Peri-menopausal heat and sleeping bags - how to regulate body temp at night!

[gretchbr]

I've just been backpacking for the first time in many years and the only problem I had was sleeping. As a woman in my mid-50's, my body temp varies wildly at night, with hot flushes occurring frequently in the early morning hours - and the only way I can deal with those at home is to sleep under very light bedding that allows me to stick my feet and legs out until I cool off. When outside, my sleeping bag, while otherwise comfortable, just cooks me most of the night until 3 AM or so when the air temp is cold enough that I need a zipped bag - at least until I get a hot flush and have to find a way to get my feet/legs out again... argh! I was zipping and unzipping all night - not very conducive to sleep! I tried to sleep on my Exped Synmat with the sleeping bag unzipped on top of me, but got all sweaty doing that as well.

So what solutions have you mid-life women found for the usually too hot/occasionally too cold problem when sleeping outside on backpacking trips? I've been trying to think creatively - make a sheet for the Synnat and sleep on that? Get a UL quilt instead of a zip sleeping-bag and hope I won't freeze? Get a liner and cut out great big side-holes to stick my feet out when I need to?

Help!

[gumball]

I usually leave my bag unzipped at about 75% and use it as a quilt, tucking my feet in but having plenty of room to toss it on and off as needed without feeling like I'm trapped if I get too hot. I carry a WM down bag, 20 degrees, no matter what the season. My luxury item is generally something nice and cottony to sleep in and I am not afraid to sleep in very few clothes--that is what tents are for. Privacy!

[pelenaka]

Started "The Change" in my late 30s if it weren't for Evening Primrose Oil caplets I'd have been arrested for both streaking & murder.

[grayfox]

It is important to find ways to deal with this problem. My grandma lived to be 97 and still experienced hot flashes so don't plan on out-living them. The real problem is the dampness that lingers in the bedding when you sweat. You get hot and sweaty and then try to cool off by throwing off layers which leaves you chilled to the bone and too damp to warm quickly enough when you get back under the covers. Worst case scenario leaves your sleelping bag cold and damp for days.

The first thing you need is quck drying 'pjs'. Mountain Hardware wicked light shirts work well to dry dampness quicky and then return quickly to warming your body. Look for light mesh synthetic shirts, waly world and target have inexpensive ones that work, and then shorts or long johns to match. Patagonia has a super light 'silk weight' capiline that works. Natural silk takes too long to dry but light wool works. Get some socks too and a hat. Take the hat off first when you get hot.

Next you need to rethink your sleeping system. I would use a full length pad--you don't want to be touching cold ground while you try to rewarm. Add a light seatosummit liner--coolmax, poly, or light silk for summer and thermax type fabric or light wool for cooler seasons. Very light fleece would work as well. Use this liner alone when it is warm and inside your bag when it is cooler. The liner is lighter than a light synthetic sleeping bag, which would be another option for you, and packs smaller, will absorb most of the sweat, and dry quicker than your sleeping bag. Using your down bag as a quilt will keep most of the dampness from being absorbed by the bag.


Try to keep your liner and pjs as dry as possible during the day.


Hope this helps, grayfox

[illabelle]

I'm 53. I sleep in long sleeves and long johns most of the time, and I avoid hiking in summer. I usually wear socks to bed, but that's the first thing I discard if it's on the warm side. My sleeping clothes are not worn while hiking, so they stay dry. I sleep on a full-length mat with a Big Agnes 15* bag, which I unzip about halfway. I use my fleece vest and down jacket inside the bag like small blankets to achieve more flexibility in temperature control. So on a warm night, I might have the bag half open and not fully covering my upper body, with my vest over my chest and arms. If I suddenly get hot, vest off for a couple minutes, then back on, and back to sleep.

In the winter, I have a hard time getting warm enough at night. Why can't I have a hot flash then?

[Blissful]

I take Soy. Don't eat sweets. And wait for your body to regulate. I've had issues with it all summer on my job. Not fun.

[S'more]

I'm 53. I sleep in long sleeves and long johns most of the time, and I avoid hiking in summer. I usually wear socks to bed, but that's the first thing I discard if it's on the warm side. My sleeping clothes are not worn while hiking, so they stay dry. I sleep on a full-length mat with a Big Agnes 15* bag, which I unzip about halfway. I use my fleece vest and down jacket inside the bag like small blankets to achieve more flexibility in temperature control. So on a warm night, I might have the bag half open and not fully covering my upper body, with my vest over my chest and arms. If I suddenly get hot, vest off for a couple minutes, then back on, and back to sleep.

In the winter, I have a hard time getting warm enough at night. Why can't I have a hot flash then?

I know, right? Sounds like a good plan.

[Cyngbaeld]

If you perspire heavily at night, you will need to air your bedding daily. A good time is when you stop for lunch. Take the bag out, open it and spread it in the sun. Otherwise the damp builds up and it will get sour smelling and not keep you warm adequately.