Why you keep waking up to pee at night — and what you can do

When the wee hours of the night live up to their name for the wrong reason, you might wonder if something’s wrong. Truth is, multiple trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night is fairly common, and it has a name: nocturia. Medically speaking, nocturnal urinary frequency, or nocturia, is when you wake up more than once during the night to pee.

Getting up to pee once during sleeping hours can be par for the course. But more than one bathroom trip after bedtime and before you wake up might indicate an issue that needs your attention.

How common is nocturia? More common than you think: 50% of adults over 50 are affected. And while the majority of people who experience nocturia are usually over the age of 60, it can happen at any age.

What’s our natural baseline?

Northwestern Medicine confirms what we should expect daily: the average adult pees about six to seven times in a 24-hour period and should be able to sleep between six and eight hours at night without a bathroom break.

What’s the impact on your health when you take an additional trip or two to the bathroom at night? It might not sound like much, but it can start to wear on you. Having nocturia can affect your sleep quality and, with that, your overall wellness.

What might cause nocturia?

Some common everyday causes of nocturia include:

• Drinking fluids later in the evening: Especially beverages with caffeine or alcohol, which can increase urine production.
• Medications that act as diuretics: Often called water pills, these help your body remove excess fluid and salt, which can lead to more frequent urination.
• Habit or routine: You may have unintentionally trained your body to wake up and use the bathroom — even if it’s not what woke you in the first place.

Body-related changes that can cause nocturia:

• Reduced bladder capacity, due to lifestyle or certain medications, means your bladder may not fully fill or empty, which can cause more frequent urges to go
• Childbirth, menopause or pelvic organ prolapse (women)
• Prostate enlargement (men)

Underlying health conditions linked to nocturia:

• Polyuria (your body produces too much pee for your bladder to hold)
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease or congestive heart failure
• Obstructive sleep apnea or other sleep disorders
• Restless legs syndrome
• Edema

In many cases, it’s not just one thing. There are actually different “types” of nocturia. Sometimes your body produces too much urine overall, sometimes it produces more at night, and sometimes the bladder itself has trouble storing it. Which is why the cause (and solution) can vary from person to person.

How do people deal with nocturia?

If your nights are starting to feel like a series of bathroom intermissions, you’re not alone. But here are some ways you can try to turn nocturia down a notch.

One helpful step, no matter the exact cause, is to track your patterns. Keeping a short diary of when you drink fluids and how often you wake up at night can help you and your doctor spot what might be contributing to the issue.

What you can try today:

• Elevating your legs in the evening or wearing compression stockings can help reduce fluid buildup that may shift once you lie down.
• Taking a short afternoon rest or nap may help your body reabsorb that fluid earlier, so it’s less likely to turn into a 2 a.m. wake-up call.

Ways to improve bladder function over time:

• Pelvic floor exercises or physical therapy can help strengthen the muscles that support bladder control.
• Bladder training techniques may help your body hold urine longer and reduce urgency.

To get the best guidance possible, be sure to talk to a doctor who knows your health needs and lifestyle. Here are a few ways working with a doctor can help:

• Treating underlying conditions, like sleep apnea, diabetes or prostate issues, can reduce nighttime symptoms once the root cause is addressed.
• Working with a doctor on targeted treatments or medications may also help, depending on what’s driving the issue.

A better night’s sleep is possible

It’s easy to write nocturia off as “just part of getting older.” But waking up multiple times a night isn’t something your body does for no reason.

Nocturia is relatively common, but the great news is it can often be understood — and for many people, improved.

And a full night’s rest with fewer unwelcome intermissions? Now that’s something worthy of a standing ovation.