Everything about night sweats: bed linen to prevent sweating & anything else that helps

On average, we humans lose half a liter of sweat - and not while exercising or sunbathing, but every night. Night sweats are a natural process that affects all of us. 

While many people don't even notice sweating while sleeping, for others it causes discomfort and has a negative impact on the quality of their sleep. You wake up with soaking wet hair, damp clothes and bed linen or suffer from unpleasant sweats at night. 

If you belong to the second category that struggles with night sweats, here's everything you need to know about the topic. We'll look at the causes and tell you how to choose the right bed linen. We also give you other helpful tips to combat annoying sweating at night.

Why do you sweat at night?

Before we delve deeper into the topic and look at the causes and symptoms of night sweats, let's first look at the basics.

Sweating is a natural reaction of the body, even at night. In this way, our organism regulates body temperature and at the same time protects itself from overheating. And it doesn't just do this during physical activity or when we have a fever, but also when we sleep. 

We lose an average of 0.5 liters of fluid every night, but we usually hardly notice any of it. Because the lower our body temperature, the better our sleep.

While up to 1.5 liters of sweat is considered normal, excessive sweating is also known as night sweats. It often has a negative impact on our well-being and causes us to sleep poorly or wake up bathed in sweat.

Causes of night sweats

This annoying night sweats can have different causes. The main reason for excessive sweating is often the room temperature in the bedroom. If this is too high, the body has to take all possible measures to counteract it. To compensate for the excess heat, it stimulates sweat production.

We sweat not only in summer, when the thermometer climbs to over 30 degrees Celsius, but also in the winter months. This is because other factors also affect night sweats: for example, a person's age and gender or weight and physical condition. 

Due to evolution, men often sweat more than women. People who are less trained also start producing sweat much earlier than athletes.

In addition, there are other things that can have a negative impact on night sweats and play a major role. These include, for example:

• A high humidity
• Stress or inner restlessness
• Improper diet or alcohol

No matter what the reason for the night sweats is, many sufferers suffer from the symptoms. 

But don't worry, you're not alone. In fact, there are some measures you can take to improve the quality of your sleep despite sweating at night.

What can you do about night sweats or heavy sweating?

Here you will find the most important tips to combat excessive sweating at night:

1. The perfect indoor climate to prevent sweating

The first thing you should pay attention to is an optimal room climate in your bedroom.

According to experts, the ideal sleeping temperature is between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius. This temperature helps our body cool down at night with little effort. Since we need less energy to produce sweat in a cool room, we sweat less and even sleep more deeply.

In addition to the right temperature, the perfect indoor climate also includes humidity and sufficient air change. Anything above 50% humidity promotes condensation and therefore excessive sweating. 

That's why it's important to ventilate at least twice a day (preferably in the morning and evening, even in winter). This way you let fresh air into the room, reduce the temperature and humidity and ensure a pleasant feeling in the room.

2. Know your body and avoid night sweats

The body reacts to certain foods by producing excessive sweat - for example, digesting fatty food is strenuous and requires a lot of energy. For this reason, anyone who opts for a burger and fries in the evening is likely to sweat more. Luxury foods such as alcohol, caffeine, etc. also promote night sweats. Instead of a nightcap, choose a calming tea in the evening.

Irregular sleeping habits and stress can also cause night sweats. In order not to disrupt our biorhythm, we should go to bed at a regular time and get enough sleep. It is also important to avoid mental stress and tension, especially before falling asleep. If you consciously relax in the evening and switch off properly, you will avoid excessive sweating while you sleep.

3. Create the right sleeping environment when sweating

Last but not least: Choosing the right duvet and bed linen is very important when you have night sweats. 

Unfortunately, sleepwear, sheets, covers and blankets cannot combat the causes of sweating while sleeping. However, you can alleviate the effects of the unpleasant symptoms and ensure the necessary hygiene.

And even if there is no bed linen to prevent sweating per se, some products are particularly breathable and temperature-regulating. For example, a temperature-regulating duvet made from TENCEL™ Lyocell is particularly suitable for people who sweat a lot. Depending on your needs, there are also special summer and winter blankets. 

We will now go into detail about what you should pay attention to when it comes to bed linen if you sweat a lot while sleeping.

How do you find the right bedding if you sweat a lot at night?

Let's first look at what you can do wrong: Suppliers often rely on bedding products made from synthetic fibers. These are popular with many customers because of their low price and, at first glance, are in no way inferior to sheets made from natural-based materials. 

But what counts – as so often – are the inner values. And they don't really look convincing with polyester, polyamide and the like. Because what matters are the characteristics of the bed linen. They not only affect how the fabric feels on the skin, but also how it feels in bed.

Man-made fibers absorb very little moisture. While this feature is beneficial for rain jackets and outdoor gear, in bed it means you wake up the next morning with soaking wet hair or damp clothes.

Why it is like that? The synthetic bed linen does not wick away sweat. Instead, the water droplets remain on the skin and textiles and create a humid, unpleasant microclimate there. The only people who love this and feel extremely comfortable in this environment are odor-causing bacteria - hygiene is different!

Especially if you sweat a lot at night, you should definitely choose cooling bed linen with moisture-regulating properties.

A material that combines these properties and is ideal for night sweats is  bed linen made from TENCEL™ Lyocell . In contrast to synthetic fibers and conventional textiles, it is a true all-rounder in bed. 

Why is Lyocell particularly suitable for night sweats? 

Unlike bed linen made from cotton, polyester or polyamide, TENCEL™ Lyocell is both breathable and temperature-regulating. Thanks to these unique features, it can be used wonderfully in both summer and winter.

The fine structure of the Lyocell fibers not only absorbs moisture particularly well, but also much faster than comparable textiles. The fabric absorbs sweat at night, releases it into the air and ensures a pleasantly dry feeling. No damp sheets, no sweaty bed linen - and no breeding ground for bacteria.

This means that both fitted sheets and bed linen made from Lyocell have a cooling effect all year round for people who struggle with night sweats, thus naturally improving sleep despite sweating.

Keep a cool head at night despite sweating

Our conclusion on the subject of night sweats: Sweating at night is - unless there is a serious health reason behind it - a natural reaction of our body that we can only influence to a limited extent. The most important thing is how we deal with it. 

In addition to making small changes to your evening habits, there is also plenty of room for optimization in your bedroom if you suffer from excessive sweating. From the perfect sleeping temperature to choosing the right duvet, cooling fitted sheets and breathable bed linen made from TENCEL™ Lyocell - all of these measures ensure that you keep a cool head and sleep peacefully at night even when your sweat glands put in an extra layer