Various chronic diseases can lead to very itchy scalp at night.
There is wide range of factors that can trigger these skin condition but many of them are treatable. These skin conditions can lead to itchiness and hair loss. Itchy scalp at night can be caused by certain skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, Seborrheic dermatitis, hives and dry scalp skin (xeroderma). It can also involve something specifically affecting the whole body or specific to scalp only at night. Scalp nocturnal pruritus may be due to something that started during the daytime and extends to nighttime. This means that there are other primary causes whose symptoms can be worsened by the above conditions (they usually aggravate already existing itching condition). Most of the three discussed conditions above usually aggravate nocturnal pruritus, although only a few may directly cause the problem. Wool blankets can also cause inflammation in some skin conditions
Some insects such as lice can hide on the bed, in the bed line or even in the clothing.Īccording to, “Some insects are night feeders and are therefore more likely to cause symptoms at night.” If you have house mite allergy, then you may also experience itching worsening at night since these organisms often invest in the mattress and become active at this time. This issue both in men and women can also be associated with your bed, bed linen and your clothing before you tire to bed. “Without a proper REM cycle, you can experience changes in mood and physical symptoms,” says. If this is summed up with severe skin conditions, your sleep patterns may be disturbed. This generally makes our body or rather skin to become more conscious of conditions such as itching however how mild it may seem to be. Normally as we sleep, the energy and stimulus levels in our body usually go down. Substances such as interleukin (IL-2, IL-8, and IL-31) can affect the inflammatory outcome of your skin. In unbalanced circadian rhythm, itching in the body can be due to cytokine and prostaglandin. Reduced pain is usually related to increased sensitivity to this issue. When the circadian rhythm is deformed, natural pain relieving agent may increase at night instead of increasing in the morning. These two changes in the autonomic nervous system can contribute to itching anywhere in the body or intensify it.
Usually, parasympathetic activity increases at night whereas sympathetic activities increases in the morning. This will lead to temporary dropping of anti-inflammatory effect resulting to increase in itching with skin conditions causing inflammation. The levels of corticosteroids decrease during nighttime. Skin temperature usually tends to rise during this time, this can aggravate itching in the body through increasing activities on your skin. This can lead to dry itchy skin or make the skin to be more prone to the notorious irritants. Water loss through the skin usually increases as you sleep. Therefore, some processes that may independently or mutually contribute to or aggravate a scalp itch at night: 2. Some hormones do increase during specific times of the day and may influence certain body actions. These changes respond to your light or dark environment, that is why they vary during the day or nighttime. The circadian rhythm or internal lock refers physical, mental, and behavioral changes your body goes through within 24-hour period on daily basis. To be able to give clear reasons why this is common, here are the common theories you need to know.
Therefore, before we uncover causes, let us start by exploring these theories to clarify what may lead intense scalp nocturnal pruritus. However, many studies and researches have shown that this condition usually can worsen at night (though this nighttime aggravation is not common in everybody). To begin the discussion, we would like to make it clear that, disorders, conditions or diseases that can cause scalp itchiness problems during the day can also cause it during the night. You are also going to learn why it aggravates during nighttime. What exactly causes scalp itching at night and why does it tend to exaggerate at this time? Here, you’ll discover causes, symptoms, and treatments. This can be very exasperating especially when it affects the usual sleep cycles. Itching can be experienced any time of the day however, it has been discovered that itching tends to worsen around nightfall (nocturnal pruritus).