What Causes Night Sweats?
Why do people tend to get
sweaty heads and hot flashes more at night and in the evening?
Some thoughts.....
We did a lot of research a
few years ago to try to figure out why one of our sons was getting night
sweats. One of the things we found highly interesting was that in Ayurvedic
(traditional Indian) medicine, night sweats can be linked to excess
stomach acid and ulcers. This caught my attention because I'd noticed
in the past from some home tests I did with nytrazine paper that my body
was always more acid in the evenings than in the morning. Some of my friends
had noticed the same thing - an increase in acid levels in the evening.
So I suspect there is some
kind of built in body rhythm for many people where in general stomachs
churn out more acid at night, which in turn raises a person's body temperature
and speeds up their metabolism. Perhaps at one time this was some kind
of built in survival mechanism to keep people warm at night to compensate
for the loss of warmth from sunshine during the day, as well as making
up for body heat generated by moving around during the day. For our cave
dwelling ancestors it was probably a protective trait, but now has become
problematic for some people in this day and age of furnaces and houses
like ours with automatic thermostats, especially for people who already
have high metabolisms to begin with.
Interestingly though, at a
later date my son developed night sweats again after a course of antibiotics
when his body pH was too alkaline. So I suspect his body wasn't
getting something it need whenever his digestive tract was out of kilter,
either too alkaline or too acid. During this second episode of night sweat
what helped was having him ingest supplements and foods with
good bacteria, which helped to acidify his digestive system and bring
his body pH into a more normal range.
Related Pages:
Night
Sweats - my son's saga and the diet
treatments we found
helpful for him
|
Related Sections
Acid
- Alkaline Balance
Disclaimer:
Statements and information regarding any products mentioned within this
site have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or
health condition. Any information on this site should be considered
as general information only and should not be used to diagnose or treat
any health condition.
See
your health care provider for a diagnosis and treatment of any medical
concerns you may have, and before implementing any diet, supplement,
exercise or other lifestyle changes. This
site may contain errors. Use it at your own risk.
Read the rest of our disclaimer and terms
of use.
Visit my home
page or my site map to use my search
feature, and see information on connective tissue disorders and related
features.
Copyright 1999 - 2008
Pine Canyon Media, LLC.
All rights reserved.
|