Sleep and night sweats

Why it happens

Night sweats are hot flashes that happen during sleep, and sleep problems are a common part of the menopause transition.¹⁵

Everyday things to try

The NIA suggests keeping your bedroom cool, dressing in layers, keeping cold water nearby, and noticing triggers such as alcohol, caffeine or spicy food.¹ These are low-risk, though the evidence for most of them is modest.

What has stronger evidence

• CBT for insomnia (CBT-I): in a randomized trial in women with hot flashes, telephone-based CBT-I improved insomnia more than a control program.³
• Non-hormone treatment: The Menopause Society’s 2023 statement recommends CBT, clinical hypnosis, some prescription medications (such as certain SSRIs/SNRIs, gabapentin and fezolinetant), and weight loss for hot flashes. It does not recommend many popular supplements, based on the evidence.²
• Hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats, for those who are candidates.⁴ See our hormone therapy guide.

Bring this to your appointment

Track how often you wake, sweats per night, and how you feel the next day for two weeks using our printable tracker. Concrete notes make for a better conversation.

Sources

1. National Institute on Aging. Hot Flashes: What Can I Do? www.nia.nih.gov
2. The Menopause Society. The 2023 nonhormone therapy position statement. Menopause, 2023. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3. McCurry SM et al. Telephone-based CBT for insomnia in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms. JAMA Intern Med, 2016. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4. The Menopause Society. The 2022 hormone therapy position statement. Menopause, 2022. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5. National Institute on Aging. What Is Menopause? www.nia.nih.gov

Information for better conversations, not a diagnosis. We’re not clinicians; we read the research and show our sources. See our disclaimer.