Night Sweats

A fairly common occurrence, night sweats can be frustrating and embarrassing. Related to hot flashes, sweating at night is a physical response
to mixed up messages from the brain. The temperature regulating hypothalmus, during hormone extremes, misinterprets certain messages as commands to increase core body temperature. Its response is to stimulate neurotransmitters to send messages to the body to release heat energy. The body reacts by increasing the heart rate and dilating blood vessels in an attempt to cool the body and dissipate the 'imagined' heat.

The reality of this 'imagined' heat can be very frustrating as along with the body's attempts to cool down, some women may experience:

Anxiety
Increase in heart rate
Fatigue
Dizziness
Feelings of being close in
Weakness
Headaches

It isn't just menopause that can bring on night sweats though. Anything that causes fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone levels can trigger the brain to misinterpret signals. Stress is a big anything!