Sweating at night

(Jessica ) #1

I tried to do a search about waking up hot and sweaty, but all of them talk about this happening BEFORE keto. I started keto almost 2 weeks ago and during that time I have woken up 4 different times drenched in sweat and I was hot. My husband even commented on it one night asking if I was ok when I woke up. Is this normal?? Is this part of keto flu, I haven’t really had any symptoms of keto flu.

Perspiring while sleeping on keto?
(Jacquie) #2

Do you mind me asking your age? :slight_smile:

(Jessica ) #3

I am 30.

(John) #4

I go through phases, before keto I was always hot, now every few days I am cold and in a blanket, last couple of nights I just sweat all night. No clue, nothing different happening those days that I can think of.

(Jacquie) #5

I think your age rules out peri-menopause. :slight_smile:

#6

I can’t say that this is happening in your case, but I can say that I’ve experienced this even after keto when I’ve eaten too much in general, especially too much protein; it was far worse before going keto.

The mechanism when that occurs is called thermogenesis and it is the body deliberately cranking up the metabolism to burn the extra food energy as heat. Enhanced thermogenesis is one of the reasons Calories In Calories Out (CICO) is incorrect and not reliable for weight loss/gain.

(Megan) #7

I have this sometimes as well. I was usually the cold one at night but since going keto I occasionally wake up sweaty. I’m 37. Glad to know I’m not alone.

(No I'm not mad - that's just my face) #8

This happened to me when my body was becoming fat adapted. It lasted a few days of profuse flushing and sweating on and off.

#9

This happened to me when I went through carb withdrawal (like 2 or 3 days after starting). I felt tired and a little sick, so I went to bed early. I woke up several times that night sweating so much. After the one night though, never again.

#10

That makes sense to me.

@Mrsollie I notice that I get a period of feeling hot early am before I get up sometimes. I have suspected peri menopause purely as I am approaching that sort of age but it doesn’t feel right. @BillJay’s comments make more sense to me. That is what it feels like - just like the temp has been turned up for a while and indeed my temp is higher than usual if I take it too.

(David K) #11

I used to have this issue when I was younger. I now sleep with my bedroom at ~65 and don’t really have that issue any more.

(Jan) #12

I have noticed this as well, even when not asleep. I’ll be sitting quietly in the evening, watching tv or reading, and suddenly it feels like the heater has come on. I’ll strip off my sweatshirt & socks, then in another half hour I’ll get cold. Seems like this happens about an hour after I eat (but not reliably). I’m definitely not calorie deficient (I’m a pretty lazy Keto-er).
I wondered if Keto was reversing menopause a bit… although I’m nearly 60, it wasn’t that long ago that I thought it was all over. Other age-related things have been somewhat reversed, like the big white streak in my hair. Now I’ve just got some salt-&-pepper sprinkles. But you guys are younger (and some are male), so I have no idea. Just thought I’d add my musings…

#13

The actual heat generation itself is thermogenesis, but the how and why it occurs for some and not others and for the same person at different times is something that is probably a results of hormones.

Since adipose tissue (fat cells) releases at least 27 different hormones (according to Dr. Adam Nally) as well as keto giving our bodies the cholesterol substrate needed for the androgenic “-iol” and “-one” hormones, it only seems logical that we’d see some amelioration of things related to unbalanced or low hormones. My Testosterone went from ~250 (a very old man) to ~1,000 (a very young) man after being on LCHF and then keto for a while.

(Jan) #14

This makes sense. Thank you,@billjay!

(Cathy Schroder) #15

That makes a lot of sense of recent events for me. I was recently having shocking sugar cravings (after eating keto with no problems for seven months). I traced the problem back to a re-ignition off my on again/off again love affair with Coke Zero (sadly we have had to part ways for good), but I was having real problems sticking to my normal eating plan.

For this reason I have not not worrying about how much I eat, but rather just making sure I eat no more than 20g carbs, not too much protein (although a little higher than normal) and plenty of fat. I have been burning up several times a day and wondered what it was, but this seems to answer the question.

Thanks for the explanation!

(Becky Searls) #16

Interesting! I’m so paying attention next time I have a big ass ribeye to see if this is the cause of my sometimes-night-sweats! I am 32 and have had them for years, husband too! They’re the worst!

Recently we invested in his thing called a “Chili Pad” and it’s pretty helpful:

https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/chilipad-trade-cube-1-1-dual-zone-cooling-and-warming-mattress-pads/3263296?skuId=43173679&mcid=PS_googlepla_brand_brand_&adpos=1o1&creative=45758750869&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&product_id=43173679&gclid=Cj0KEQiAot_FBRCqt8jVsoDKoZABEiQAqFL76LYcjpetkKocmBi5lrbuSn9kiVr31i1feJY_MOUS7hoaAipE8P8HAQ

It’s expensive but you can use one of those 20% off coupons they send in the mail to save a couple hundred bucks, and I finally decided it was worth $800 if it really did help us sleep better as sleep is so important. Some people also make the money up very quickly in not having to pay for heating or cooking their homes at night.

It’s kind of like a sleep # but instead of hard/soft levels you can set it the pad to whatever temp you prefer. Nice for partners especially bc for example my husband sleeps at the lowest temp but my feet get cold preventing me from falling asleep so I set my temp higher!

:slight_smile:

(David) #17

I have been eating keto now for 10 days. Last night I made The Butter Bob Chili. I over indulged. It was so good. Three hours later I felt ultra low energy and went to bed. Four hours after that I woke up drenched with sweat and with a pounding headache. My night was disturbed to say the least but maybe I understand why now. Thanks for this forum and thanks to the person who first posted the question.

(eat more) #18

this is happening to me (again…see below)…i’ll be minding my own business, doing absolutely nothing or the smallest task…washing the dishes, walking up the stairs and i’ll break out into a full blown sweat like i just engaged in heavy exercise…
the getting cold part after the fact makes sense tho as sweat is meant to cool us off

the only other time i’ve experienced this unbearable hot/cold business was while taking a “thermogenic pre workout” (in the morning and also pre keto)
i even remember one time i was cold and said out loud…12 hours after taking the supplement …“i just ate so give it 15 minutes and i’ll be on fire” which was an accurate prediction lol
protein is on the low end and for sure lower than pre keto or ever lol
pre keto i would have said “yes! my metabolism is on fire!” but i don’t want t feel that fire when i’m asleep or not actually high activity
so doesn’t that mean that “thermogenic” supplements are counterproductive keto or not?

i’m hoping this is the case and doesn’t last much longer!
i thought i was already fat-adapted but i’m sitting here sweating to death and all i’m doing is typing…after waking up literally every two hours throughout the night (ambient temp is not high)

i googled around trying to determine if other substances are stored/released in/from fat cells and found nothing but my google skills may be lacking today…
the only reason i suspect that to be the case is these “symptoms” are identical to what i experienced when using that thermogenic pre workout more than 6 months ago…

i possibly just said a whole lot of nothing :joy:

#19

Back when it was still widely available, I used “ephedra”, aka “Ma Huang”, and it was very thermogenic but at the time it just made me hungry, too.

Just broadly stating that if someone can take a supplement that helps them meet their goals without triggering relapses, etc., I say then go for it, but at the same time I also point to “dietary interventions” in general where people do something to lose weight and after they stop the intervention, they struggle and usually regain the weight.

“Normal” metabolisms, at least people who can eat a lot and not gain weight, seem to be able to burn off the extra calories and/or bypass them and get excreted before being used or stored.

Studies such as being referenced in the Secret Life of Fat also suggest that people can begin shifting “white fat” into “brown fat” that’s very active metabolically.

@mikki, there’s also the enhanced metabolic effects of resistance training, did you “lift heavy” again recently? :wink:

Muscles also have some glucose transporters (GLUTs) that don’t require the presence of insulin, but only get activated during some significant level of resistance.

(eat more) #20

guilty :sunglasses:
but the only time it’s affected my temp/sleep was while taking that pre workout (i’m off all supplements since keto)