Medium-dark yellow urine is often an indication that you are dehydrated.
When your kidneys are failing, a high concentration and accumulation of substances lead to brown, red, or purple urine. Studies suggest the urine color is due to abnormal protein or sugar as well as high numbers of cellular casts and red and white blood cells.
The most optimal color for your urine is a pale yellow. If it is a darker yellow or orange, it can mean you are becoming dehydrated. An orange urine could indicate a serious liver condition. Darker brown can be caused by foods or medication.
When you're healthy and hydrated, your urine should fall somewhere between colorless and the color of light straw and honey. When you don't consume enough fluids, your urine becomes more concentrated and turns a darker yellow or amber color.
If you have diabetes insipidus, you'll continue to pee large amounts of watery (dilute), light-colored urine when normally you'd only pee a small amount of concentrated, dark yellow urine.
Bright yellow urine is a sign of excess B-vitamins in the body, including B-2 and B-12, although this condition is harmless. Taking B-vitamin supplements can lead to urine of this color. The yellow color darkens as the concentration of the urine increases. Concentration refers the proportion of waste products to water.
If it's clear or straw-colored, then you're drinking sufficient fluid. If it becomes dark yellow or brown, then you are likely somewhat dehydrated,” says UCI Health urologist Dr. Ralph Clayman, a pioneer in the minimally invasive treatment of kidney disease.
Is clear urine always a good thing? In most cases, clear urine is a sign that you're well hydrated. And that's a positive thing because good hydration helps your body function at its best. But, in some cases, clear pee may mean that you're drinking too much water and you're too hydrated.
The relationship between urine colour and hydration status
The issue is that, whilst urine colour can definitely be somewhat indicative of hydration status, there's definitely not a simple and linear relationship between actual hydration status and the colour of your pee.
You might have an electrolyte imbalance: Electrolyte imbalances are one of the most common reasons you might feel dehydrated even after drinking tons of water: “Sometimes if we drink a lot of water but we don't take in enough fruits and vegetables, our electrolytes—sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, etc.
Proteinuria is high levels of protein in your pee. If you have proteinuria, you may have to pee more often, and your pee may be foamy or bubbly. You may have general feelings of illness, including nausea, vomiting, tiredness and swelling.
Most people pee about seven to eight times per day, on average. If you feel the need to pee much more than that, or if you're getting up every hour or 30 minutes to go, you might be frequently urinating.
Urinary tract infections and kidney stones can cause urine to look cloudy or murky.
Urine that is dark orange, amber, cola-coloured or brown can be a sign of liver disease. The colour is due to too much bilirubin building up because the liver isn't breaking it down normally.
Bright yellow pee, even as dark as amber, may be harmless, but it could be a sign that you're a little dehydrated or taking more vitamins than your body needs. You may want to check with your provider on what vitamins your body doesn't need as much so you can cut back.
Because people tend to sleep for several hours without having a drink, their urine is normally darker when urinating first thing in the morning. Darker urine during the day or evening may be one of the signs that someone is dehydrated meaning they are not drinking enough fluids.
Medium-dark yellow urine is often an indication that you are dehydrated. Drink 2-3 glasses of water now.
Typically, you should be able to sleep six to eight hours during the night without having to get up to go to the bathroom. But, people who have nocturia wake up more than once a night to pee.
Drinking too much fluid during the evening can cause you to urinate more often during the night. Caffeine and alcohol after dinner can also lead to this problem. Other common causes of urination at night include: Infection of the bladder or urinary tract.