Why do I feel feverish after sleepless night?
July 15, 2014 12:39 AM   Subscribe

Whenever I haven't slept very well (i.e. very much), I spend the next day feeling somewhat feverish.

There isn't always a real fever (though I do have somewhat low-ish body temperature to begin with, so what reads as normal may be high to me), but I almost always feel feverish after a bad night's sleep. One time in college, my dorm neighbour kept me up at night and the dorm nurse almost sent me to the hospital for my fever (not because it was life-threateningly high, but because that was the time the swine flu went around), until I told her this was pretty normal for me. But... is it normal?

Last night, I didn't sleep very well either, and when I went to my doctor's appointment this morning for unrelated issues, they took my blood pressure and it was 130 to something. Usually, my blood pressure is around 95 to 65. Could this have something to do with it?

I know YANMD, but this issue doesn't seem big enough to have a doctor make a weird face at me for asking.
posted by LoonyLovegood to Health & Fitness (13 answers total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Do you take anything to help you sleep or any "night-time" versions of over-the-counter medications that might have pseudophedrine in them? It's in lots of products and causes a "small but significant increase" in systolic blood pressure.
posted by XMLicious at 1:57 AM on July 15, 2014


Best answer: I totally get that when I am seriously sleep deprived. My face and chest will feel kind of hot, along with feeling a bit tight around the eyes, if that makes sense. I also am really conscious of my breathing- it's not harder to breathe, but I'm more aware of it and it feels louder.

The body is a strange and complicated thing- other weirdness I experience includes a scraped/burning sensation on the backs of my index fingers when I'm about to cry, and sharp twinges in my ribs when I scratch my feet!
posted by cilantro at 2:00 AM on July 15, 2014


Response by poster: I do not take any sleep-inducing medications. I take anti-depressants, but I've had this issue/phenomenon/? waaaaaaaaaaaay before that.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 2:04 AM on July 15, 2014


Best answer: Circadian rhythms. Sleep disturbance. Impact on diurnal cortisol and other hormonal cycles. Resulting blood pressure and body temperature changes. Think that's how it works.
posted by Ahab at 4:13 AM on July 15, 2014 [4 favorites]


Best answer: Sleepless nights give me diarrhea*, so other ways of the body doing things to force some rest isn't surprising to me.

*Yes it works the other way around too, but this is stuff like needing to get up early to drive a friend to the airport where there's no other change or sign of illness.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:50 AM on July 15, 2014


Response by poster: OMG! My stomach also tends to act up after sleep deprivation (and a friend mentioned the same)!
For me, it's more constipation that puts pressure on my bladder/vaginal area and produces constant discharge and the need to pee very frequently. (Sorry if that's TMI.)
posted by LoonyLovegood at 4:56 AM on July 15, 2014


Best answer: I'm definitely not a doctor, but just wanted to chime in to say that I have weirdness when having little sleep too (especially after a full-on all-nighter). In particular, I get really cold (I've never measured my temperature, so maybe it's a fever too!). What you're describing doesn't sound outside the realm of what I might experience...
posted by ClaireBear at 5:26 AM on July 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


I also get super-cold when sleep-deprived.
posted by you're a kitty! at 6:05 AM on July 15, 2014


I have also experienced feeling overheated/feverish when I've slept very little, and I'm not sure what causes it.
posted by Cheese Monster at 6:14 AM on July 15, 2014


Best answer: There are many instance via google, but one of the purposes of sleep is for thermoregulation.

I have the same thing; if I get less than 3 hours (approxiamtely 2 sleep cycles), I feel like I keep switching betwen a low grade fever and low grade chills. Apparently your body heat goes lower during non-REM sleep, and raises during REM sleep. But googling "sleep thermoregulation" will give you a lot of jumping off points.
posted by nobeagle at 8:03 AM on July 15, 2014 [2 favorites]


Ha! I was feeling the same way as you yesterday due to getting only 3 hours of sleep. I was going to try and look it up today, but now I don't really have to
posted by azarbayejani at 9:26 AM on July 15, 2014


Best answer: Agree with the above. Sleep is really important for body temperature regulation (and your body's self regulation in general). Lack of sleep also raises cortisol which may have something to do with it. When I don't get enough sleep I notice I feel MUCH colder, sometimes to the point of shivers and not being able to reheat back up even with blankets. But I also boil up and get over heated very quickly, and I easily move between the two. Summer days are hell when I've not slept fully.
posted by Blitz at 12:06 PM on July 15, 2014


Best answer: Short version - sleep deprivation results in significant physiologic stress. Our bodies respond in a number of ways, including increased cortisol (will raise your BP among other things) and adrenaline/epinephrine, which can make you feel chills, nauseated, etc.
Long version - try this
posted by jhs at 6:51 PM on July 15, 2014 [2 favorites]


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