Four to five wake-ups per night from night sweats — with only three hours of consolidated sleep — is not just uncomfortable. At this level of sleep deprivation, your physical and mental health are under serious strain. Chronic sleep loss of this severity affects cardiovascular health, immune function, cognitive performance, emotional regulation, and metabolic health. Please see a gynaecologist as soon as possible rather than managing this as an inconvenience.

Night sweats are hot flashes occurring during sleep, driven by oestrogen withdrawal causing the hypothalamus to misfire its temperature-regulation signals. The mechanism is the same as daytime flashes; the impact is worse because it fragments every sleep cycle.

HRT — specifically oestrogen (transdermal patch, gel, or spray) — is by far the most effective treatment for night sweats of this severity. It directly addresses the oestrogen withdrawal causing the hypothalamic misfiring. Most women with this level of night sweats see significant reduction within three to six weeks of starting. If you have an intact uterus, progesterone will be prescribed alongside oestrogen to protect the uterine lining.

While you are waiting for an appointment: keep the room as cold as you can manage (below 20°C where possible), use a fan directed at your face, sleep in light cotton, keep a cold water bottle by the bed to sip from during a flash, and have a light cotton layer ready to put on during the chill that sometimes follows.

These measures will help you cope. They will not solve the problem. Please prioritise getting a medical appointment — you deserve sleep.