I will say starting out that I am not a man with night sweats. I do sleep hot and I’m always warm but unless I’m sick with a cold or flu, I don’t usually have night sweats.

Some men will get night sweats as a result of anxiety or if they drank alcohol. But if you are dealing with night sweats and you are not sick or dealing with anxiety (or drink) there could be some other things going on with your health that we should explore.

Low Testosterone

Low testosterone levels in men can cause a dysregulation of body temperature leading to sweating at night. If you’re a man with night sweats, and you’re over 40 years old, I would look at testosterone first.

One of the many jobs of testosterone is to regulate body temperature. A deficiency of testosterone can affect the hypothalamus in your brain, which regulates body temperature leading to night sweats in men.

So if you’re a man over 40 dealing with night sweats here are some things you can do to get your testosterone levels back up to where they should be…

Things that lower testosterone

• Nuts and seeds
• Xenoestrogens (plastics, chemicals, heavy metals)
• Phytoestrogens (soy, beer etc)
• Blue light exposure
• nnEMF
• PUFAs

Increasing Testosterone with Lifestyle Therapies

• Sunlight (Vitamin D) – Study – Study – Study – Video
• Red Light Therapy – Study – Study – Study – Study – Study
• Cold baths – Study – Study – Study – Study 
• Hitting your chest – this comes from Atom Bergstrom’s research
• Quad exercises & Weight Training – Weight Training
• Breath work
• Blocking Blue Light – Study – Study – Study
• Intermittent Fasting – Paper – Paper
• Morning Sun Exposure – Study

Pro Testosterone Foods & Supplements

• Ashwagandha
• Cordyceps – Study – Study
• Elk Antler – Study – Study 
• Pine Pollen – Study – Article
• Suma Root – Study – Article
• Maca – Study – Study
• Tribulus
• Tonkat Ali
• Shilajit – Study
• Coconut Oil
• Ginseng
• Eleutherococcus senticosus

Sleep Apnea

I don’t deal with sleep apnea, (thank God) but for those that do, it could be the cause of night sweats in men. As a man with night sweats you may want to consider getting a sleep apnea test done or if you sleep with a partner, ask if they notice an obstructive breathing issues during your sleep.

When your upper airway is constricted during the night while you’re trying to breath this could lead to low oxygen levels. When this happens oxidation and inflammation rises in the body triggering your fight or flight response.

Your body senses danger.

As a result stress hormones are then released from your adrenal glands like cortisol and adrenaline. Normally this causes an increase in your pulse, pressure and heart rate leading to increased core body temperature and night time sweating.

If you’re a man with night sweats, make sure to see if you have sleep apnea that could be a primary cause of sweating at night.

Anxiety and High Nighttime Cortisol Levels

Mental health issues seem to be on the rise as more and more people are addicted to social media. If you have a difficult time falling asleep because of anxiety or stress this can cause cortisol and adrenaline levels to rise a which stimulates your sympathetic nervous system.

When these hormones rise, it induces your fight or flight response which can raise core body temperature leading to nighttime sweats, especially it if happens during the summer.

Overactive Thyroid (Hyperthyroidism)

An overactive thyroid just like panic attacks or anxiety can stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. As a result your blood pressure increases as well as your heart rate. This also stimulates the production of cortisol and adrenaline which raises body temperature leading to night sweats, especially for men.

Hypoglycemia

If you have low blood sugar this is seen as a metabolic stress to your body. It activates the fight or flight response leading to cortisol and adrenaline production which then activates the sympathetic nervous system. If you have hypoglycemia, you might be going to be with shakiness or you might even be sweating already, if you’re a man who’s warm blooded like me.

Infections

If you have an acute external infection your body will mount an immune response and release cytokines like tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin beta (IL-1β), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) into your blood stream. This can also happen for internal infections if you have parasites or other bacterial organisms living inside you (we all do!).

Your body’s main way to deal with infections is to raise your body temperature to “break a fever” so that you kill that organism. Essentially your body recognizes a threat and “turns up the oven” to kill it.

Medications

I don’t like writing disparagingly about medications but certain medications, like antidepressants, painkillers, and diabetes drugs, can affect your hormone levels in your body, leading to night sweats, particularly in men.

For example, antidepressants can alter serotonin levels, which can impact your body’s temperature regulation. During sleep your body is trying to lower it’s core temperature and by taking medications you’re doing the exact opposite.

It’s also worth noting that some drugs prescribed for hot flashes, like serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and the anti-seizure medication gabapentin, can cause sweating as a side effect. All you have to do is read the labels of them.

Menopausal Symptoms

Most women complain of hot flashes as a result of going through menopause. Night sweats is definitely a symptoms. It’s no different than a man with night sweats because whether you’re a man or woman, your hormones are going to be the primary cause.

Both women dealing with menopause and a man with night sweats, is dealing with elevated estrogen levels (estrogen dominance) as well as a lack of progesterone. As a man with night sweats you would be best served to get a hormone panel done to see what your hormone levels are.

Consumption (Tuberculosis)

If you have tuberculosis most likely you have night sweats. But if you have night sweats, you don’t necessarily have tuberculosis. Your body’s immune response to TB is to induce fever and sweating happens as a result.

Night Sweats Solutions

I don’t recommend fighting infections or fighting fevers. This is working against what the body is trying to do. If you’re a man with night sweats and have been dealing with a lack of sleep as a result, I recommend going into the situation more.

I personally recommend sauna therapy daily until you get rid of the cause of the infection. Sauna therapy activates both arms of the immune system by producing heat shock proteins to cleanse and detoxify your body. You could also take a warm bath and try to break the fever.

Bu suppressing the fever by taking cold showers or doing cold plunges is not recommended. Your body is trying to increase its temperature to kill an infection. If you could do this manually with repeated sauna sessions, you’ll heal much faster.

Just make sure that after you are done with your sauna you take minerals and some salt to replenish the minerals you’ve sweated out.

If you don’t have any underlying health conditions that cause you to soak your sheets at night, I would consider investing in a Chilipad and perhaps getting a window air conditioning unit. Yes they’re expensive but nothing feels as good as being healthy feels.

Sleep is everything.

Invest in yourself and in your health.

You’re worth it.

Conclusion

Just remember to take care of your body and if you are a woman or a man with night sweats, to try to figure out what might be going on and work with your body rather than against it.

Questions:

1. How long have you had night sweats?
2. Do you have a hunch as to what the cause might be?
3. What have you tried so far to get get your body regulated again?

Comment below