In any case, your nighttime bathroom trips could really eat into how much shuteye you're clocking, especially if you struggle to drift off again-which gets more likely the closer it is to your wakeup time, Dr. Peters says, because your overall sleep drive (the pressure your body feels to doze) will be lower. If that sounds like you, keep reading for expert tips on putting your restless bladder to bed, once and for all.
1. Pee regularly throughout the day and just before you go to sleep.
You might intuitively know that not emptying your bladder during the day can leave that thing overfull come nighttime. But remembering to pee isn't just about managing the volume of liquid sloshing around in there. You also "have to go with some frequency during the day because the bladder is a muscle that needs to be exercised," Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD, an Orlando, Florida-based board-certified urologist, tells SELF. It has to contract to push urine out-but if you're consistently keeping it filled to the brim, it can get "overstretched," he says. In that state, it can lose its ability to squeeze and fully empty itself when you do go, sending you back to the toilet more often to finish the job.
Bottom line: Don't put off nature's calls. There's no exact number of times that you should pee in a day, as everyone's a little different-but a good benchmark is going at least every four hours. You should also make one of those trips right before you go to bed, Dr. Brahmbhatt says. This way, you're starting the night as empty as possible.
2. Frontload your hydration and stop sipping anything within a couple hours of your bedtime.
Taking in less liquid can leave you with less that needs to come out-but you don't want to risk dehydrating yourself. That's why all the experts SELF spoke with suggest getting in most of your fluids for the day before nighttime, and then cutting back or not drinking anything, if possible, for two to three hours before you go to bed. This way, you're not flooding your system right before you snooze.
If you need to drink something closer to your bedtime, Dr. Greenleaf advises at least steering clear of alcohol and caffeinated drinks, which can encourage your kidneys to make even more urine-not ideal before bed. (And that's to say nothing of both substances' other sleep-wrecking effects!)
3. Cut down on salty foods.
Going hard on salt-heavy snacks or other sodium-laden meals could make you thirstier, leading you to sip more frequently (and pee more often) than you otherwise would. Indeed, research has shown that a high-sodium diet increases fluid intake and bumps up urinary volume; and one study found that people who lowered their salt intake took fewer nighttime bathroom trips. It's the reason Dr. Brahmbhatt suggests limiting the salty stuff in general, but especially in the evening.
4. If you take a diuretic, consider doing so in the morning.
Maybe you're on a drug that's explicitly designed to make you pee more-and that's the thing yanking you out of slumber. Diuretics, also called water pills, help to flush excess liquid and salt out of your body by triggering your kidneys to pump out more urine. They're often prescribed for high blood pressure, edema (swelling caused by fluid retention), and heart failure, among other things. If you're on one of these meds, Dr. Brahmbhatt suggests checking in with your doctor to see if you can take it earlier in the day, so its pee-producing effect is concentrated then, too.
5. Brush up on your sleep hygiene.
The lighter and more fragmented your slumber is, the more likely the urge to pee will wake you up. So, do what you can to get deep, restorative sleep by sticking to the basic sleep-hygiene recommendations, Dr. Lee says. Some places to start: Keep your bedroom a crisp, cool temperature (around 60 to 67°F); embrace a calming nighttime ritual that ideally excludes screens; and avoid using your bed for anything that isn't sleep or sex.
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