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Night Sweats in Children

When your child wakes up hot and clammy due to night sweats, it’s natural to feel frustrated and worried. While sweating at night when sleeping can happen at any age, night sweats in children are more common because of their reduced ability to regulate their own body temperature. This results in a tired, and most likely grumpy, baby.

What’s more, when little ones sleep badly, so do mum and dad! But fortunately there are steps you can take to relieve baby sweating and help your child get a better night’s sleep. Let’s find out the causes of night sweats in children, and what you can do to help ease the discomfort for your little ones.

Wool Bedding for Night Sweats in Children

What are the causes of night sweats in children?


So what causes a child to sweat excessively? As with adults, night sweats in children can be caused by a variety of factors, including certain types of medication, an infection, or an underlying medical condition. But if your little one suddenly begins sweating at night while sleeping, and you’re wondering when to be concerned about night sweats in children, it’s worth checking in with your doctor.

One of the main causes of night sweats in children, however, is simply that the child’s body has not yet developed the ability to properly regulate temperature. Adults and children tend to warm up more in the deeper stages of sleep. However, for little ones this can be more problematic, due to their immature temperature regulation systems and a greater proportion of sweat glands compared to body size. The result is a hot, clammy body which can cause baby sweating. While this can affect children of any age, cold night sweats in toddlers and babies are even more common, as they are less able to regulate their own temperature and cool themselves down.

Excessive sweating at night in children is often caused by a combination of this inability to regulate temperature and a sleeping environment that is simply too warm.

How to stop night sweats in children


If you’re worried about your toddler sweating a lot in their sleep, there are a few simple steps you can take to help them sweat less and get a better night’s sleep:

Wool Products for Baby Sweating
 
  • Dress your child in natural nightwear: If you’re looking to prevent sweating in children, choose cotton pyjamas rather than polyester or viscose ones, as the natural cotton fibre is more breathable and can help to stop them becoming clammy. The natural fibre is also better at absorbing sweat, minimising the likelihood that they’ll wake up as a result of baby sweating.
  • Choose light bedding: It makes a lot of sense to us as parents that if we’ve switched over to a higher tog duvet for the cooler months, so should our children. However, this is often one of the most common causes of night sweats in children. Toddlers should have no more than a 3-4 tog duvet year-round, and 3-10 year olds don’t need much more either. And babies shouldn’t have a duvet at all – instead they should sleep in a sleeping bag until 24 months old. It’s also worth remembering that babies shouldn’t sleep with a pillow until they are at least 12 months old.
  • Choose wool bedding: A lower tog duvet is a great place to start, but for optimal performance invest in a natural wool duvet for your little one. Wool is particularly effective for dealing with night sweats in children as it is able to regulate temperature, keeping them cool when they’re warm. It is also highly absorbent – even more so than cotton – allowing it to absorb up to a third of its weight in moisture. This means it draws the sweat away from your child’s body while they sleep, minimising the risks of sweating in children and reducing the sticky, clammy feeling that often causes them to wake.
  • Keep the heating turned down: As with choosing the right weight of duvet, it’s a good idea to make sure your heating is set to a level that is comfortable not just for you, but for your children too. While we appreciate it’s difficult, we advise that your young ones sleeping environment is 17-20 degrees Celsius and with an ideal humidity of 45% – reducing the causes of night sweats in children.
 

How wool bedding can ease night sweats in children


Looking for ways to help prevent night sweats in children to help improve their sleep? Wool bedding is a great way to keep your little one cool and combat the causes of night sweats in children. As well as avoiding overheating, it wicks moisture away, reducing the chances that your child will wake up sweaty and cranky. And if that wasn’t enough, wool bedding from Woolroom is also hypoallergenic and dust mite free, making it suitable for little ones with allergies too. It’s even machine washable, making it easy to keep clean – the perfect combination for your kids’ bedroom!


Prevent Night Sweats in Children

Many parents have turned to our wool bedding to prevent their baby sweating and avoid disturbed sleep. Here’s what just a few of them have to say:
“I bought wool baby bedding for my son who wasn’t sleeping well, now and every time I pick him up from his cot, he feels pleasantly warm but never hot or sweaty. He is very comfortable and stable in terms of his body temperature regulation. This determines not only good sound sleep but his susceptibility/resistance to colds and other diseases.”

“My youngest son suffered badly with night sweats waking every night at a similar time and of course waking Mum or Dad. We changed from a feather duvet and cotton mattress protector to a wool duvet and wool mattress protector, amazingly this solved the problem overnight. No more waking up Mum and Dad!”

Ready to discover the wonders of wool bedding for your child? Combat the causes of night sweats in children with Woolroom.