Causes of Night Sweats After Exercising
Health ConditionsSkin Conditions

What Causes Night Sweats After Exercising?

What Causes Night Sweats After Exercising?
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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You usually think that sweating would only happen when you’re working out. So, why are you experiencing night sweats after exercising? There could be several reasons why, and more than likely, your night sweats are happening due to hormonal imbalances, underlying thyroid conditions, or even overtraining.

If you have found yourself waking up at night drenched in sweat, it could be a cause for concern, especially if this is a new symptom you’re experiencing. But knowing what night sweats are — and why they happen — can help you figure out when you need support from your healthcare team.

What Are Night Sweats?

Night sweats are repeated episodes of extreme perspiration during sleep that soak through your bedding or clothes. They are often related to an underlying health condition, and not because your room is too warm or you’re sleeping under too many blankets.

Generally, night sweats happen alongside other concerning symptoms like fever, unintentional weight loss, cough, diarrhea, or pain. But if you’re only experiencing night sweats after exercise, there could be several reasons why this is occurring.

Causes of Night Sweats After Working Out

Do you love doing a late-night run or riding your Peloton while watching the evening news? This is one reason why you might be developing night sweats.

Exercise raises your core temperature, which triggers a brain response that causes you to sweat. So if you’re working out at night, you may be more likely to sweat because your body is trying to keep you cool.

 If you’re experiencing night sweats after exercising too close to bedtime, try to keep your room temperature between 60 and 67 degrees F for optimal sleep conditions.

Another common cause of night sweats could be due to exercise-induced hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar. This condition can occur if you’re overtraining your body without eating enough food throughout the day. As a result, your blood sugar drops too low to give you the energy you need, causing symptoms like night sweats, headaches.

But age and sex also play a factor. Women who are around 50 years old and are experiencing menopause (which basically means they have absent or irregular menstrual periods) may have a higher risk of experiencing night sweats after working out.

Medical Causes of Night Sweats

If you only experience a night sweat after an intense exercise session, it’s likely because of training too close to bedtime or overworking your body. But there are several other reasons that could be contributing to night sweats that don’t have anything to do with working out. These include:

  • Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid
  • Bacterial infections
  • The cold or flu
  • Chronic sweating
  • Cancer
  • Hormonal imbalances
  • Anxiety or panic disorder
  • Substance use
  • Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Taking antidepressants or diabetes drugs

Fortunately, many of these causes of night sweats are treatable. If you’re experiencing new or worsening symptoms of night sweats, it’s a good idea to check in with your healthcare provider. They can help assess what’s causing your symptoms and recommend treatment options if necessary.

The Takeaway

  • Night sweats are episodes of extreme perspiration during sleep that cause you to soak through your clothes or sheets.
  • Working out before bed or overtraining your body are common causes of exercise-induced night sweats.
  • However, other medical conditions like bacterial infections, anxiety, and menopause may also be causing your night sweat symptoms.
  • If you have new or worsening night sweats, talk to your healthcare provider about your symptoms.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Night Sweats. Mayo Clinic. January 20, 2024.
  2. Night Sweats. Cleveland Clinic. July 18, 2025.
  3. Brim W. Staff Perspective: Night Sweats - About Nocturnal Hyperhidrosis. Uniformed Services University — Center for Deployment Psychology. March 12, 2014.
  4. Bryan L. How Is Sleep Different For Men and Women? Sleep Foundation. July 10, 2025.
  5. Hypoglycemia: Nocturnal. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
  6. Night Sweats. American Osteopathic Association.
  7. Night Sweats. Mayo Clinic.
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Kayli Anderson, RDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kayli Anderson has over a decade of experience in nutrition, culinary education, and lifestyle medicine. She believes that eating well should be simple, pleasurable, and sustainable. Anderson has worked with clients from all walks of life, but she currently specializes in nutrition therapy and lifestyle medicine for women. She’s the founder of PlantBasedMavens.com, a hub for women to get evidence-based, practical, and woman-centered guidance on nutrition and cooking, hormone health, fertility, pregnancy, movement, mental well-being, nontoxic living, and more.

Anderson is board-certified in lifestyle medicine and serves as lead faculty of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s (ACLM) "Food as Medicine" course. She is past chair of the ACLM's registered dietitian member interest group, secretary of the women's health member interest group, and nutrition faculty for many of ACLM's other course offerings. She is the coauthor of the Plant-Based Nutrition Quick Start Guide and works with many of the leading organizations in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to develop nutrition content, recipes, and educational programs.

Anderson frequently speaks on the topics of women’s health and plant-based nutrition and has coauthored two lifestyle medicine textbooks, including the first one on women’s health, Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan.

She received a master's degree in nutrition and physical performance and is certified as an exercise physiologist and intuitive eating counselor. She's a student of herbal medicine and women's integrative and functional medicine. She lives with her husband in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where you’ll find her out on a trail or in her garden.

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Kim Grundy, PT

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Kim Grundy is a physical therapist, as well as an experienced health and fitness writer that has been published in USA Today, SheKnows, Brides, Parents and more. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma and lives with her husband and kids in Florida. She has treated patients with chronic conditions, as well as athletes in the outpatient setting that are working towards recovering from an injury. Kim is passionate about sharing her knowledge of health and fitness with others.

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