Night sweats

Q:For months I’ve been dealing with night sweats and waking up exhausted, but now I also have a headache every morning and my husband says I’ve started to snore. What’s going on?

A:Morning headaches and snoring are classic symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition marked by breathing pauses or shallow breaths during sleep. Apnea robs the body and brain of oxygen, leading to headaches and fatigue. And a recent Mayo Clinic study suggests that hot flashes and night sweats increase apnea risk. In fact, women with severe hot flashes were nearly twice as likely as those with mild or no hot flashes to be diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Fortunately, there are several strategies that can help you get the sleep you need. First, I suggest taking 1,000 mg of evening primrose oil and 20 mg of black cohosh twice a day to reduce hot flashes and night sweats. Also smart: Avoid drinking alcohol before bed (it can worsen both night sweats and sleep apnea) and try changing your sleep position. In a National Institutes of Health study of people with sleep apnea, those who slept on their side experienced 50 percent fewer nighttime episodes than those who slept flat on their back. You can buy specialized pillows to keep you from rolling onto your back during sleep, or you can simply pin or sew a sock stuffed with two or three tennis balls onto the back of your pajamas.

If these measures don’t help you sleep more soundly and quietly—and ease your headaches and fatigue— within two weeks, see your doctor. She can suggest other strategies or refer you to a sleep specialist, who can confirm apnea and recommend targeted treatments, like using a mouthguard or a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine at night.