Originally Posted by Mayoclinic

Night sweats are usually defined as episodes of significant nighttime sweating that soaks your bed clothes or bedding. This is a fairly common problem that many people experience from time to time.

Although uncomfortable, nighttime sweating typically isn't a sign of a serious underlying medical condition. It may be triggered by something as simple as too warm a room or too many blankets on the bed. Potential medical causes of night sweats include:

* Menopause
* Anxiety
* Medications such as certain high blood pressure drugs, over-the-counter fever reducers and antipsychotics
* Drug or alcohol abuse
* Gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD)
* Diabetes

See your doctor if night sweats occur on a regular basis and interrupt your sleep. Treatment is directed at the underlying cause, if it can be determined. Occasionally, night sweats are a symptom of a serious condition, such as cancer or infection. But in such cases, night sweats are often accompanied by other signs and symptoms, such as fever and unexplained weight loss.

Originally Posted by Sweating Excessive

Sweating during sleep causes many people to worry. Should you be staying awake at night worrying over your sweat?

If you sweat while you sleep, the chances are you are perfectly normal. We all sweat for different reasons, ranging from heavy pajamas to hormonal changes to serious medical problems. In many cases, you don’t even notice that you do sweat.

Sweating is the body’s way of cooling itself off. If you find yourself sweating during sleep, there are many easy ways to solve the problem.

First of all wear lighter pajamas and use lighter bed linens. Be sure to use natural fibers such as cotton because synthetic fabrics don’t allow your skin to breathe properly.

Next be sure your room is cool enough. Open a window or use a fan or air conditioner to bring the room temperature to a comfortable level.

Before you turn in, try taking a cool shower or drinking a glass of water. These will help bring your body temperature down to help you get a good night’s sleep. Stay away from alcohol and caffeine as they can raise body temperature.

If you find yourself sweating during sleep despite these efforts, consider what could be causing the problem. Are you particularly worried about something? Your anxiety could be causing you to perspire. Are you taking any medications? Check to see if night sweats could be a side effect.

Sweating during sleep can be quite common during two phases of life: adolescence and menopause/andropause (the so-called "change" from the reproductive years for both women and men). At these times of life, your body’s hormone levels change, resulting in changes in body temperature and other changes. While hormone replacement therapy can help cure night sweating, many choose to just ride out the process, which gradually resolves itself.

If you are fighting off the flu or some other infection, sweating during sleep can be your body’s way of healing itself. However, night sweats can also be an indication of more serious health problems, including sleep apnea, meningitis, tuberculosis, diabetes and HIV. If you are really concerned and have ruled out the more benign causes, it is well worth a trip to the doctor to rule out the more serious causes as well.

Sweating during the night can be an annoying problem. While most often the cause is nothing to worry about don’t wait to have it checked out. This is one case in which it pays to "sweat the small stuff".