While it may seem obvious, a common cause of night sweats is a simple fever.
However, even a simple fever can be dire if left untreated.
But why does having a fever have to make us perspire? To understand this, we have to understand our internal thermostat.
Our internal thermostat is a portion of our brain called the hypothalamus.
The Hypothalamus: The Human Thermostat Our hypothalamus may be relatively small compared to the rest of the brain, but this little region of cells is a key junction point between our nervous system and endocrine system.
These two important biological systems come together in the pituitary gland at the base of the hypothalamus.
Unfortunately, our hypothalamus can be vulnerable to various influences both internal and external.
Anytime something causes a chemical imbalance or hormonal shift in our bodies, the hypothalamus can respond in an unexpected manner.
Thus potent drugs or even foods may cause it to respond erratically.
It also helps us understand why the sharp hormonal shifts that occur during menopause can cause hot flashes and night sweats.
Adjusting the Thermostat for An Infection One of the core purposes of the hypothalamus seems to be to regulate our temperatures when an infection is present.
When a foreign bacteria or infection is detected in our bodies, our hypothalamus raises our core temperature to help our bodies fight off that bacteria or infection.
If you experience the chills or the shakes, this is often a side-effect of our hypothalamus trying to regulate our nervous system and sweat glands in an optimum fashion to fight off the infection.
Once the hypothalamus has detected that your immune system has won the battle with the bacteria, it begins to set your core body heat production back to its baseline temperature.
To release the excessive heat and bring your temperature down, it kicks in several biological functions.
One our bodies best tools for dissipating heat is through perspiration.
Confusing the Thermostat With Medications Medicines that lower our body temperatures -- often referred to as antipyretics -- often interrupt proper signaling between our immune system and our hypothalamus.
This results in sudden shifts in our body temperature.
When such sudden, external sources of influence affect the hypothalamus, our hypothalamus often responds by causing heavy sweat much like it would if we were recovering from a high fever.
As you can see, occasionally our body naturally incurs night sweats while recovering from or adjusting to a fever.
And occasionally our body is reacting to the drugs we may have taken to treat the source of that fever.
But in both cases, the source of this night sweating is our hypothalamus doing its best to regulate our endocrine and nervous systems to protect our current condition.
So now you know what is responsible for your varying degrees of night sweats when you combat a fever.