There are a few possible causes of cold sweats at night. Anxiety, fear or stress can cause cold night sweats, as well as pain from injuries or medical problems (heart attack), severe shortness of breath or low blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia). Having a nightmare can also cause this symptom. In most cases they aren’t caused by a serious medical condition but because they can be a sign of something more serious, even a heart attack, it is important to pay attention to them, and to notice if you are experiencing any other symptoms along with the sweating.

The reason they are called cold sweats is because the hypothalamus – our body’s internal thermostat — uses perspiration with other biological mechanisms to help cool the body when it feels it is overheated. Because body temperature drops while you are sweating, you may feel chills during or after sweating. Sometimes internal or external variables can confuse the hypothalamus causing it to trigger those biological mechanisms that cause sudden sweating even when it isn’t really necessary.