By Pat Cooper

Night sweats for which the medical term is “sleep hyperhydrosis”, is a common symptom of perimenopause for many women, though not all women. There have been scientific studies which found that as many as 75% of perimenopausal women will experience night sweats.

Just as some perimenopausal women will experience hot flashes and others will not. However some women will be unfortunate enough to experience both, which can leave them feeling pretty ragged. Of course the frequency and intensity of the night sweats will be different for every sufferer.

Some women may only suffer from night sweats occasionally whereas others may experience them a number of times a night and every night. The lucky ones may only experience a little discomfort while other women will wake suddenly in distress and throw of the bed clothes and remove their night clothes in a desperate attempt to cool down.

While some women will just feel unbearably hot others will in fact sweat copiously, so much in fact that they will need to change their night clothes and perhaps even their bedding.

What causes night sweats? As with other symptoms of perimenopause it’s due to fluctuating hormone levels. As your oestrogen levels decline and become erratic this can have an effect on your hypothalamus, this is the part of your brain that controls your body temperature.

Other causes can be environmental, in other words your surroundings. If you have to much warm bedding there’s an increased chance you will get hot in the night. Likewise if you sleep in a very warm bedroom you more likely to get hot while sleeping. Naturally hot weather may increase the chances of hot sweats in the night in this case you can only take steps to cool your room, maybe a portable air conditioner would help. Many women make sure that they wear night clothes which can be easily opened or removed, and don’t wear clothing which comes up high on their neck.

Some other factors which can help to promote night sweats are dietary; spicy foods for instance, also alcohol or too much caffeine. Smoking can also trigger night sweats in some women. Avoid these obvious triggers if you can, of course not all of these things will trigger night sweats in all women so try to keep note of what you ate or drank before you went to bed and you maybe able to cut out the worst offenders without giving up all your pleasures.

Emotional factors can also contribute to night sweats, anxiety and stress can make things worse, of course there can be a cycle of worrying about night sweats causes anxiety which then helps trigger night sweats. Anything which can relax you at bedtime could be helpful. Exercise and yoga have been found to help in reducing the frequency and intensity of night sweats.

Find out how you can get through this natural but disruptive time in your life with Surviving Perimenopause.

Perimenopause is the changeover stage before menopause hits. It’s the transition from regular monthly ovulation and menstruation until Menopause. It is the time period in which a woman’s body starts to begin to make its transition into menopause. It really is a normal transition in a womans lifetime. Perimenopause is really a natural stage of life.

Perimenopause is the start of a fresh stage of life for the majority of women. It is a life stage that can be successfully managed with the right tools. It is a period when many changes are occurring in a women’s life. It is the time period prior to the natural cessation of menses. Perimenopause is a distinct transition between the reproductive years and cessation of menses.

Perimenopause can last anywhere from one to ten years, with the average time being four to six years. It is a stop-start process that can take a few months or up to 12 years. It is a process — a gradual transition. It is a good time to start planning  for a new, healthy second period in your life. Perimenopause is one of the normal stages in a woman’s life, but it’s neither an event nor a disease.

Perimenopause can be a difficult and scary time in a woman’s life. It is defined as the transitional time between the first irregular menstrual periods to the last one. It is defined as the TRANSITIONAL period from normal menstrual periods to no periods at all. It is a largely unstudied and ill-defined period in the lifespan of women. Perimenopause is a phenomenon that is experienced by women in their 30′s and 40′s.

Perimenopause is mostly experienced by women in their late 40s and 50s. It is something that many women may not be aware of, even if they have gone through it themselves.

For more information on Perimenopause and how to deal with it Click here

By Pat Cooper

The most common menopause or perimenopause symptoms experienced by the majority of women are, in no particular order.

Hot Flashes
We may all have seen middle aged women in public places suddenly start to take of jackets and loosen their clothing around the neck line and maybe even start frantically fanning themselves, and they may get very red in the face and neck. Yes this is usually a hot flash. A sudden increase in body temperature associated with menopause or more accurately perimenopause or pre menopause. Hot flashes may not be life threatening but they can be very unpleasant, much more than just feeling a little warm.

Night Sweats
Not surprisingly these are the night time equivalent of hot flashes, a very sudden increase in temperature in the upper body which wakes you and really does make you sweat. Apart from feeling very uncomfortable they can happen a number of times during the night so you lose sleep as well. Unfortunately this is a time of life when you may already be experiencing lack of sleep.

Irregular Periods
As your ovulation begins to decrease it can also become very erratic, you might have periods which are lighter than usual or heavier. You may even miss some periods altogether. You should be aware that you can still get pregnant during perimenopause, in fact menopause is defined as the time when you have not had a period at all for one year.

Mood Swings
Many women suffer quite serious changes of mood at this time, you may find you’re feeling depressed, you might cry for no reason or get upset over something that you know isn’t really important. You can feel like you’re not in control of your emotions at all. These feelings can be because of your changing hormone levels but also partly due to tiredness from lack of sleep.

Bladder Problems
You may experience various urinary problems because your levels of the hormone estrogen are falling and as well as controlling your fertility it helps with keeping your bladder in good health. You may find you need to get up often during the night to go to the bathroom, you may also experience stress incontinence, this is when sneezing or coughing or bending to lift things can cause urine leaks. You might also be more susceptible to urinary infections.

Lack of Sex Drive.
Because of all this upset in your hormone levels it’s quite possible that you will suffer from vaginal dryness this not surprisingly can make intercourse difficult or unpleasant, you may also find that you’re just not as easily aroused as you used to be and my not be as sensitive to touch.

Learn more about perimenopause and how to survive it by clicking here