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.
And it happens more frequently later in life. “It's normal for men as we age to get up to go,” says urologist James Ulchaker, MD. “In fact, it's normal for a 60-year-old man to get up once, a 70-year-old man to get up twice and an 80-year-old man to get up three times a night.”
Nighttime urination is very common in men over age 50 and causes significant inconvenience due to lack of restful sleep. An enlarged prostate is the most common reason that men have an urge to pee at night sometimes once or twice a night, but when severe, they may need to wake up to pee as many as 8-10 times a night.
Peeing frequently at night could be a sign of an underlying condition. Or, it could mean you're drinking too much before you go to bed. It might be a good idea to make some simple lifestyle changes like eliminating beverages two to three hours before bedtime.
It's often recommended that you should stop drinking water two hours before going to bed. This way, you're not flooding your body with extra fluids that may cause an unwanted trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
A study done on vitamin c intake in 2060 women, aged 30-79 years of age found that high-dose intake of vitamin c and calcium were positively associated with urinary storage or incontinence, whereas vitamin C from foods and beverages were associated with decreased urinary urgency.
“Our study indicates that if you need to urinate in the night – called nocturia – you may have elevated blood pressure and/or excess fluid in your body,” said study author Dr Satoshi Konno, of the Division of Hypertension, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Japan.
However, frequent urination can also indicate an underlying problem. Some of these may include kidney or ureter problems, urinary bladder problems, diabetes, and prostate gland problems. Other causes or related factors can include: urinary tract infection.
Producing Excess Urine at Night
This condition, called global polyuria, is most often tied to excess fluid intake, diabetes, and poor kidney function. View Source . Diuretics, including certain medications and substances like alcohol and caffeine, can cause enhanced urine production.
Because the bladder can only hold so much fluid volume, increasing water intake will increase the frequency of urination, and may make people with an overactive bladder more likely to leak. If you have overactive bladder (OAB), more fluid intake typically equals more trips to the bathroom.
Some people may notice they have to get up every couple of hours during the night to urinate and that they produce more urine when they do go. The presence of excess glucose can also cause the urine to have a sweet smell.
If your bedroom is cool (e.g. due to air conditioning in the home), keep yourself warm by wearing socks and/or a blanket. Cold temperatures tend to stimulate urination.
People may urinate more as they get older for a number of reasons, including medical problems like hypertension or diabetes. It may also be a symptom of infection. “That's often the first thing we look at when people complain of frequent urination,” said Dr.
Caffeine is a diuretic which means that it results in an increase in frequency of urination. It can also increase the urge to urinate if consumed in excessive amounts. Caffeine is thought to have a direct effect on the bladder's smooth muscle.
At night, most people will be able to sleep for six to eight hours without having to pass urine. As we get older we produce more urine overnight and middle aged and older men often find they have to get up once in the night. Changes in your urinary habits may be a sign that you have a problem.