Nocturia: Why You’re Up All Night—and What You Can Do About It
You roll over, glance at the clock … 2:17 a.m. Again. By the third bathroom trip, you’re wondering: “Is this normal, or is something wrong with me?” If this sounds familiar, you may have nocturia—the medical term for waking up two or more times each night to pee. It’s common, but it’s not “just part of aging.” Let’s break it down in plain English. 1. What is nocturia? Nocturia is waking up from sleep with the need to urinate. One trip can be shrugged off; two or more start to chip away at the night, leaving you groggy, irritable and scrolling your phone at three in the morning, wondering if everyone else is awake and peeing too. The truth is, nocturia is common, but it is not normal, and it is not a single story. Picture the kidneys as quiet night-shift workers. In healthy adults they slow the flow once the lights go out, thanks to a hormone called antidiuretic hormone—ADH for short—that tells them to keep most of the water for morning. If that hormone wanes with...
