Sweating is incredibly useful when we need cooling down. A little part of your brain, called the hypothalamus, regulates body temperature by signaling over 2 million sweat glands to do their stuff. Unfortunately, it also sends signals when we don’t need it. Most annoyingly at night.
Hot flashes are common to 80% of middle-aged menopausal women and last around 7.5 years. But they don’t suffer alone. Millions of Americans suffer night sweats by other means (from other hormone imbalances to the side effects of certain medications). And if the causes aren’t bad enough, night sweats usually result in poor quality sleep, which in turn, can cause other long-term medical issues or exacerbate the existing ones.
We asked 300 ‘sweaters’ (60% women 40% men aged between 40-60) how they dealt with their night sweats to lessen their effect, if not stop them. Here are the top most common responses in order: 1. A cool room, few covers, light PJ’s. 2. Exercise. 3. No spicy, acidic, caffeine at dinner. 4. I do nothing. 5. Better diet/nutrition. 6. Don’t be overweight. 7. No alcohol. 8. Medication/Naturopathy.
We were surprised to see how high on the list “I don’t do anything” was. (Important to note is that those researched hadn’t suffered from a serious illness like cancer or diabetes, checking the ‘once a week or less’ box). Also interesting to note was that people whose night sweats were due to post-medical medications were less likely to go for more medication to help night sweats, opting to choose more natural or DIY means as per the selections above. No-one mentioned their bed, mattress, or their bedding. That’s where we believe You Are What You Sleep can help.
Cool wool actively works with your body’s nightly temperature changes, allowing heat to escape (rather than trapping it as most bedding does), and importantly, draws moisture away from your skin to keep you more comfortable. Indeed, wool can absorb up to 33% of it’s own weight in water without feeling wet (cotton only around 10%). Yet, wool also retains 80% of its insulating properties when wet.
So while we can’t promise to cure your sweats, we can help ensure they don’t disrupt your sleep.
Sleep well now!