Dr O’Donovan explains night sweats – including common causes, when you should go and see your doctor and ways to manage it.

It’s normal to sweat during the night if the room or your bedding is making you too hot, but night sweats are when you sweat so much that your night clothes and bedding are soaking wet, even though where you’re sleeping is cool.

Causes of night sweats can include hormonal changes (especially during the menopause), anxiety or stress, infection, medications. Occasionally they can be caused by more serious conditions – such as cancer.

When to see your doctor: According to the NHS UK website you should see your doctor if:

you have night sweats regularly that wake you up or worry you
you also have a very high temperature (or feel hot and shivery), a cough or diarrhoea
you have night sweats and you’re losing weight for no reason