Nothing can be more uncomfortable than having night sweats, which are the excessive sweating that come on after you go to sleep at night. This condition is very different than those times when you have too many bedclothes on or your room gets too hot. The sweating that results from those conditions is perfectly normal. Night sweats on the other hand are more like extreme hot flashes that occur during sleep. You can wake up totally drenched in sweat that results not from your external environment but from a malfunction of your internal thermometer. If you're experiencing night sweats it may beneficial you to know exactly what are nights sweats caused by.
Menopause:
There are many different reasons why you may be experiencing night sweats but probably the most common is menopause. During menopause, when the hot flashes that women often experience come on during waking hours, it is only natural to seek out ways to cool down the body temperature. But if you're sleeping and under the covers, you may not realize that your internal thermometer is off kilter. You'll end up sweating until you're completely soaked through.
Infections:
Another possible cause of night sweats is an infection. Serious infections like tuberculosis can bring on some pretty severe night sweats but there are other bacterial infections that can also cause inflammation of the heart valves, around the bones, an abscesses in different areas of the body. The result can be continuous night sweats. HIV infection is also a major cause of night sweats.
Illnesses:
Serious illnesses like cancer, are also known to bring on night sweats. In fact, night sweats are an early indication of some cancers and could show that you may need to go to a doctor for a diagnosis. It's important to note, however, that night sweats caused by cancer rarely appear alone. These conditions are quite often accompanied by other symptoms as well including losing too much weight or high fevers.
People who suffer from chronic cases of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar or diabetes) can also cause extreme cases of sweating. And those who are insulin dependent may find that the treatments they are taking could result in an imbalance in their system that could lead to night sweats.
So, in your research to find out exactly what are nights sweats caused by, you'll come across lots of reasons for this unpleasant condition. Aside from the most common conditions that can lead to night sweats, they could be an indication of some other underlying issues that may need attention.
In order for you to find the reason behind your night sweats, you'll need to resolve your underlying health issues, it's important to first determine what are nights sweats caused by and then seek out treatments that will get to the root of the problem. In many cases, there is no cure for the condition and in time the body will self-correct (as in the case of menopause) and readjust itself and before long you'll be back to normal.