It can be very annoying to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, especially if you have trouble falling back to sleep afterwards. However, it is important to know that going to the bathroom at night once in a while is not at all worrying. It is natural with age. If this happens often enough that you want it to stop, there are all kinds of measures you can take. If the phenomenon occurs every night, it may be a good idea to see a doctor. There are various underlying issues that can cause you to urinate in the middle of the night.
Steps
Method 1 of 10: Stop drinking before bed
Step 1. Don't drink
This might sound obvious, but if you haven't tried it yet, stop drinking before bed. Do not drink anything 2 hours before going to bed and go to the bathroom just before going to sleep. You may have tried this solution before, but many people naturally drink something at night without really thinking about it. Try to think more about how much you drink before bed.
You still need to stay hydrated. If you are very thirsty a few hours before bed, don't deprive yourself. Take a glass of water. Better to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night than to become dehydrated
Method 2 of 10: Cut out the caffeine after noon
Step 1. Caffeine is a diuretic
So avoid consuming it after noon. Simply put, diuretics are substances that make you urinate more often. Since caffeine can stay in the body for a long time (up to 5 hours), stop drinking any caffeinated drink long before you go to bed. If you're used to having tea when you come home from work in the late afternoon, try stopping to see if the problem goes away.
Method 3 of 10: Avoid alcohol before bed
Step 1. This is another diuretic
Like caffeine, alcohol makes you urinate more often. If you're used to having a few glasses of wine to wind down at the end of the day, or having a beer or two when reading in bed before sleeping, you may need to stop so you can sleep through the night.
If alcohol helps you fall asleep, you should know that the quality of sleep will not be very good, even if you fall asleep faster. Frequent drinking late at night is often associated with insomnia. If you lose this habit, your sleep patterns may improve dramatically
Method 4 of 10: Check the side effects of your medications
Step 1. Read their instructions
Many medicines can make you urinate more often. If you are taking prescription medication, read the list of common side effects to see if frequent urination or nocturia is listed. If so, ask your doctor if you can take a different medicine. If you take over-the-counter medications, check online to see if others who take them have noticed that they are urinating during the night. If so, look for an alternative.
Calcium channel blockers, painkillers, sleeping pills, medicines for Parkinson's disease, and alpha blockers can all increase the need to urinate
Method 5 of 10: Try double draining before sleeping
Step 1. Urinate twice in a row
When you go to the bathroom before bed, urinate for the first time, then stay on the toilet and try to start again. This method is called double emptying and allows the bladder to be emptied completely. After normal urination, your brain may think your bladder is empty even though it still contains fluid. Double emptying eliminates what is left. Even if you no longer feel the need to urinate, wait about 30 seconds and try again. Don't force yourself. If you pee again naturally, that's fine.
Double emptying is also a good technique for people who urinate often during the day
Method 6 of 10: Elevate your legs at night
Step 1. Drain your legs
It may sound strange to you, but put your feet up at night. During the day, fluid builds up naturally in your feet and legs. Raising them for an hour or two before bed will allow all that fluid to redistribute. This way, when you go to the bathroom before going to bed, you will be removing a lot more volume from your bladder.
If you don't elevate your legs at night (or can't), try wearing compression stockings
Method 7 of 10: Improve the quality of your sleep
Step 1. Sleep better
You may get up to urinate in the middle of the night just because you wake up. If you keep getting up during the night, try to improve the quality of your sleep. Go to bed and get up at the same times every day, even if you feel like sleeping in on the weekend. Put your phone in airplane mode or turn it off before bed to avoid being woken up by notifications. Make sure that no light can enter through the windows and set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature.
Some people confuse the link between quality of sleep and nighttime urination. You may just wake up in the middle of the night and find that your bladder is partially full, but it doesn't wake you up
Method 8 of 10: Identify and eliminate the triggers
Step 1. Start a urination schedule
During the day, write down the times you eat and drink and what you consume yourself. On the nights you wake up to go to the bathroom, write a reminder in the calendar before you go back to sleep to remember to review the information from the night before. It is possible that you identify habits that make the problem worse. You can then take steps to change your behavior to reduce how often you have to urinate.
Method 9 of 10: exercise plenty
Step 1. Increase your physical activity
This will help your body to eliminate fluids more easily. If your heart and kidneys are healthy, your body will regulate itself much more easily, and the more efficient it is, the easier it will be to empty your bladder and stay asleep. Aim to get at least 2.5 hours of physical activity per week. Even if you just walk around your home every day, your body will thank you for it!
Method 10 of 10: See a doctor
Step 1. Consult your doctor
If none of the steps you take seem to be working, there are a number of prescription treatments that you can take to try and stop the problem. Also, you may have a more serious underlying problem that is causing your nighttime urination. Diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, and prostate problems can all cause you to urinate frequently during the night, and it's important to get checked out by your doctor to determine if you have any of these issues.
