Hi Bettye,

Well it sounds like 'night sweats'. Night sweats are invariably accompanied by a rapid heart rate. More women than men suffer with night sweats (often around menopause) but causes do relate to some medications and thyroid conditions.

You don't say how long this has been happening so I'm assuming it is a reasonably recent thing - or something that has occured later in life? If this is the case, unless you can eliminate the cause by ruling out medications or some physical cause, I'm afraid all you are left with is ways of trying to reduce the discomfort. For example, not drinking alcohol before bed, keeping spicy foods out of your diet, taking a cool shower before you get into bed. Florence Cardinal, one of the experts on the sleep channel, has some additional advice.