Are you urinating a lot at night?
Waking up during the night to urinate is called nocturia. It becomes more common with age, but frequent nighttime urination isn’t something you should automatically dismiss as “just getting older.”
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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS
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Common reasons
Drinking a lot of fluid near bedtime, particularly caffeine or alcohol.
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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS
Age-related changes that cause the kidneys to produce a greater proportion of urine at night.
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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS
Enlarged prostate in men, which can make it harder to empty the bladder completely.
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NIDDK
Overactive bladder or bladder irritation, including urinary infections.
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Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
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Diabetes, which can cause increased urination and thirst.
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NIDDK
Swelling in the legs, certain medications (especially diuretics), sleep problems, and some heart or kidney conditions.
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NIDDK
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What you can try
Keep yourself adequately hydrated during the day, but reduce large amounts of fluid in the few hours before bed.
Cut back on coffee, tea, cola and alcohol, particularly later in the day.
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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS
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If your ankles regularly swell, elevating your legs during the day can help move excess fluid back into circulation before nighttime.
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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS
Don’t stop prescription medicines on your own. If you take a water pill/diuretic and suspect it’s contributing, ask your doctor whether the timing should be changed.
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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS
Keep a bladder diary for several days—record what and when you drink, when you urinate, and approximately how much. This can help a clinician determine the likely cause.
When should you get checked?
If you’re regularly waking multiple times a night, particularly if this is a new or worsening problem, it’s worth discussing with a healthcare professional. NIDDK recommends medical evaluation for people who regularly wake to use the bathroom or have other bladder symptoms.
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NIDDK
Seek prompt medical care if you have blood in your urine, painful urination, fever, significant pelvic/abdominal pain, difficulty passing urine, or an inability to empty your bladder.
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NIDDK
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The key point: nighttime urination isn’t necessarily dangerous, but frequent nocturia can sometimes be the first clue to a treatable bladder, prostate, metabolic, medication, or sleep-related problem.
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