For many reasons, people wake up several times a night to pee. This nighttime urination could sometimes be caused by a medical condition, but often it is just an inconvenient routine. If it is the latter's case, there are a few simple tips that can help stop nighttime urination.
But seeing a medical professional when you are concerned about having some medical conditions that make you pee more is also advisable. Some conditions that could cause nighttime urination could vary from urinary tract infection to diabetes or heart failure.
On the other hand, perhaps it is because of other issues that affect the sleep pattern that wakes a person in the middle of the night and suddenly the brain urges the person to go pee. In this case, peeing is not an issue so seeking medical help is also recommended.
For those non-medical causes, here are some tips that might help stop nighttime urination:
Limit Fluids Intake Before Bedtime
Being hydrated throughout the day helps to not drink too many fluids at night. Cleveland Clinic recommends avoiding drinking any liquids an hour or two before bedtime. Notably, liquids containing caffeine should be avoided if you do not want to be awake all night, and it can also make you pee.
Alcohol should also be avoided due to its diuretic effect, like caffeine, as it is known to disrupt sleep and wake the person in the middle of the night to sleep.
Elevate Your Legs
The Sleep Foundation suggests elevating the legs for a few hours before bedtime can cause the body to reabsorb some of the water from the legs from lying down.
This means propping your legs up for an hour at the level of your heart to help you urinate during the day, rather than the night. Also, simply sitting on the couch with your legs up could help.
Exercise
If you have noticed a swelling on your feet, you will probably more often wake up to urinate during the night. That is because once you lie down for this night, the fluid that is pooling in your extremities during the day will be reabsorbed by your system.
The fluid will be transported to your kidneys to be processed and the excess water will be excreted as urine. Cleveland Clinic recommends doing exercise and wearing a support hose to get the fluid in your legs to be processed before bedtime.
Hydrate Yourself During the Day
If you are one of those people who drink most of their needed fluids in the night, then you should think again because that guarantees a full bladder at night that will wake you up when you are already asleep.
To avoid this, Lifehacker recommends drinking earlier in the day so you do not fill up hours before bedtime.
Check For Sleep Apnea
At night when our muscles feel paralyzed while we sleep, it is because of the antidiuretic hormone (ADH) that the body releases to retain more fluid overnight. However, people with sleep apnea do not get too deep into the stage of sleep so their bodies do not release enough of this hormone.
Additionally, oxygen levels drop due to sleep apnea that triggers the kidneys to excrete water. Treating the condition will take care of frequent urination during the night.
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