What Are The Causes Of Frequent Urination At Night?

I frequently urinate at night. Is this something to worry about? If you are one of those experiencing frequent urination at night, you have reached the right place. It is important to know the causes of frequent urination at night.

If such is the case wherein your bladder nags you out frequently during the night because of which you need to go to the bathroom more than 5-8 times a day, it might be an indication of a clinical condition called as nocturia. In such a condition, sleep too gets disturbed as people need to respond to the body reflexes, which urge them to wake up whenever required to urinate and empty the urinary bladder. Knowing about the possible underlying causes of frequent urination at night can help to deal with the condition better.

So, what are the causes of frequent urination at night?

Nocturia is diagnosed by the decrease in the capacity of the urinary bladder to hold the urine or an increase in the formation of urine. Sometimes, it may be both, that may result out in nocturia.

The triggering factors and some of the possible causes that may lead to an increase in the formation of urine or decrease in the capacity of the urinary bladder to hold urine. Some of these may need medical attention while others can be managed by the individual himself easily.

An individual may be in a practice of drinking too much water (more than 5-6 liters of water per day) or may be in a habit of drinking water around the bed time. In both the cases, excess urine would be formed in the body, which is one of the commonest causes of frequent urination at night.

In order to avoid such a condition, try having water several hours before the bed time. Also adopt a practice of urinating before going to sleep. Avoid having caffeine or alcohol late in the evening as these promote the excess formation of urine in the body.

One of the possible causes of frequent urination at night can also be lack of sleep, which urges you to urinate. This is usually seen in people experiencing hot flashes, restless leg syndrome, depression, ongoing chronic pain. Various research studies have been done which claim a connection between sleep apnea and having to go at night for urination.

Treating the sleeping disorder can help in resolving the problem of frequent urination during the night.

Urinary tract infection or irritable bladder is also one of the causes of frequent urination at night. The urination in such cases is often accompanied by stomach ache, inflammation, irritation and sometimes fever too.

Treating urinary tract infections can resolve this issue of frequent urination. Consult a physician for the treatment of urinary tract infection.

In cases of cardiovascular disorders, it is often seen that the blood is not pumped in the body, as it happens in a normal human being. This results in the formation of fluid in various areas of the body, especially the ankles.

Further, when the subject lies down, the body tends to adjust the formation of extra fluid in the body by pushing it out through the urinary tract and as a result, the urinary bladder fills up, which forces the patient to wake up during the night and use the bathroom for urination. Thus, cardiovascular disorders too are a common cause of frequent urination at night.

It might not be possible to immediately resolve the cardiovascular disorders as it is a chronic disease, however, the accumulation of the fluid in the ankle region can be prevented by resting the feet at a level during the day or by using compression socks. Since the fluid will not get concentrated in the ankle region, the urge to urinate will eventually become normal.

One of the other commonest causes of frequent urination at night include the use of medicines. There are certain medications which increase the formation of urine in the body and hence urge you to urinate more.

The simplest way to resolve this issue is by consulting your physician and letting him know about your nocturia or excessive urination condition. In certain cases, giving such medications may be required, especially if there exists an inflammation in the body, however, if such is not the case, request your physician to modify the prescription accordingly.

• The frequency of urination increases as the age progress, for a very simple reason that the body makes less hormone that commands the kidney to work less while you are sleeping.
• Further, what adds to the problem is that the mitochondria in the urinary bladder fail to stretch the urinary bladder during the old age and as a result, its capacity to hold urine decreases and the body responds to this change by urinating frequently. Thus, one of the common causes of frequent urination at night also include aging.
• An enlarged prostate gland in men can also become a problem due to which the frequency of urination increases in aging men. The enlarged prostate gland avoids the urinary bladder from emptying completely.
• The changes in the level of estrogen in women, especially after menopause, leads to the changes in the urinary tract due to which the frequency of urination increase considerably. The presence of weak pelvis muscles may aggravate the issue.

Consult a physician for screening of such conditions and plan appropriate treatment.

Apart from the above mentioned causes of frequent urination at night, following are the probable medical reasons that can decrease the capacity of the urinary bladder to hold less urine:-

• Prostate tumor
• Pregnancy
• Tumor in the bladder
• Overactive Bladder
• Obesity
• Interstitial cystitis
• Liver failure
• Diabetes
• Diabetes insipidus
• Parkinson’s disease
• Alzheimer’s disease

Consult a physician to assess your condition and plan appropriate treatment. There are medications that can regulate the formation of urine and thereby control the frequency of urination. Also, there are a lot of alternate forms of therapy with help of which, the frequency of urination can be decreased.

Thus as there are many causes of frequent urination at night, it is important to evaluate and get the underlying condition diagnosed correctly. It can be easily managed, provided, you are able to identify the root cause, at the right time. Go ahead, meet your physician and improve the quality of your life.

Also Read:

• Frequent Urination in Women
• What Causes Frequent Urination after Drinking Water?
• Can Too Much Vitamin D Cause Frequent Urination?