Urination - excessive at night Health Article

Definition

Excessive urination at night is a condition in which you wake up several times during the night to urinate. Waking up several times a night to urinate is called nocturia.

Alternative Names

Nocturia

Considerations

Normally, urine decreases in amount and become more concentrated at night. That means, most people can sleep 6 to 8 hours without having to urinate.

But, persons with nocturia get up more than once during the night to urinate. Because of this, those who have excessive urination at night often have disrupted sleep cycles.

Common Causes

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia
• Certain drugs including diuretics, demeclocycline, lithium, methoxyflurane, phenytoin, and propoxyphene
• Chronic or recurrent urinary tract infection
• Chronic renal failure
• Congestive heart failure
• Cystitis
• Diabetes
• Drinking too much fluid before bedtime, particularly coffee, caffeinated beverages, or alcohol
• High blood calcium level
• Obstructive sleep apnea and other sleeping disorders

Home Care

Keep a diary of how much fluid you drink, how often you urinate, and urine output. Record your body weight at the same times and on the same scale daily.

Call your health care provider if

Make an appointment with your health care provider if:

• Excessive nighttime urination continues over several days, and is not explained by medications or increase of fluids before bedtime
• You are bothered by the number of times you must urinate during the night