Sweating While Sleeping | Causes and When to Worry
Sweating while sleeping? Learn the causes in women and men, the link with sleep apnea and menopause, when night sweats are serious, and how to reduce them
You wake in the middle of the night with damp clothes and a wet pillow, even though the room isn't hot. Sweating while sleeping can have a simple cause, such as a warm room or heavy bedding. It can also be linked to menopause, sleep apnea or certain medicines, and rarely to an illness.
This guide explains the difference between ordinary sweating and true night sweats, the causes in women and men, and the signs that mean you should see a doctor.
Ordinary sweating vs true night sweats
Not every sweat at night is a problem. If you sleep under a heavy blanket or in a warm room, it is normal to sweat a little.
True night sweats, as Mayo Clinic describes them, are repeated episodes of heavy sweating during sleep, enough to soak your nightclothes or bedding. They often happen even when the room is at a comfortable temperature.
They are more common than many people think. In a study of more than 2,000 primary care patients, 41% reported night sweats: 34% of men and 44% of women.
Waking up drenched more than once a week?
Frequent sweating at night has a cause, and it may be a sleep disorder or a chest condition that can be treated. A consultant in sleep medicine and pulmonology can help you find it.
Book a sleep disorders consultation now
Living outside Riyadh? Book an online sleep consultation
Why do I sweat in my sleep?
The causes of sweating while sleeping range from simple ones you can fix by changing your bedding to ones that need a medical assessment:
Room temperature, bedding and nightclothes
The most common cause and the easiest to fix. A warm room, a mattress that traps heat, or synthetic nightclothes all raise your body temperature during the night.
Medicines
Medicines are among the most common causes of sweating while sleeping, including:
Some antidepressants
Diabetes medicines that can lower blood sugar at night
Fever reducers such as aspirin and paracetamol
Hormone therapy and steroids
Don't stop a medicine on your own if you suspect it is the cause. Talk to the doctor who prescribed it.
Anxiety and nightmares
Stress and anxiety can raise nervous system activity at night, so you wake sweating with a racing heart, especially after a nightmare or a panic attack.
Low blood sugar
It can happen at night in people with diabetes who use insulin or some tablets, and comes with sweating, shaking and hunger.
Overactive thyroid
It speeds up metabolism and raises body heat, increasing sweating by night and by day.
Acid reflux
A recognised cause, although night sweats are not one of its common symptoms.
Infections
Tuberculosis is the infection most often linked with night sweats, alongside other less common infections. They usually come with a fever or other symptoms.
Primary hyperhidrosis
Sometimes the body produces too much sweat without a clear medical cause. This is called primary hyperhidrosis.
Night sweats in women
Hormones play a large part in sweating while sleeping in women. The main causes are:
Perimenopause and menopause
The most common cause in women over 40. Hot flashes and night sweats affect up to 80% of women during the transition to menopause. In a large US study, more than half of women with frequent symptoms had them for more than seven years.
Pregnancy and after birth
Hormonal changes and increased blood flow during pregnancy can raise body temperature. Sweating may continue for a few weeks after the baby is born while hormones settle.
Before a period
Less common, but it can happen because estrogen drops in the days before a period.
Other causes
These include hormonal medicines, anxiety, and sleep apnea, which is often missed in women. Cleveland Clinic also notes some evidence linking vitamin B12 deficiency with night sweats.
To learn how hormones affect sleep during your cycle, read our article on why you sleep more during your period.
Night sweats in men
The order of causes is different in men. The most important include:
Sleep apnea: three to five times more common in men, and about a third of men with it report night sweats.
Low testosterone: the Sleep Foundation notes that around 38% of men aged 45 and over have low testosterone, which can cause night sweats.
Medicines: especially antidepressants, diabetes medicines and some hormonal prostate treatments.
Infections: such as tuberculosis, especially with a cough, fever or weight loss.
Stress, poor sleep and primary hyperhidrosis.
If you are a man sweating while sleeping and you snore loudly, sleep apnea is the first thing to consider.
Sleep apnea and night sweats
Most articles leave this out, yet it matters. In sleep apnea, breathing stops or weakens many times a night, so the body works harder and stress hormones rise, which brings on sweating.
In a study published in BMJ Open of more than 800 patients with untreated sleep apnea:
Frequent night sweats (three or more times a week) affected about 31% of men and 33% of women with sleep apnea, compared with only 9% and 12% of the general population.
With regular use of a positive airway pressure device, the rate fell from 33% to about 12% over two years.
In other words, sweating while sleeping may be a sign of undiagnosed sleep apnea, and treating it may ease the sweating itself.
Night sweats with snoring or waking up choking?
A home sleep apnea test checks for sleep apnea in your own bed within Riyadh, and the doctor then decides on the right treatment.
Or start with a sleep disorders consultation
💬 Ask about the test on WhatsApp
Sweating while sleeping when the room is cold
When you sweat even though the room is cold, an outside cause is unlikely, and the question becomes an internal one. Common reasons include:
Hormonal changes, especially in women approaching menopause
Sleep apnea
Medicines, especially antidepressants and diabetes medicines
Low blood sugar at night
Infection, especially with a fever
Anxiety and nightmares
In winter many people use heavy blankets and heaters, so the bed gets hot even when the room is cold. Try lighter bedding first before looking for another cause.
Are there benefits to sweating while sleeping?
Sweating is the body's way of lowering its temperature. When you get warm during sleep, sweat evaporates from the skin and cools you down. That cooling role is the real benefit of sweating while sleeping.
It helps to separate two things:
Light sweating from a warm room: a normal response that protects the body from overheating.
Heavy, repeated night sweats: not beneficial in themselves, but a sign whose cause needs understanding.
You may hear that night sweating flushes toxins out of the body, but this is not supported by science. The liver and kidneys remove waste, and sweat is mostly water and salts.
In fact, heavy sweating can break up your sleep and wake you several times. To understand these awakenings and how to deal with them, read our article on why you keep waking up in the middle of the night.
How to reduce sweating while sleeping
If there is no medical cause behind the sweating, these steps may help:
Keep the bedroom cool and well ventilated, and use lighter bedding.
Choose cotton or linen nightclothes and sheets.
Use layered bedding so you can remove some during the night.
Keep a glass of cold water by the bed.
Avoid spicy food and caffeine in the evening.
Wind down before bed with a calm activity.
If the cause is medical, such as menopause or sleep apnea, treatment targets that cause, and your doctor will decide on it.
When are night sweats serious?
Most cases of sweating while sleeping are not serious. But see a doctor promptly if it comes with any of these signs:
A high fever or unintended weight loss
A persistent cough or phlegm, especially with blood
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin
Pain in one part of the body, or ongoing diarrhea
Heavy, frequent sweating that disrupts your sleep
Sweating that starts months or years after menopause symptoms have ended
Loud snoring or waking up choking
NHS guidance notes that cancer is an unusual cause of night sweats and usually comes with unexplained weight loss. So it is these signs together, not the sweating alone, that call for tests.
Night sweats with a cough or breathlessness?
If night sweats come with a persistent cough or shortness of breath, the best place to start is a pulmonology consultation.
Book a pulmonology consultation
💬 Ask about your case on WhatsApp
How doctors find the cause of night sweats
To find the cause of sweating while sleeping, the doctor starts by asking when it happens and how heavy it is, which medicines you take, any other symptoms such as fever, cough or weight loss, and about snoring and the quality of your sleep.
Depending on your symptoms, the doctor may order:
Blood tests, such as a full blood count, thyroid function and blood sugar
A chest X-ray if there is a cough or a suspected chest infection
A sleep study if sleep apnea is suspected
Sometimes no clear cause is found, and the sweating is not linked to any illness.
Why Subat Clinics?
Sweating while sleeping sits between two specialties: sleep medicine and pulmonology. At Subat Clinics both are under one roof:
A consultant in sleep medicine to diagnose sleep apnea and sleep disorders linked to sweating
A consultant in pulmonology to assess night-time cough and chest causes
Home sleep studies within Riyadh, both basic and advanced with EEG
Online consultations for patients outside Riyadh
How to prepare for your appointment
These details help the doctor find the cause of sweating while sleeping in your case:
How many nights a week you sweat, and whether your clothes or sheets get soaked
A list of your medicines and supplements, and when you take them
Any fever, weight loss or cough you have noticed
Notes from your bed partner about snoring or breathing pauses
For women: the date of your last period and any menopause symptoms
Your room temperature and the type of bedding you use
Conclusion
Sweating while sleeping often has a simple cause, such as a warm room or heavy bedding. But it can be linked to menopause in women, to sleep apnea and low testosterone in men, and to medicines and anxiety in anyone. If it comes with fever, weight loss, a cough, or snoring with choking, a medical assessment is the right next step.
Book your appointment
Don't live with nights of waking up drenched. Book now and start by finding the cause.
Choose the service that suits you and book directly:
Pulmonology consultation if the sweating comes with a cough or breathlessness
Online sleep consultation for patients outside Riyadh
Address: Othman Ibn Affan Road, Al-Taawun District, Riyadh 12477
Phone: 0112011100
WhatsApp: 0505999713
The clinic is not an emergency facility. In an emergency call 997 or go to the nearest hospital.
Sources:
Arnardottir et al. — Nocturnal sweating and obstructive sleep apnoea (BMJ Open 2013)
Mold et al. — Prevalence of night sweats in primary care patients (J Fam Pract 2002)
Wake Forest — Hot flashes and night sweats last more than 7 years in many midlife women (SWAN)
This content is for health awareness and does not replace a personal medical consultation. Do not stop any medicine you suspect is causing night sweats without talking to your doctor.
Medically reviewed by: Dr. Ahmed Alruhaimi, Consultant in Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Medicine, Subat Clinics
Last reviewed: October 2026
Frequently asked questions
Why do my head and neck sweat more than the rest of my body at night?
The head and neck have plenty of sweat glands, and a pillow that traps heat adds to it. If the sweating is heavy and frequent, the same causes described in this article may apply.
Is it normal for children to sweat at night?
Usually yes, because children sweat easily under heavy blankets. But if it comes with snoring or breathing pauses, it may be a sign of sleep apnea, and a doctor's review is advisable.
Does Ramadan fasting affect night sweats?
A heavy or spicy suhoor right before bed may increase sweating in some people. Drinking water between iftar and suhoor and avoiding spicy food can help.
Are night sweats an early sign of pregnancy?
They can happen because of hormonal changes, but they are not a reliable sign of pregnancy. A pregnancy test is the only way to know.