Nocturnal polyuria, waking up a number of times during the evening to go to the loo, can play havoc with sleep patterns.
Lindsey Bever
At some point, you’ve probably had to wake up in the night to pee. Pregnancy, drinking too much water before bed or certain conditions that tend to be more common as you age can make middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom more common.
In general, occasionally waking up at night with an urge to urinate, known as nocturia, is not a problem. However, if it routinely happens more than twice per night or interferes with your sleep, doctors might recommend simple lifestyle changes or, if needed, medication.
“Whether it needs to be brought up to a physician really is driven by the degree of bother,” said Jeffrey P. Weiss, professor and chair of urology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, who has been studying nocturia for 30 years. In other words, if it is happening often enough to annoy you, it might be time to get it checked out.
