Why Do I Get Hot When I Sleep at Night? - Everything You Need To Know
Have you ever found yourself being all sweaty and hot when you wake up? Don't worry; at some point, we all have experienced weird things related to sleep. But as usual, it gets tricky to understand the reason behind the occurrence of these things. Many professionals and doctors who have studied this issue have made a few theories that would help you understand this situation better.
What is the reason behind night sweats?
Many factors can interfere with a good night's sleep, including late-night movie binges, lack of exercise, and a delayed latte. A hot bedroom, on the other hand, can be one of the most irritating factors. There can be several reasons behind experiencing warmth while sleeping. Night sweat takes place when the core body temperature drops during the night time. This leads to excessive sweating and can also affect sleep quality by making it difficult for the person to fall asleep. Different reasons behind the dropping of core temperature are as follows:
Menopause
When a woman goes through the ending period of her menstruation cycle, her hormones start getting imbalanced. As a result, the body starts to experience hot flashes that weaken the temperature regulation in the body during different times of the day, and especially at night.
Certain Medications
Almost all medications give us some side effects. If you have been taking antidepressants or pills with a high amount of solid drugs, they could be a reason behind the higher core body temperature. Consult your doctor and ask if he/she can provide you with some medications that have a lower risk of getting defects.
Infections
If you cannot find out the exact reason why your body heat is increasing during the nights, there could be a reason that your body is trying to fight some infectious disease or illness. During this process, the body starts to get more delicate and sensitive. As a result, even during pleasant weather, you will be all sweaty and hot.
Exploring the Science of Sleeping
Being someone who himself has been experiencing night sweating, Jordan Lay tried to form an experiment related to the issue of sleeping hot.
Lay designed a few sensors for measuring humidity and temperature and wore them on his back and feet for a few days to observe a few things. When Jordan woke up one morning, he noticed a profound change in the readings. He noticed that the temperature readings fluctuated significantly and increased rapidly from around 25 degrees C to 45 degrees C during the night. At the same time, the humidity measures showed something else. The moisture in the air kept increasing and decreasing until it increased at a high pace during midnight.
When the body temperature and humidity rise together, they form an equilibrium that leads to the core temperature dropping. If you find yourself with similar measurements and observations, you can quickly identify yourself as a hot sleeper.
How do I stop myself from Overheating when I sleep?
Night sweats can affect your sleep cycle, so it is essential to know some tips and tricks that would help you get rid of warm temperatures and cool you down.
1. Get a mattress with cooling properties
We all desire a good night's sleep without any hot flashes and sweats. We can achieve this by getting a mattress with cooling properties. This keeps you away from night sweats by decreasing your body temperature so that you call fall asleep throughout the night without any difficulty.
2. Take a hot shower or bath
Yes, a hot bath. It might sound a bit weird to you when we ask you to take a hot shower when you want to get rid of that warmth. When we take a hot shower, our body temperature starts to rise in the shower itself.
But, the minute we get out of the shower, our body senses a change of environment and starts to cool down. Thus, if you like to take a cold shower during the night, that's not going to help. Cold showers can lower down your core body temperature. As a result, you might feel sweaty the whole night.
3. Set your thermostat between 60-67 degrees F
The standard and the perfect temperature for sleeping are 60 to 67 degrees F. This will keep your skin temperature at a moderate level. But, if you are someone who is still struggling with night sweats, then you can refer to much cooler air conditioning.
4. Wear breathable clothing
A healthy sleeping environment is necessary to experience a good night's sleep. One can achieve this by wearing light clothes before going to bed. When your core temperature drops during the night, breathable and light clothes trap the heat and moisture around you. This helps you to cool down when you sleep hot.
5. Sleep on breathable & cooling sheets
Get yourself some breathable and cooling bedsheets to attain a cool environment. Try for sheets made of linen as they are airy and have moisture-wicking properties that help you stay cool even in hot weather. You might also want to look into the different comforter and duvet options.
6. Use a fan
A ceiling fan will provide you with extra air and fasten up the cooling of your air conditioner, providing you with a comfortable temperature.
7. Kick out your furry friends
If you are used to sleeping with your dog or any furry pet you own, you must consider sleeping without them. Pet's body generates heat as well. Sleeping with a pet might increase the temperature.
Why Heat Can Make You Feel Beat
Your body temperature tends to vary throughout the day, trying to assist in regulating your sleep cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm. When it increases, you start to feel alert and focused, and when it sets, you feel drowsy.
The ideal sleeping temperature varies among individuals, but your body's natural core temperature must drop for you to sleep in a broad sense. This slows your metabolic processes and goes hand in hand with the release of melatonin, a hormone that causes drowsiness, trying to signal to your brain that it's time to go to bed. This process will be affected if your body gets too hot at bedtime.
A heated or humid bedroom not only makes it increasingly challenging to cool down and take a nap. It can also make it tough to stay asleep. According to several studies, falling asleep in a heated environment can cause more frequent awakenings throughout the night and interrupt restorative rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Best Mattress for Hot Sleepers
Many people tried the tips mentioned above to balance their sleep cycle and cool down while they sleep hot. But they still couldn't manage to do so. If you are one of those people, you can consider buying a new mattress with some fantastic cooling properties that will work just fine for you.
There are manufacturers that specially craft mattresses for hot sleepers. These mattresses feature the following:
- Cooling Gel technology to keep you refreshed while you are asleep.
- Air channels that allow the hot air to pass and not stay around you to reduce overheating.
- Perforated and breathable foam that keeps you cool and maintains your blood pressure at night.
A night of good sleep will not only balance out your sleep cycle but will also allow your body to function correctly the next day. Keeping these facts in mind and focusing on the right thread count, weave, and fibers will help you with the next mattress purchase.
Conclusion
We hope this article managed to provide you with an essential guide about sleeping hot. If you are still helpless with the issue, try consulting your doctor for the same. There might be a few general things you are neglecting, like regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, reducing coffee intake, etc. Keeping your body well hydrated is also very important to catch a good sleep. Don't forget to make yourself and your surroundings entirely comfortable.
You can also consider visiting a sleep center and seek help from the professionals there. They collect users’ data and tell them some tips that they can consider to improve their sleep quality. Keep in mind that night sweats refer to excessive sweating; this issue is not a disease. So try to stay patient, and you'll find a way. Happy sleeping!
