If you've ever woken up drenched in sweat in the middle of the night, you're not alone.
Night sweats are fairly common, and while they’re often associated with hormonal changes later in life, they can happen at any age and affect all genders.
Most causes aren't serious, but identifying what's behind them is the first step to getting a better night's sleep.
What Are Night Sweats?
Night sweats, medically referred to as nocturnal hyperhidrosis, are episodes of excessive sweating during sleep that go well beyond normal nighttime perspiration. They are caused by internal physiological processes, not external temperature.
Women experience night sweats more often than men, largely because menopause and the hormonal changes that accompany it are among the most common causes. Around 80% of women experience hot flashes or night sweats during perimenopause and after menopause.
That said, hormones also influence night sweats in men, particularly those with low testosterone levels, affecting around 38% of men aged 45 and older.
In both men and women, night sweats peak in the 41–55 age group, though they can occur at any stage of life, including in children and young adults.
What Causes Night Sweats?
Night sweats are a symptom, which means the underlying trigger can range from a hormonal shift to a medication side effect to an undiagnosed health condition. Below are the most well-established causes:
Hormonal Changes
Hormonal fluctuations are the most common driver of night sweats, particularly in women.
The hypothalamus acts as the body's thermostat, and estrogen plays a key role in maintaining its stability. As estrogen levels drop during menopause, the hypothalamus becomes overly sensitive to small changes in body temperature — it mistakenly interprets the body as overheating and triggers cooling mechanisms.
This same mechanism explains night sweats during perimenopause, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.
Hormonal fluctuations are also one reason men can experience night sweats, although this is less common than menopause-related night sweats in women.
In both women and men, hormone-related night sweats are more likely when they appear alongside other symptoms, such as hot flashes, low libido, fatigue, mood changes, unexplained weight changes, or changes in sleep quality.
Anxiety and Stress
The body's stress response is governed by the sympathetic nervous system, which, when chronically activated, keeps the body running at a higher baseline temperature and in a state of physiological alertness through the night.
This becomes especially pronounced in people dealing with anxiety disorders, where the fight-or-flight response is effectively stuck in the on position.
Medications
A wide range of commonly prescribed medications list night sweats as a side effect. Antidepressants, particularly SSRIs, increase serotonin availability, which affects the body's temperature control system.
Elevated serotonin can over-activate sweat glands and also interfere with the hypothalamus directly. Studies suggest between 5% and 22% of people taking antidepressants experience this side effect.
Other frequent culprits include blood pressure medications, hormone therapies, corticosteroids, and even over-the-counter fever reducers like aspirin and acetaminophen, which can cause a rebound sweating effect as they wear off.
Sleep Apnea
When breathing stops during sleep, the body enters a state of panic and activates the fight-or-flight response, producing a surge of adrenaline that raises body temperature and triggers sweating.
Research shows that over 30% of people with obstructive sleep apnea experience night sweats.
Because sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed, recurring night sweats accompanied by heavy snoring, daytime fatigue, or waking up gasping for air are worth discussing with a doctor.
Thyroid Disorders
An overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism, raises the body's metabolic rate and core temperature around the clock, but the sweating is often most noticeable at night when you're lying still and more attuned to the sensation.
A simple blood test measuring thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels can confirm or rule out a thyroid disorder as the underlying cause.
Managing Night Sweats Caused by Stress and Anxiety
For many causes of night sweats, the path forward is in treating the underlying condition. But when stress, anxiety, or unresolved trauma is the driver, the approach needs to be different.
The starting point is your sleep habits and wind-down routine. How you spend the hours before bed has a direct impact on where your cortisol levels are by the time you fall asleep.
Keeping a consistent sleep schedule, stepping away from screens before bed, and building in genuine downtime rather than just waiting to feel tired are all adjustments that affect the body's internal chemistry overnight.
It is also worth stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Night sweats driven by stress are a signal that your nervous system is carrying more than it can quietly process overnight. Finding the source of that load, whether it is ongoing anxiety, unresolved emotional experiences, or accumulated burnout, is what ultimately breaks the cycle.
Scent Therapy For Night Sweats
One approach that works particularly well alongside these changes is scent therapy. Because anxiety-driven night sweats are rooted in an overactive sympathetic nervous system, anything that reliably shifts the body toward parasympathetic activity before sleep is directly relevant.
Scent therapy does exactly that: by stimulating the olfactory bulb and sending signals to the limbic system, certain scents prompt the brain to release serotonin and endorphins, lowering cortisol and reducing the physiological arousal that makes temperature regulation unstable through the night.
Kimba is built around exactly this principle. Kimba is a smart scent therapy system that connects to your wearable device.
As you sleep, it monitors signals like HRV, sleep stages, and nighttime movement, and when your body shows signs of stress or restlessness, it responds by delivering a targeted scent blend in real time.
For people whose night sweats are driven by an overactive nervous system, Kimba addresses the problem at its source, automatically, while you sleep.
References
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Sleep Foundation, “Night Sweats: Causes and Tips to Prevent Sweating at Night.”
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/night-sweats -
The Menopause Society, “Perimenopause.”
https://menopause.org/patient-education/menopause-topics/perimenopause -
Mold JW et al., “Prevalence and Predictors of Night Sweats, Day Sweats, and Hot Flashes in Older Primary Care Patients.”
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1466726/ -
NHS, “Night Sweats.”
https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/night-sweats/ -
Mayo Clinic, “Night Sweats: Causes.”
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/night-sweats/basics/causes/sym-20050768 -
NHS Inform, “Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.”
https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/lungs-and-airways/obstructive-sleep-apnoea/ -
Mayo Clinic, “Hyperthyroidism: Symptoms and Causes.”
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperthyroidism/symptoms-causes/syc-20373659 -
Cleveland Clinic, “Hyperthyroidism.”
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14129-hyperthyroidism -
Sattayakhom A. et al., “The Effects of Essential Oils on the Nervous System.”
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10180368/ -
Eissa ME, “Olfactory Interventions for Sleep Enhancement: A Review.”
https://ujpronline.com/index.php/journal/article/view/1240/1794 -
Sleep Review, “How Scent Can Support Sleep Wellness.”
https://sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-treatments/pharmaceuticals/otc/scent-sleep-wellness-limbic-fragrance-therapy/
