**Most sleep sweating comes from a warm sleep environment, but fever, menopause, alcohol, anxiety, and certain medicines are also common causes.**
Your body temperature normally drops as you fall asleep, so a warm room, thick blankets, or synthetic sleepwear can force you to sweat that heat off. Hot flashes during menopause or perimenopause, any illness that causes fever, low blood sugar in people taking diabetes medicine, and alcohol or heavy meals near bedtime all raise your odds of waking up damp. Medicines including SSRIs, some pain relievers, steroids, and hormone treatments list sweating as a known side effect. A cooler bedroom, cotton bedding, and skipping alcohol for a few hours before bed fix a large share of cases. Sweats that soak through your bedclothes night after night, or that come with fever, weight loss, or swollen glands, need a clinician's review.
When night sweats need a doctor
Common questions
why do i sweat in my sleep
Sweating in your sleep is often about your environment: a warm bedroom, thick blankets, or synthetic sleepwear trap heat your body is trying to release as it cools for sleep. Common internal causes include fever from an infection, menopause hot flashes, alcohol close to bedtime, anxiety and nightmares, low blood sugar in people on diabetes medicine, and drugs such as SSRIs, some pain relievers, and steroids. Try a cooler room, light cotton bedding, and no alcohol for three hours before bed. See a clinician if sweats soak your bedclothes, continue for weeks, or come with fever, weight loss, cough, or swollen glands.