New research finds link between menopausal night sweats and type II diabetes

Women with postmenopausal flushes and sweats, particularly night sweats, have a higher risk for Type II diabetes, according to research just published in Menopause¹. This may be because night sweats disturb sleep, and poor sleep is known to be a predictor for diabetes².

What does the research say?

In this research: 

• Women who had night sweats for longest, and those with the worst symptoms, had the biggest risk of developing diabetes. 
• Diabetes risk increased 4% for every 5 years that women experienced symptoms, with the risk rising to 16% for those who had flushes and sweats for longest. 
• Night sweats were linked to a 20% increased risk for diabetes, whereas hot flushes alone were linked to an 8% increased risk.
• Women who had hot flushes and night sweats overall had an 18% increased risk for diabetes compared with those who reported no symptoms. 
• Risk among women with severe symptoms was 48% higher than among women with no symptoms.
• Women with night sweats (with or without hot flushes during the daytime too) also had a higher prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing and insomnia.

How does disrupted sleep affect the body?

Some women will nightly experience several episodes of complete drenching sweats that require them to change night clothes and even bedding, making proper sleep impossible.

Having disrupted sleep, either in terms of the amount of sleep you get or the quality of the sleep that you get, leads to many negative health outcomes – higher cholesterol levels, more carbohydrate cravings, and a higher perception of pain being just a few, on top of the obvious fatigue and brain ‘fog’.

This new research, which was carried out using data from more than 150,000 women over 21 years, pinpoints the relevance of night sweats to these health outcomes via the disturbed sleep that they cause. 

Getting on top of your sweats is therefore a top priority! 

A.Vogel’s Menoforce Sage tablets help many women with hot flushes and night sweats. In addition, we have some lifestyle suggestions that women often find helpful. 

A.Vogel Menoforce Sage Tablets for Menopausal Hot Flushes and Night Sweats, One-a-Day, 30 tablets

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• Caffeine sometimes triggers flushes, so keep caffeine intake (coffee, tea, fizzy drinks) to a minimum and ensure that you are drinking plenty of water to rehydrate yourself. Dehydration can cause feelings of anxiety, which then makes flushes worse. 
• It's worth checking if anything else seems to trigger the flushes - some women find that spicy, salty or sugary foods will affect them. 
• Moderate exercise has been found to reduce flushes by improving temperature control³. 
• If you are stressed, flushes tend to come along more frequently as adrenalin affects circulation. Doing simple breathing exercises several times a day can often help. If you feel a flush coming on, taking slow, deep breaths can stop it getting worse. Drink some water and give yourself a minute. 

^{1] Gray KE et al. Menopause December 6, 2017 doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001033}

^{2] Darukhanavala A et al. Diabetes Care 2011; 34: 2259-64}

^{3] Bailey TG et al. Menopause. 2016; 23(7): 708-718}