Is having to urinate overnight aggravating or WHAT? But a simple dietary tweak can help this problem.
If your sleep is interrupted two or more times a night by the need to urinate, you may be able to solve this annoyance with one simple change to your diet.
The culprit may be too much salt in your diet, says research.
Overnight bathroom runs are more common in people over 60. Even when water and other fluid intake is stopped for several hours prior to bedtime, the urge to run to the bathroom may still strike.
That full-bladder feeling awakens you, and it can’t be ignored. You just have to leave your comfortable bed and trudge to the toilet.
Less Salt in the Diet May Relieve Overnight Trips to the Loo
• Dr. Matsuo Tomohiro and his team of Nagasaki University studied 321 Japanese women and men who, traditionally, have a higher than average intake of salt.
• They were followed for three months.
• Salt consumption was tracked biochemically.
• 223 subjects reduced their salt from 10.7 g/day to 8.0 g/day; their overnight urination dropped from 2.3 to 1.4 times per night.
• 98 subjects upped their salt intake: 9.6 g/night to 11.0 g/night. The need to urinate went from 2.3 to 2.7 times per night.
The study did not address how to treat people who, despite a low salt diet, still must get up at least twice overnight to urinate.
However, if your sodium intake is high (lots of processed foods), it’s worth a try to cut back on sodium and see if this makes a difference overnight.
Cutting Back on Salt
“Cut back on salt by first reducing or eliminating processed foods, including canned soups, instant noodles, rice or potatoes [no-salt added], frozen meals, chips, crackers or smoked meats,” says Dr. Keith Kantor, a leading nutritionist and CEO of the Nutritional Addiction Mitigation Eating and Drinking (NAMED) program, which treats substance abuse, mental illnesses and other illnesses.
“The sodium that you eat causes you to retain water, and when you stop retaining water you urinate more often — and this can be more noticeable during the evening,” says Dr. Kantor.
“If you eliminate processed foods you will most likely eat more fruits and vegetables, which naturally contain water, and this will cause more urination which is noticeable at night because you have to get up often.
“Your body will eventually adjust and you will not have frequent evening urination.”
Dr. Kantor has a PhD in nutritional science and a doctorate in naturopathic medicine, has appeared on CNN and Fox News Channel for his expertise, and has been an advocate of natural food and healthy living for 30+ years.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
