Excessive urination at night is a condition in which you wake up several times during the night to urinate. Waking up at night to urinate is called nocturia.
Normally, urine decreases in amount and becomes more concentrated at night. That means most people can sleep 6 to 8 hours without having to urinate.
People who have nocturia get up during the night to urinate. Because of this, they often have disrupted sleep cycles.
Keep a diary of how much fluid you drink, how often you urinate, and how much you urinate. Record your body weight at the same times and on the same scale daily.
Make an appointment with your health care provider if:
Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your nighttime urination, such as:
Tests that may be performed include:
Treatment depends on the cause. If excessive nighttime urination is due to diuretic medications, you may be told to take your medication earlier in the day.
Nocturia
Gerber GS, Brendler CB. Evaluation of the urologic patient: History, physical examination, and the urinalysis. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 3.
Landry DW, Bazari H. Approach to the patient with renal disease. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 116.
Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Scott Miller, MD, Urologist in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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