When I was young, I could sleep through the night, but I don’t know when I started, but I always had to get up a couple of times at night to sleep, which made it hard to sleep through the night.
Some people say that nocturia is a sign of age and is normal. Others feel that nocturia is normal, and that nocturia is a sign of bad kidneys. So is it normal to have nocturia or not to have nocturia? Today we will talk about it.
Nocturia VS No nocturia
Nocturia, as the name suggests, is nocturnal urination, which is the phenomenon of getting up to urinate during sleep at night.
Not having nocturia may mean that the kidneys have better filtration and produce less urine, or that you drink less water at night. The presence of nocturia means that more water is consumed during the night or the kidneys are less able to absorb water.
A normal number of nocturia and the absence of nocturia both represent good health to some extent, and the key is to find the right habits and water intake to keep the number of nocturia within the normal range.
However, if the frequency of nocturia is too frequent it may indicate a health problem, and it is recommended to go to the hospital for examination if necessary.
Some of the common reasons for too frequent nocturia include: excessive water intake before bedtime, dysuria, enuresis, diabetes mellitus, urethritis, prostate enlargement, smaller bladder capacity, abnormal bladder muscle contraction function, side effects of diuretic medications, and some additional adverse emotional or psychological stress.
Therefore, frequent nocturia is not an independent disease, but may be a symptom caused by many factors. For normal people, frequent nocturia not only affects sleep, but also affects the quality of life. For the elderly, frequent nocturia is also prone to falls leading to fractures and even cardiovascular disease.
How many times is it normal to urinate at night?
The normal range of nocturia varies from person to person, but in general, it is normal for adults to urinate no more than 2 times per night. If you urinate more than 2 times a night, it usually affects your sleep quality, and if it happens for a long time, it may indicate a health problem.
Generally speaking, it is normal for young people to urinate 0-1 times at night, but 0-2 times is also within the normal range for the elderly.
The prevalence of nocturia increases with age. Domestic studies show that 57.5% of people over 18 years of age urinate ≥1 time at night and 24.7% ≥2 times at night, and that advanced age, high BMI, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus are the high-risk factors for nocturia. Excessive nocturia, especially the short sleep time between falling asleep and the first urination, has a significant impact on the quality of life.
Different levels of nocturia have different impacts on quality of life and health status. Of course, the frequency of nocturia may also be affected by factors such as water intake and lifestyle habits, so when determining whether it is normal or not, the actual situation of the individual should be taken into account.
For the treatment of nocturia, first of all, we need to clarify the cause of the disease, record the diary of urination (what time to urinate every day, about how many milliliters), and if necessary, go to the hospital in time to see a doctor, and take different treatments for different causes of the disease. If you are concerned about the abnormal number of nocturia, you can try to adjust your lifestyle habits, such as reducing the amount of water you drink at night and avoiding stimulating beverages, in order to reduce the number of nocturia.
The dangers of frequent night rising?
Excessive nocturia, or frequent nighttime urination, in common parlance, may have an impact on your body and daily life, especially in older adults. Here are some of the dangers of frequent nighttime urination:
① Affecting sleep quality: Frequent waking up will lead to sleep disruption, which will seriously affect the quality of sleep, thus affecting the next day’s state of mind and work efficiency.
② increase the risk of cardiovascular disease: due to frequent getting up easily lead to the elderly postural hypotension, triggering the risk of cardiovascular accidents, some inadvertent falls caused by multiple fractures.
③ Increased burden on the kidneys: frequent night rising may mean increased burden on the kidneys, which may lead to impaired kidney function in the long run.
④ Urinary tract infection: frequent getting up at night to go to the toilet, the urinary tract for a long time in the open state, easy to lead to urinary tract infection.
⑤ Osteoporosis: getting up many times at night will affect the absorption of calcium, which may lead to osteoporosis in the long run, and is very likely to cause fractures.
⑥ Decrease in quality of life: Frequent getting up at night will affect daily life, such as social activities, traveling, etc., and bring a lot of inconvenience to life.
(7) Mood swings: Frequent nighttime sleepovers may lead to significant mood swings, such as anxiety, depression, irritability, and so on.
Hormonal disorders: Excessive urine discharge at night may affect hormonal balance and lead to endocrine disruption.
For men, frequent night rising is often a precursor of prostate disease. To alleviate the problem of frequent night, first of all to the regular hospital to check whether there is prostate hyperplasia, chronic prostatitis and such diseases, to do the urinary system B ultrasound, urinary routine to rule out the existence of urinary tract infections may be, at the same time, to see whether there is the problem of prostate enlargement.
How can I alleviate frequent night rising?
Frequent night rising affects the quality of sleep, quality of life, and seriously hinders our daily work life the next day, which is quite agonizing. Below are some tips that can help alleviate the problem of frequent night risings:
① Adjust drinking habits: Avoid drinking too much water, tea, coffee, juice and other beverages at night, especially before bedtime. Reducing the amount of water you drink will help reduce the amount of urine you urinate at night.
② Stop drinking alcohol: Alcohol and beverages increase urine production, and controlling the amount of alcohol consumed can help alleviate frequent nighttime awakenings.
③ Regular routine: Maintain a regular routine to ensure adequate sleep. A good routine will help regulate your body’s functioning and reduce the number of nights you have to get up.
④ Healthy diet: Maintain a balanced diet, eat more vegetables and fruits, and reduce foods high in salt and sugar. Foods high in salt will lead to edema, which in turn affects urine discharge.
⑤ Exercise: Proper exercise can help enhance kidney function and reduce the frequency of nocturia. For example, light exercise such as walking and tai chi can help improve kidney function.
⑥ Controlling emotions: Maintain a good state of mind and avoid negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. Mood swings and insomnia may lead to an increase in nighttime urine output, which in turn affects the number of nocturnal episodes.
In short, nocturia seems to be just a small problem, but in fact, it will be on the human body’s genitourinary system, the cardiovascular system and other aspects of the damage can be caused. Therefore, if the problem of frequent nocturia exists for a long time, it is recommended to seek the help of a urologist, according to the doctor’s advice to carry out the appropriate symptomatic treatment.