Why do I wake at night to pass urine?
The cause is not always the prostate. What makes night-time urination worse, and where to begin.
Waking to pass urine is a common complaint, especially from your fifties on. Most people should be able to sleep for six to eight hours. Waking once is no problem for many people, but if you wake two or more times and feel tired the next day, the cause is worth looking into.
Simple causes
- Drinking a lot before bed, especially alcohol, fizzy drinks and caffeine
- Medicines that make you pass more urine
- A habit that has built up: you wake and go, even when you do not need to
Causes in the bladder and prostate
In men, an enlarged prostate is common. In women, pregnancy, childbirth, the menopause and pelvic prolapse play a part. A urinary infection and anything that narrows the way out can cause it too.
Causes outside the urinary tract
Sometimes the problem lies elsewhere in the body:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- A sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea, or restless legs
That is why the doctor does not look only at the prostate.
Where to start
The simplest step is a bladder diary. It shows whether you make more urine at night or your bladder fills up quickly, and these two have different causes.
You can also try the following:
- Drink less in the hours before bed, and enough during the day
- Cut down on caffeine and alcohol in the evening
- If you take a water tablet, ask your doctor whether the timing can change. Do not change it yourself.
If these do not help, or you also have blood in your urine, pain or difficulty passing urine, come for an assessment.