

• snore
• feel very tired during the day
• wake up often in the night
• wake up choking or gasping for breath
• have a sore throat when you wake up
• have trouble focusing
• have mood symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, or irritability

Since sleep apnea may increase your risk for other health issues, it’s best to talk with your healthcare provider or a sleep specialist to rule it out.

8. Infections

It’s also possible for infections to cause night sweats. These can range from mild viral infections that come with a low fever to serious infections that can be life-threatening.

Some of the more serious infections can include:

• tuberculosis, a bacterial infection
• endocarditis, commonly bacterial and involving the heart
• osteomyelitis, commonly bacterial and involving bone
• brucellosis a bacterial infection

Some general signs of infection to look out for include:

• fever and chills
• aches and pains in your muscles and joints
• fatigue and weakness
• decreased appetite and weight loss
• redness, swelling, and pain at a specific site

It’s a good idea to see your healthcare provider as soon as possible if these symptoms get worse or don’t improve after a few days, or if your fever suddenly spikes.

In some rare cases, night sweats can occur as a symptom of cancer or certain neurological conditions, including stroke.

9. Neurologic conditions

A neurological condition is any issue that involves your nervous system —your brain, your spinal cord, and the nerves in the rest of your body. There are hundreds of neurological disorders, though some are more common than others.

Some neurological issues may, in rare cases, have night sweats as a symptom. These include:

• stroke
• syringomyelia
• autonomic dysreflexia
• autonomic neuropathy

Symptoms of neurological issues can vary widely. Along with night sweats, you might also experience:

• numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hands, feet, and limbs
• decreased appetite
• pain and stiffness throughout your body
• dizziness or fainting

Seek emergency medical care if you suddenly:

• can’t speak or can’t speak without slurring
• have one-sided blurred vision or vision loss
• have paralysis in an extremity
• have droopiness in the lower part of one side of your face
• have severe head pain

These are signs of stroke, which can be life-threatening. Your chances for recovery increase with immediate medical attention.

10. Cancer

Night sweating can be a sign of cancer, but this is very uncommon. Keep in mind that cancer typically involves other symptoms, such as persistent fever and weight loss. These symptoms may vary and can occur early or later, depending on the type and severity of cancer present.

Leukemia and lymphoma (either Hodgkin’s or non-Hodgkin’s) are two main types of cancer that could have night sweats as a symptom.

Again, you’ll likely notice other symptoms, too, including:

• extreme tiredness or weakness
• weight loss you can’t explain
• chills and fever
• lymph node enlargement
• pain in your bones
• pain in your chest or abdomen

Sometimes, early signs of cancer can be missed because they seem to relate to other issues. If you have frequent night sweats, feel very tired and run-down, or have flu-like symptoms that don’t seem to improve, it may be best to see your healthcare provider just to be safe.

If you have night sweats, you aren’t alone. Excessive sweating at night is fairly common, according to the International Hyperhidrosis Society.

You can try to address sweating by lowering the temperature in your bedroom, sleeping with fewer blankets, and avoiding hot drinks and very spicy foods just before bed.

If these changes don’t help and you keep having night sweats, it’s a good idea to talk to a healthcare provider, especially if you:

• have episodes of night sweating more than once in a while
• have a fever that won’t go away
• have recently lost weight without trying
• feel generally tired or unwell
• aren’t getting enough sleep due to night sweats

8 Causes of Night Sweats: Menopause and More

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on June 05, 2023

Doctors often hear their patients complain of night sweats. Night sweats refer to excess sweating during the night. But if your bedroom is unusually hot or you are wearing too many bedclothes, you may sweat during sleep, and this is normal. True night sweats are severe hot flashes occurring at night that can drench your clothes and sheets and that are not related to an overheated environment.

It is important to note that flushing (a warmth and redness of the face or body) may be hard to distinguish from true night sweats.

There are many causes of night sweats. To find the cause, a doctor must get a detailed medical history and order tests to decide what medical condition is responsible for the night sweats. Some of the known conditions that can cause night sweats are:

1. Menopause. Vasomotor symptoms, which include the hot flashes that come with menopause , and those that can occur at night and cause sweating, is a very common cause of night sweats and hot flashes in women. For most people, a hot flash isn’t just a rise in body temperature; other symptoms can occur as a result of a hot flash or night sweats: a sudden warmth that’s most intense across your head and chest; reddened skin; sweating, either light or heavy; or a rapid heartbeat.
2. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis is a condition in which the body chronically produces too much sweat without any identifiable medical cause.
3. Infections.Tuberculosis is the infection most commonly linked to night sweats. But bacterial infections, such as endocarditis (inflammation of the heart valves), osteomyelitis (inflammation in the bones), and abscesses can cause night sweats. Night sweats are also a symptom of HIV infection.
4. Cancers. Night sweats are an early symptom of some cancers. The most common type of cancer linked to night sweats is lymphoma. But people who have an undiagnosed cancer frequently have other symptoms as well, such as unexplained weight loss and fevers.
5. Medications. Taking certain medications can lead to night sweats. Antidepressant medications are a common type of drug that can lead to night sweats. From 8% to 22% of people taking antidepressant drugs have night sweats. Other psychiatric drugs have also been linked to night sweats. Medicines taken to lower fever, such as aspirin and acetaminophen, can sometimes lead to sweating. Many other drugs can cause night sweats or flushing.
6. Hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar can cause sweating. People who are taking insulin or oral diabetes medications may have hypoglycemia at night that comes with sweating.
7. Hormone disorders. Sweating or flushing can be seen with several hormone disorders, including pheochromocytoma, carcinoid syndrome, and hyperthyroidism.
8. Neurologic conditions. Uncommonly, neurologic conditions, including autonomic dysreflexia, posttraumatic syringomyelia, stroke, and autonomic neuropathy , may make you sweat more and may lead to night sweats.

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Why you sweat at night: 7 unexpected reasons

Likbez

Health

August 21, 2022

If the bedroom is not hot and the bed gets wet, you need to see a doctor.

In the skin of an adult there are from 2 to 5 million sweat glands. They produce a liquid in which salts, proteins, cholesterol, amino acids and nitrogenous substances are dissolved. During the day at room temperature, a person releases 400-600 ml of sweat, which is needed to moisturize the skin and cool the body.

The work of the sweat glands is regulated by the autonomic nervous system and its biologically active substances, mediators acetylcholine, pilocarpine, and adrenal hormones. Therefore, a person cannot sweat more or less if he simply wants to.

At night and during sleep, all processes in the body slow down, including sweating. But this does not happen if a person sleeps in a hot room or eats spicy food for dinner. Usually, such sweating goes away on its own, and the help of a doctor is not needed.

But sometimes excessive sweating, or hyperhidrosis, during sleep is associated with reasons for which special examination and treatment is indispensable.

1. Menopause

Women over 45–50 years of age have reduced ovarian function and produce less estrogen. The pituitary gland tries to stimulate the sex glands and increases the release of follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones. The latter is able to quickly increase body temperature and is more actively synthesized in the evening. Therefore, the woman feels a surge of heat and begins to sweat profusely.

What to do

Contact your gynecologist if you experience symptoms of menopause. The doctor will conduct an examination and prescribe hormone replacement therapy with estrogens. They will not stop the onset of menopause, but they will reduce unpleasant symptoms.

2. Bad habits

Cigarettes contain a lot of nicotine, which mimics the action of the mediator acetylcholine and stimulates the sweat glands. In people who have been smoking actively for a long time, this effect may occur at night.

When alcohol is abused, another mechanism is activated, associated with a hangover syndrome, which is observed already a few hours after drinking alcohol. In humans, thermoregulation is disturbed, the production of hormones, including those that affect the function of the sweat glands. Therefore, poor sleep is accompanied by increased sweating.

What to do

If night sweats become persistent, stop smoking or at least don’t smoke before bed. In case of alcohol addiction, go through a course of treatment with a narcologist, otherwise, in addition to profuse sweating, other health problems may appear.

3. Endocrine diseases

Diseases of the endocrine organs change the functioning of the sweat glands. Therefore, hyperhidrosis develops. Most often it is observed in the following pathologies:

• hyperthyroidism;
• diabetes mellitus;
• pheochromocytoma;
• acromegaly.

What to do

See a physician for excessive sweating. He will order a hormone test. If the indicators differ from the norm, then you will be sent to an endocrinologist to find the appropriate treatment.

4. Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous condition, a sudden stoppage of breathing during sleep. At the same time, the person does not feel that he has stopped breathing, but his sweating increases. An additional symptom that relatives can talk about is severe snoring.

Sleep apnea increases the risk of heart failure, heart attack and stroke and is common in men and women with obesity and hypertension.

What to do

If your family says that you snore a lot in your sleep, and in the morning you have a headache and severe weakness, contact your doctor. He will prescribe an examination and may recommend:

• lose weight;
• give up smoking and alcohol;
• do not sleep on your back;
• do not take sleeping pills.

Sometimes doctors also help you choose a special mask or mouthpiece for sleeping, and in some cases they refer you for surgery.

5. Infections

Sometimes night sweats occur in people who have contracted SARS or are unaware of their chronic infectious disease. For example, such a symptom often occurs with tuberculosis, and other signs of the disease are not always visible.

Sweating that occurs in attacks, accompanied by chills and fever, is characteristic of malaria. It is an infectious disease that is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito. It is found in countries with a hot and humid climate, so some bring the pathogen from a trip to India or Africa.

What to do

If you have night sweats that are accompanied by a slight fever, make an appointment with your doctor. If the fever is severe, and especially if you flew in from a holiday in an exotic country a few days ago, call an ambulance.

6. Medications

Hyperhidrosis may be due to a side effect of medications. People sometimes sweat profusely at night if they are forced to take antidepressants, beta-blockers, or inject insulin.

What to do

If you have been prescribed medication that causes night sweats, you should tell your doctor. He will change the drug or reduce its dosage.

7. Tumors

Malignant tumors in the initial stages do not give noticeable symptoms. For example, with leukemia – blood cancer – there is increased sweating, sometimes chills, weakness, bone pain, nosebleeds are disturbing. And with a tumor of the lymphatic system, lymphoma, night sweats also appear, lymph nodes increase, body weight drops for no apparent reason.

What to do

These diseases cannot be diagnosed without a special examination. Therefore, be sure to make an appointment with a therapist: he will prescribe blood tests, bone marrow, and, if necessary, CT or MRI.

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Perspiration, perspiration, heavy sweat. How to treat.

Symptoms: sweaty palms, sweaty feet, sweaty palms, sweaty feet clammy sweat, constantly sweating, sweating during sleep, sweat on face, sweaty back, sweaty head, perspiration, chills and sweat, hail sweat, sweat on forehead , neck sweating, heavy sweating, heavy sweating .

Sweating (hyperhidrosis) – excessive sweating, which can be both local and general, physiological (the mechanism of thermoregulation with an increase in air temperature, physical exertion) and pathological, caused by nervous, endocrine, infectious and other diseases. Sweating may also indicate increased nervous excitability.

Case studies

Male, 38 years old, entrepreneur.

A relative of a patient who lives in one of the North Caucasian republics, where his brother has been leading a “reclusive life” for the third year, because he suffers from a strange disease, turned to the Clinical Center for Autonomic Neurology. Several times a day, and also at night, he has an attack of perspiration so intense that the patient has to change all his clothes and even turn the mattress over.

We invited the patient for examination and treatment. The case history of this man was as follows.

One day, after some trouble at work, a man came home “nervous” and suddenly felt that he was covered with sweat all at once. He did not attach any serious importance to this, but at night the sudden sweating repeated again, and it was so strong that all underwear and even bed linen had to be changed.

Over the next few days, the final picture of the vegetative attack was formed. This is how the patient himself described it:

— Suddenly there is a feeling of warmth in the whole body, the skin becomes dry, and then — I start to worry and immediately — instantly — the whole body is covered with drops, like in a bath after a shower …

The man washed under hot water, changed clothes, after which his condition gradually improved (general weakness remained). For three years, such sudden sweating occurred at least 2-3 times a day. And definitely – at least once – at night. “I wake up from the fact that I’m lying in the water.”

He practically stopped leaving the house. While in a leadership position, he worked “on the phone.” He became irritable, anxious, suspicious. There were periods of depression.

Examination at the Center for Autonomic Neurology revealed diffuse disorders of the paravertebral sympathetic ganglia. A course of therapy was carried out, after which the man left for his homeland. At the moment, seizures occur periodically, but their severity and frequency are minimal. He went to work and feels good.

Man, businessman, 43 years old.

In February 2009, a patient came to the Center for Autonomic Neurology with complaints of severe weakness, due to which he could not withstand the intense rhythm of work, severe sweating of the head and neck, which “was visible to everyone”, “I wake up on a wet pillow” and etc. Sometimes a man began to sweat profusely with minimal physical and emotional stress.

During the interview, it turned out that “for business reasons” the patient often had to hold a large number of meetings and negotiations, many of which were in an informal setting. Frequent alcohol intake, on the one hand, temporarily improved his state of health, however, the appearance of severe weakness, irritability and sweating occurred, as a rule, on the day after the event.

Additional complaints: pain in the lower back, which has been bothering me for a long time (a hernia was diagnosed, being treated at the Dikul Center), numbness of the upper limbs in the morning.

Taking into account the CIG data and thermal imaging diagnostics, the patient was prescribed course therapy, it was recommended to stop taking alcohol as a provoking vegetative seizure agent.
Two years have passed since the patient’s last visit to the clinic. There are currently no complaints.

Male, 28 years old, police officer

A similar case of the development of the disease on the background of frequent alcoholism.

The patient associates the onset of vegetative disorders with troubles at work and an episode of alcohol abuse. “He began to throw it into the heat, then into the cold,” “the back began to get wet.” Then the severity of vegetative disorders and their frequency began to increase rapidly. And a month later, the patient had a whole “bouquet” of complaints, with which he turned to the Clinical Center for Autonomic Neurology for help: severe sweating, lethargy, a constant feeling of ringing in the ears, a feeling of unreality of what was happening. Migraine attacks occurred at least three times a day.

There were also migratory pains in the back (shoulder blade, lower back, neck).

The treatment resulted in the same rapid regression of symptoms as its increase. Within a month after ten days of therapy, there was a restoration of strength, headaches and tinnitus disappeared, and sweating decreased.

Other symptoms of VSD

Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing

Strong heartbeat, rapid pulse

Trembling in the body, shaking hands

Sweating, perspiration, heavy sweat

Pain in the stomach, burning in the abdomen

Heaviness in the head, headache

Muscle tone, spasm of the muscles of the neck

Urinary incontinence

Feelings of fear, anxiety rhea

Blurred vision

Pre-syncope

Sleep disorder, insomnia, drowsiness

Subfebrile temperature

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Weather sensitivity

Myths and truth about VSD

– Put yourself in the place of a doctor.