How Can I Fix Frequent Nighttime Urination Without Meds?

There are natural ways to improve your bladder control at night

You wake up because you have to go to the bathroom—again. If you usually wake up more than once each night to pee, you may have nocturia. Nocturia is the medical term for excessive urination at night. Not only is frequent nighttime urination frustrating, but it can impact your mood, energy, and performance throughout the day.

One in three adults over 30 has nocturia. (1). The good news? Many people with excessive nighttime urination can find relief with simple lifestyle changes. Before committing to a long-term medication with potential side effects, consider trying these all-natural strategies for nighttime bladder control.

How To Pee Less At Night Without Prescription Medications

1. Don’t Drink Right Before Bedtime

The most obvious solution to reduce how often you wake up at night to pee is to cut out liquids before bedtime. So long as you’re drinking plenty of water during the day, you don’t need to gulp down more right before you head to bed.

To improve nighttime bladder control, drink as little as you can two to four hours before you head to bed. Keep a journal to see if two, three, or four hours is best for you, and remember to drink a little more when you wake up so you stay hydrated.

2. Be Conscious With Caffeine

Most of us have coffee, soda, or tea daily. The caffeine boost from these drinks may help you get through groggy mornings and find productivity at work. But it might also be why you’re so tired in the first place.

Caffeine both disrupts your sleep cycles and is a diuretic, causing you to wake up during the night to pee. (2,3) Because caffeine has a long half-life—the time it takes for your body to break down or eliminate half of a compound—it stays in your system for ten or more hours after you finish drinking it. When you have caffeine during the afternoon and evenings, you’re likely to need to pee more often, even after you head to bed. Come the next day, that caffeine-induced poor sleep may push you towards drinking more caffeine, continuing the cycle.

While eliminating caffeine is your best bet for sleep, that may not be something you want to do. Instead, aim to stop drinking caffeinated beverages after noon. And if you do, opt for tea over coffee for less caffeine.

3. Consider Your Alcohol Consumption

Wine, beer, and other beloved alcoholic beverages aren’t going to help you sleep deeply. Similar to caffeine, alcohol alters your sleep cycles and acts as a diuretic. (3) Combined, these effects increase the chances that you’ll wake up at night with the urge to go.

Drinking alcohol later in the day is more likely to cause nocturia than a drink or two in the morning. Unfortunately for sleep quality, evenings are when most of us consume alcohol. If you want to get a good night’s sleep, you may want to save alcohol for just a night or two each week. This way, you can choose which nights you’re okay with not sleeping as well as you could.

4. Make Small Dietary Changes

It’s not only what you drink that influences how often you need to pee, but what you eat. (4) Research into diet shows that those who eat more fruits and vegetables are likely to have fewer bladder problems, including frequent urination at night. Alternative, salty foods—especially the excess salt used in processed and fast foods—can cause or exacerbate nocturia. Try replacing a prepackaged snack or two each day with fruits and vegetables for better sleep.

5. Stay Active

Research shows that exercise during the day can improve sleep by reducing the number of nighttime bathroom trips. (5) Try to do something active every day, whether that’s yoga, time at the gym, or a daily walk. You may just find yourself with fewer bathroom trips during the night.

6. Try Herbal Supplements for Bladder Control

You probably take supplements for your memory or overall health, so why not try something for your bladder? Natural bladder supplements like BetterWOMAN and BetterMAN boast herbs that help support bladder health.* Users of these clinically-tested supplements report improvements like sleeping better through the night and peeing less often.*