Night sweats in men are common and usually tied to something fixable: your bedroom is too warm, you had alcohol before bed, or a medication is the culprit. But persistent, drenching sweats that soak your sheets point to something your body is trying to tell you, from hormonal shifts and sleep apnea to thyroid problems or, less commonly, something more serious. About 10% of men in the general population report frequent night sweats, so you’re far from alone.
True night sweats are different from simply feeling warm. The clinical definition is sweating severe enough that you need to change your bedclothes. If that’s happening regularly, it’s worth figuring out what’s driving it.
How Your Body Regulates Temperature During Sleep
Your brain constantly adjusts your core temperature while you sleep, and that process changes depending on which sleep stage you’re in. During deep sleep, the threshold for triggering sweat drops lower, meaning your body starts sweating at a slightly cooler core temperature than it would during lighter sleep. During REM sleep (when you dream), the sweating response actually becomes less responsive overall. This means the amount you sweat shifts throughout the night as you cycle between sleep stages.
Anything that raises your core temperature or disrupts this regulation, whether it’s a thick comforter, a medical condition, or a chemical substance, can tip the balance and leave you waking up drenched.
Sleep Apnea Is a Major and Overlooked Cause
Obstructive sleep apnea, where your airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, is one of the most underrecognized causes of night sweats in men. In a large Icelandic study, 30.6% of men with sleep apnea reported sweating three or more times per week, compared to just 9.6% of men without the condition. That’s a threefold difference.
The sweating in sleep apnea tends to go hand in hand with other symptoms: trouble staying asleep, daytime sleepiness, and acid reflux. Younger men with sleep apnea were actually more likely to report night sweats than older men. High blood pressure was also a significant predictor. If you snore loudly, wake up gasping, or feel exhausted no matter how long you sleep, sleep apnea deserves a close look. Treatment with a CPAP device or oral appliance often resolves the sweating along with everything else.
Low Testosterone and Hormonal Shifts
Testosterone levels gradually decline as men age, and one of the less obvious symptoms is night sweats. The mechanism is similar to what happens during menopause in women: falling sex hormones disrupt the part of the brain that controls temperature, triggering hot flushes and sweating episodes. The British Association of Urological Surgeons lists hot flushes, sweating, insomnia, and nervousness among the hallmark signs of age-related testosterone decline.
This doesn’t only affect older men. Any condition that lowers testosterone, including certain medications, obesity, or pituitary problems, can produce the same effect. A simple blood test can check your levels. If low testosterone is confirmed and causing symptoms, hormone replacement is one option your doctor may discuss.
Medications That Trigger Night Sweats
The list of medications linked to excessive sweating is surprisingly long. The strongest associations in research are with three drug classes: antidepressants (especially SSRIs), blood pressure medications called angiotensin receptor blockers, and thyroid hormone supplements. Men taking SSRIs had roughly three times the odds of experiencing night sweats compared to those not on the medication.
Other common offenders include:
- Pain relievers like aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen
- Diabetes medications including insulin and oral blood sugar drugs
- Steroids such as corticosteroids and testosterone supplements
- Heart and blood pressure drugs including beta blockers and calcium channel blockers
- Acid reflux medications like proton pump inhibitors
If your night sweats started around the same time you began a new medication, that timing is a strong clue. Don’t stop any prescription on your own, but bring it up with whoever prescribed it. Switching to a different drug in the same class often solves the problem.
Alcohol and Your Core Temperature
Drinking before bed is one of the most common and most easily fixed causes of night sweats. Alcohol widens blood vessels in your skin and increases your heart rate, both of which push heat to the surface and trigger sweating. Even a couple of drinks in the evening can be enough.
For heavier or chronic drinkers, the problem gets worse. Alcohol withdrawal can cause sweating that starts within hours of your last drink. In more severe cases, withdrawal symptoms can appear up to 10 days later. If you notice that your night sweats consistently follow evenings when you drink, a two-week break from alcohol is a straightforward way to test whether that’s your answer.
Thyroid Problems and Metabolic Heat
An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) speeds up your metabolism across the board. Your thyroid hormones influence every cell in your body, controlling how fast you burn calories and, critically, how you regulate body temperature. When the thyroid produces too much hormone, you generate more internal heat than normal and become more sensitive to warmth, both day and night.
Other signs of an overactive thyroid include unexplained weight loss, a racing heartbeat, anxiety, trembling hands, and frequent bowel movements. It’s diagnosed with a blood test and is very treatable.
When Night Sweats Signal Something Serious
In rare cases, persistent drenching night sweats are an early sign of lymphoma or another malignancy. The pattern to watch for is a combination of symptoms: night sweats alongside unexplained weight loss, persistent fatigue, fevers without an obvious infection, or swollen lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, or groin. The swelling is often painless, which is part of why people overlook it.
Hodgkin lymphoma in particular is known for producing what oncologists call “B symptoms,” a triad of drenching night sweats, fevers, and weight loss of more than 10% of body weight without trying. Some people also develop itchy skin, chest pain, or a persistent cough. None of these symptoms alone means cancer, but the combination warrants prompt evaluation.
Infections can also cause night sweats. Tuberculosis is the classic example, though it’s uncommon in many countries. Bacterial infections affecting the heart valves, abscesses, and HIV are other infectious causes.
Practical Changes That Help
Before pursuing medical testing, it’s worth ruling out the simplest explanation: your sleep environment is too warm. The ideal bedroom temperature for sleep is around 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Many people sleep in rooms well above that, especially with heating systems running overnight.
Switch to breathable cotton sheets and lighter sleepwear, or skip the pajamas entirely. A fan near the bed improves air circulation and can make a noticeable difference. Memory foam mattresses and synthetic bedding trap heat, so consider whether your mattress is part of the problem.
Spicy food, caffeine, and intense exercise close to bedtime can also raise your core temperature enough to cause sweating. Try shifting your workout earlier in the day and eating dinner at least two to three hours before sleep. If you’re overweight, even modest weight loss can reduce night sweats, partly because excess body fat acts as insulation, and partly because weight loss improves conditions like sleep apnea and low testosterone that drive the problem in the first place.
If you’ve addressed the obvious environmental and lifestyle factors and you’re still waking up soaked, a visit to your doctor is the logical next step. Blood work to check your thyroid, testosterone, blood sugar, and inflammatory markers can rule out the most common medical causes quickly.