# Night sweats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2000, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160 "2000-09-30T18:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2000, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/1 "2000-09-30T18:35:01Z")
This is a serious question: I’ve been told that ‘night sweats’ have to do with Diabetes, but I’ve always assumed they meant all-over-the-body sweats. I’ve noticed that I will sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and my head, and _just_ my head, will be soaked with sweat. I’m pretty sure it’s sweat, anyway. Either that, or my wife is up to something _very_ peculiar. I _have_ noticed that this most often happens if I drink a soft drink in the evening. I’ve asked three doctors about this, and none of them had a clue. [sarcasm]Am I getting Diabetes from the head down?[/sarcasm] Anybody have an answer? A theory? a WAG? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2000, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/2 "2000-09-30T18:37:08Z")
this might be the W-est AG of them all, but… what kind of pillow do you use? I know that when I’m using my favorite feathered pillows, my whole head feels warmer than those yucky polyester things other people use. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2000, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/3 "2000-09-30T20:47:33Z")
You may be on to something there. But this doesn’t happen all the time, just once a week or so. And I’ll be just _soaking_ wet. But I do use one of those yucky foam kinda pillows. hmmmm ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2000, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/4 "2000-09-30T22:45:58Z")
Hey, bum, if it makes you feel any better, I occasionaly suffer from similar symptoms, except my “sleep-sweats” occur around just my neck and shoulders. I can really drench my pillow and t-shirt. Fortunately it’s an infrequent thing, and usually seems to happen when I’m under a lot of stress. I hope your post gets some answers, cause I’d love to do something about it too. ---
**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/5 "2000-10-01T01:20:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bumbazine \* > \*\*This is a serious question: > > I’ve been told that ‘night sweats’ have to do with Diabetes, but I’ve always assumed they meant all-over-the-body sweats. > I’ve noticed that I will sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and my head, and _just_ my head, will be soaked with sweat\*\* My WAG: Could it be that your PJ’s or sheets are wicking away the sweat from your body? or maybe you just have **really** clogged pores. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Lord\_Davidson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc8723/32.png) [@Dark\_Lord\_Davidson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Lord_Davidson)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/6 "2000-10-01T01:21:01Z")
Same thing happens to me. It’s around my shoulders and the small of my back. No, I don’t have diabetes, or nightmares every night. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/7 "2000-10-01T02:06:55Z")
This happens to me too, usually I wake up and the entire neck of my t-shirt is wet. I’m a warm sleeper, and I’ve always attributed it to that. I feel like my body temp goes up when I sleep; my girlfriend has confirmed that I’m a toaster oven at night. Anyway, my solution is usually to have a fan or turn on the A/C. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/8 "2000-10-01T02:31:21Z")
Night Sweats is a SIGN of Diabetes, it’s also a sign of other things too. I had night sweats and I discovered that I had sleep apnea. Do you snore at night? Loudly? ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/9 "2000-10-01T02:44:21Z")
I appreciate everybodys input, and thank you for taking what seems like a ridiculous problem seriously. In retrospect, I see that I should have included a **lot** more information in my OP, but I’m new to this, and tend to write the way I talk. Anyway, let me add these points: As I _should_ have made clear, this an infrequent occurance. 3 or 4 times a month. Which makes me suspect it is something to do with _me_ rather than my environment. We sleep in a relatively cool room (67 degrees). When it is warmer than that, we have a ceiling fan on. I never wear anything above the waist. My body doesn’t sweat, just my head. I’ve checked my sheets, and my wife confirms this. I have never thought to correlate the phenomena with stress levels, or nightmares. I will make note of that in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/10 "2000-10-01T02:48:26Z")
You must have posted while I was composing my last post. **Yes** , my wife says that I _do_ snore, **loudly.** I will pursue that idea, Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/11 "2000-10-01T02:55:02Z")
I did it again. Note to self: _This is not a conversation. Say everything you have to say up front._ **Enright3** , Did you sweat all over your body, or just around the head like I do? What did you do about it? I’m not familiar with sleep apnea, but I inteand to become so. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/12 "2000-10-01T02:57:56Z")
I also _intend_ to learn how to spell. :o ---
**Author:** ![jamesglewisf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a5b964/32.png) [@jamesglewisf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamesglewisf)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/13 "2000-10-01T05:05:54Z")
People under stress often have colder skin temperatures because the body sends blood to the most important organs when it is stressed. When you sleep, you tend to relax some, and your skin temperature can increase because blood circulation makes it to the extremities. The temperature that you go to bed at may feel comfortable, but when you have slept for a while, it might be too warm. It could have something to do with this. I used to be able to raise the temperature of my hands in about 30 seconds. I learned to do it by getting hooked up to a biofeedback machine and trying different methods of relaxing. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2000, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-sweats/35160/14 "2000-10-03T14:47:42Z")
This thread seems to have run down. I want to thank each and every one of you for coming. And I appreciate all of your advice. I now declare this thread offically closed. (Can I do that?) Thank you and good night.