{"id":150,"date":"2025-01-22T14:26:18","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T14:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/?page_id=150"},"modified":"2025-09-22T14:26:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T13:26:44","slug":"understanding-nocturia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/advice\/understanding-nocturia\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding nocturia"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What is nocturia?<\/h2>\n<p>Nocturia is the medical term for waking up at night to pass urine. It is normal for adults to wake once a night to urinate, and this often increases with age.<\/p>\n<p>For example, someone over 80 years old may need to get up three times a night, which is considered normal.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How is nocturia assessed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve spoken to a healthcare professional, they may have performed a full continence assessment, which could include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A detailed history of your urinary symptoms.<\/li>\n<li>A urine test to rule out infection.<\/li>\n<li>A bladder scan to check if your bladder is emptying properly.<\/li>\n<li>A bladder diary to monitor your fluid intake and urination patterns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Based on this, the cause of your nocturia will likely have been identified as one or a combination of the following:<\/p>\n<h3>1. <strong>Nocturnal polyuria<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This occurs when more than a third of your daily urine output is produced at night.<\/p>\n<h3>2. <strong>Small functional bladder capacity<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If your bladder can only store a small amount of urine, you may feel the need to empty it frequently. Possible causes include an overactive bladder, bladder irritation (from stones or infection), or a small-capacity bladder. Poor bladder emptying can also lead to more frequent trips to the toilet at night.<\/p>\n<h3>3. <strong>Secondary nocturnal voiding<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This refers to waking for reasons such as anxiety, pain, or insomnia and emptying your bladder while awake, even if it isn\u2019t full.<\/p>\n<h2>Managing nocturia<\/h2>\n<p>Once the cause of your nocturia is identified, the following strategies may help reduce how often you need to get up at night:<\/p>\n<h3>If you have nocturnal polyuria<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Limit your daily fluid intake to <strong>1.5 litres (6\u20138 mugs)<\/strong> of non-irritant fluids.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce fluid intake in the evening and avoid drinking during the night.<\/li>\n<li>Take a rest in the afternoon (at least one hour) with your legs raised above heart level to improve circulation and reduce fluid build-up in the lower body.<\/li>\n<li>If you have swollen ankles, wearing <strong>support stockings<\/strong> may help.<\/li>\n<li>A diuretic (water pill) taken earlier in the day may increase daytime urine output. Speak to your healthcare provider about this.<\/li>\n<li>Drinking <strong>nettle tea<\/strong> during the day may act as a diuretic, but avoid it if you have high blood pressure or diabetes.<\/li>\n<li>If you are already on a diuretic, adjusting the type or time you take it may help\u2014consult your healthcare provider.<\/li>\n<li>In some cases, medication such as <strong>Desmopressin<\/strong> can be prescribed to reduce urine production at night. However, this may not be suitable for those over 65 or with heart conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>If you have a small functional bladder capacity<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Limit your daily fluid intake to <strong>1.5 litres (6\u20138 mugs)<\/strong> of non-irritant fluids.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce evening fluid intake and avoid drinking during the night.<\/li>\n<li>Cut back on caffeine, which can irritate the bladder and increase the need to urinate.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid going to the toilet \u201cjust in case\u201d during the day.<\/li>\n<li>If you have an overactive bladder, consider following a <strong>bladder retraining programme<\/strong> to reduce nighttime frequency (ask your healthcare provider for guidance).<\/li>\n<li>Medications like <strong>anticholinergics<\/strong> may help reduce urgency and frequency\u2014ask your healthcare provider if these are suitable for you.<\/li>\n<li>If your bladder does not fully empty, using an intermittent catheter before bed may help. Speak to your healthcare provider about this option.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>If you have secondary nocturnal voiding<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Break the habit of waking up to urinate if it has become routine.<\/li>\n<li>Address environmental factors that might disturb your sleep, such as light, noise, or an uncomfortable bed.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid daytime naps if they affect your ability to sleep at night.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce stimulants like caffeine and nicotine before bedtime.<\/li>\n<li>If pain is waking you, speak to your healthcare provider about better pain management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By following these strategies, you may find relief from nocturia and improve your sleep quality. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your medication or care routine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is nocturia? Nocturia is the medical term for waking up at night to pass urine. It is normal for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":9,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-150","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions\/151"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/ababs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}