All About Night Sweats: Bedding Against Sweating & What Else Helps

On average, we humans lose half a liter of sweat—and not just during exercise or sunbathing, but every single night. Night sweats are a natural process that affects us all. 

While many people don't even notice sweating during sleep, for others it causes discomfort and negatively impacts their sleep quality. They wake up with soaking wet hair, damp clothes and bedding, or suffer from unpleasant nighttime sweating. 

If you belong to the second category and struggle with night sweats, you'll learn everything you need to know here. We'll look at the causes and tell you how to choose the right bedding. We'll also give you other helpful tips for combating annoying nighttime sweating.

Why do we 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. It's our body's way of regulating body temperature and protecting ourselves from overheating. And it does this not only 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 barely notice it. 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, causing us to sleep poorly or wake up drenched in sweat.

Causes of night sweats

This annoying night sweat can have various causes. The main reason for excessive sweating is often the room temperature in the bedroom. If it's too high, the body must counteract it with all its might. To compensate for the excess heat, it stimulates sweat production.

We sweat not only in the summer, when temperatures climb above 30 degrees Celsius, but also in the winter months. This is because other factors also influence nighttime sweating: for example, a person's age and gender, as well as their weight and physical condition. 

For example, men often sweat more than women due to evolution. In less trained individuals, sweat production also begins significantly earlier than in athletes.

Additionally, there are other factors that can negatively impact night sweats and play a significant role. These include, for example:

• High humidity
• Stress or inner restlessness
• Incorrect diet or alcohol

No matter what the cause of night sweats is, many sufferers suffer from the symptoms. 

But don't worry, you're not alone. There are actually some steps you can take to improve your sleep quality despite sweating at night.

What can you do about night sweats or excessive sweating?

Here are the most important tips to help you combat excessive sweating at night:

1. The perfect indoor climate against sweating

First of all, you should ensure that your bedroom has an optimal climate.

According to experts, the ideal sleeping temperature is between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius. This temperature helps our bodies cool down at night with minimal effort. Since we require 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 requires humidity and sufficient air circulation. Anything above 50% humidity promotes condensation and thus 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 lets fresh air into the room, lowers temperature and humidity, and creates a pleasant atmosphere.

2. Know your body and avoid night sweats

The body reacts to certain foods with excessive sweating – for example, digesting fatty foods is strenuous and requires a lot of energy. If you opt for a burger and fries in the evening, you're likely to sweat more for this reason. Stimulants like alcohol, caffeine, and the like also promote night sweats. Instead of a nightcap, opt for a calming tea in the evening.

Irregular sleeping habits and stress can also contribute to night sweats. To avoid disrupting our circadian rhythm, we should go to bed at regular times and get enough sleep. It's also important to avoid emotional stress and tension, especially before falling asleep. If you consciously relax and properly unwind in the evening, you'll avoid excessive sweating while sleeping.

3. Create the right sleeping environment when sweating

Last but not least: Choosing the right duvet and bed linen is very important when it comes to night sweats. 

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

And while there's no such thing as anti-sweat bedding 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 duvets. 

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 due to their low price and, at first glance, are in no way inferior to sheets made from natural materials. 

What counts, however – as is so often the case – are the inner qualities. And with polyester, polyamide, and the like, these don't look particularly convincing. What matters are the characteristics of the bedding. They influence not only how the fabric feels on the skin, but also how it performs in bed.

Synthetic fibers absorb very little moisture. While this feature is beneficial for rain jackets and outdoor gear, in bed it can lead to you waking up the next morning with soaking wet hair or damp clothes.

Why is that? Synthetic bedding doesn't wick away sweat. Instead, the water droplets remain on the skin and fabric, creating a humid, unpleasant microclimate. The only ones that love this and feel extremely comfortable in this environment are odor-causing bacteria – hygiene looks 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 TENCEL™ Lyocell bedding . Unlike synthetic fibers and conventional textiles, it's a true all-rounder in bed. 

Why is Lyocell particularly suitable for night sweats? 

Unlike bedding made from cotton, polyester, or polyamide, TENCEL™ Lyocell is both breathable and temperature-regulating. These unique properties make it ideal for use in both summer and winter.

The fine structure of lyocell fibers not only absorbs moisture particularly well, but also much faster than comparable textiles. The fabric absorbs sweat at night and releases it into the air, thus ensuring a pleasantly dry feeling. No damp sheets, no sweat-soaked bedding—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 topic of night sweats: Unless there's a serious health reason behind it, night sweats are a natural reaction of our body, which we can only influence to a limited extent. Therefore, the most important thing is how we deal with them. 

In addition to making small changes to your evening routine, there's plenty of room for improvement in your bedroom if you suffer from excessive sweating. From the perfect sleeping temperature to choosing the right duvet, cooling fitted sheets, and breathable TENCEL™ Lyocell bedding—all of these measures will ensure you stay cool and sleep soundly at night, even when your sweat glands are working extra hard.