Urination - excessive at night

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Female urinary tract

Male urinary tract

Overview

Treatment

Urination - excessive at night

Definition:

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:

Drinking too much fluid before bedtime -- particularly coffee, caffeinated beverages, or alcohol
Benign prostatic hyperplasia
Diabetes
Chronic or recurrent urinary tract infection
Chronic renal failure
Congestive heart failure
Cystitis (acute urinary tract infection)
Drugs such as diuretics, cardiac glycosides, demeclocycline, lithium, methoxyflurane, phenytoin, propoxyphene, and excessive vitamin D
Obstructive sleep apnea

References:

Asplund R. Nocturia, nocturnal polyuria, and sleep quality in the elderly. J Psychosom Res. 2004 May;56(5):517-25.

Review Date: 6/30/2005
Reviewed By: A.D.A.M. editorial. Scott M. Gilbert, M.D., Department of Urology, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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