We all like to get some sleep, but how many of us would like to wake up in the middle of the night drowning in our own sweat? That’ll be a scary experience, but it shouldn’t be because it can be avoided, most of the time.

Most night sweats are caused by the type of fabric your sheets and pajamas are made out of. Sometimes they just happen because you sleep in a hot room. Sweaty nights can also serve as a signal that you have a serious health issue according to Neomi Shah who’s a doctor and an associate professor.

1. You sleep in a room that’s too hot

Is there a perfect temperature for my room? Yes, there is, anything higher than 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit is too hot according to the sleep specialist W.C Winter, M.D. Another thing that could make you hot and sweaty while you sleep is that you sleep in thick fabrics like flannel.

Cotton is the perfect substitute for flannel, and you easily get cotton pajamas and sheets. Being too hot can also impede your ability to fall asleep.

2. You just sweat a lot

In this case, we aren’t talking about normal sweating. We are talking about an excessive sweating disorder called hyperhidrosis. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says that this disorder makes a person sweat unnecessarily, even when they’re asleep.

The AAD says that hyperhidrosis is different from normal sweating in that it targets specific parts of your body with more of a focus on your feet, head, palms, and underarms. The AAD also said that hyperhidrosis could make simple activities like using your phone an uphill struggle.

3.  A ghost could be chasing you

We aren’t talking about an actual ghost, but if you’re having a nightmare, you’re most likely to wake up drenched in sweat. Harry Banshick, a doctor, says that you end up sweating because you physically acted out what happened in that nightmare.

Shah agrees with this and says that anything that triggers a sympathetic surge (flight-fight response) can make you sweat. If you’ve been suffering from nightmares, you’re most likely suffering from stress and seeing your doctor would be very prudent.

4. You may be experiencing hormonal changes

Fluctuating estrogen levels are usually the culprit when it comes to night sweats experienced by women. According to Nandi, hot flushes and menopause have usually emerged hand in hand in her patients, and that made them sweat at night.

Shah also said that hormone fluctuations in pregnant women or those on their period could lead to sweat-drenched nights. However, night sweats seem more persistent amongst women going through menopause.

5. Antidepressants

According to Shah, people on antidepressants are the most likely to get victimized by night sweats. Shah says this type of medication is capable of triggering an adrenergic reaction, that means it’s got something to do with your adrenaline levels, and that also means you’re going to sweat.

Night sweats will be more frequent if you take venlafaxine or bupropion, but doctors could prescribe medication that can slow down your adrenergic output.

The platforms have been abuzz recently with stories about social media causing depression and anxiety. Could this be possible, and, if so, could it be bad for your health?

Is this a doomsday story being played out there, scare-mongering your child, or even yourself, into giving up social media? While social media can and does produce addiction in many people, and if being apart from your cellphone or tablet (and the closest wi-fi) brings separation anxiety, so be it.

It could also cause mild depression and a feeling of missing out, but these are not long-lasting effects, a large study conducted in Canada found.

Two study groups

The study results, published in Clinical Psychological Science, focused on two groups over a period of two years. One group was made up of 594 adolescents in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades in Ontario, Canada, and the other group was comprised of 1 132 undergraduate students.

The older group was surveyed for six years, starting in their first year of university. The questions revolved around the total time that was spent on social media on weekdays and weekends, and what time was allocated to other pursuits such as looking at television, putting in some exercise and academic studies.

Both groups were considered for depressive symptoms using scales appropriate for each group. The researchers then assessed the data, which was divided into age and sex.

They found that social media did not lead to depressive symptoms later. This was the finding for both groups.

Later social media use

In the adolescent group, the researchers found that females were triggered for later social media use following unrelated depression or anxiety.

The research found that this sub-set “who are feeling down may turn to social media to try and make themselves feel better.”

Study author Taylor Heffer says: When parents read media headlines such as ‘Facebook Depression,’ there is an inherent assumption that social media use leads to depression. Policymakers also have recently been debating ways to tackle the effects of social media use on mental health.”

A lot depends on the type of personality that is using – or abusing – social media. The study notes that some young people could use it negatively for abusive behavior such as bullying or stalking, while others would use it merely to stay in contact with friends and family, or for academic research.

Further work needed

The study concludes that further work needs to be undertaken involving authorities, medical experts and parents in determining what could be done to steer users away from using social media negatively.

Social media platforms such as Facebook can and has, indeed, played a role with depression and loneliness. Lifestyles today are frenetic and isolationist, encouraged by the various social media platforms that make people isolationist.

Noticed how much time your youngsters spend on Facebook and playing games? A lot, you say, exasperated. Noticed how much time they spend texting or on Instagram? Too much, you say.

It’s the new normal. Not a lot you can do to change that.

The only thing constant with kids is change! This not just means all about what they like and what they don’t, but also how we involve in this relationship as parents. Not eating dinner together; feeling difficult moving on following an argument; intervening at the slightest of their uneasiness and not letting them evolve themselves. If these attributes are what you too have been acknowledging, your relationship needs to be worked upon and step back lest things become worse is what you need to do as the needful. If you still haven’t realized it, here is what mental experts have to say about how you might unknowingly be ruining this relationship:

Your mood affecting the mutual relationship

Slipping off a smile through your tedious schedule and annoyance of a rough schedule might sound indifferent, but one should know that children are quite sensitive to the emotions of their parents, and more of the negativities. As such, frequent apathetic interaction with them adds to damaging your relationship. In Amanda Lopez’s words, who is a family counselor in California, asking yourself whether the way you act seeing your child walking in a room, with you ignoring them instead of being happy is what you do, there needs something to be done to, probably fake it till you achieve that bliss, and that doesn’t even need a lot of effort – just a little smile or a loving look would do the required. Everyone needs acknowledgment, and children are no exception to it, instead, they want and need even more of it! On a tough day, making peace with your grudges and setting them aside before interacting with children is what a healthy relationship demands, and that is what would add to your happy relationship with the child.

Mismanaging your children’s tantrums

If they are children, they will show tantrums, and that is what most parents fail to deal effectively with. But to Lopez, more tantrums indicate a flaw in the connection a child should have with their parents. For this, she suggests mirroring the child’s emotions while putting those emotions into words, like instead of holding them responsible for their frustration over not going to bed, correct yourself by saying that it is okay being frustrated when they do not want to do something, but it is the time they should be in bed. Providing them with an alternative option to choose from makes them learn to soothe themselves, and eventually will reduce their emotions from venting out.

Not getting the required quality time along with each other

Of these all ways of containing your relationship, the most important one is spending time together, quality time to be more specific! This act of yours could provide you with many opportunities to teach your children what you expect them to know and learn from you – be it moral values, lessons for life, forming a deep bond with your children; These times spent together also redouble your understanding of each other. Quality time is quite much a broad aspect, which means it could be anything you desire – playing some game, reading stories together, sports, or even simpler things such as talking how your day went render the needful. The compulsion is just to be attentive and staying present when you are together. Even being alongside them, cause if you are attending to something else – you both are missing each other, Lopez explains.

Not knowing your child’s interests

Building up relationships involves knowing each other, and what better way could there be than knowing what your child is interested in; how their mind works; what they find interesting. If you could not figure out how to converse with your child about their hobbies and interests, it might be a signal that you are not spending quality time together, or are not paying attention to them. Those little details of their life – how they made a friend, how much they enjoyed a class, whom they argued with, who they don’t like. These small things might be not so worthwhile for you, but to them, it’s their life. Mendez suggests to ask them how their day went, and not just ask – be excited in listening to their tales, sow interest in those stories as much they show in narrating them.

Not talking to children concerning your feelings

The ability of naming and processing one’s feelings is one of those traits that children, for the most part, learn at home. On the parents’ part, modeling “name it to tame it” their feelings for themselves keeping in view their children plays a role, as was stated by a New York child specialist Lucia Garcia Giurgiu. While dumping adult problems on the kids, even though they are ready to listen to them, doesn’t seem worthy, sharing your difficult moments at the right age only strengthens the bond. This will not only help you refine in their vision, but also train them to safely deal with their negativities.