Not Just Water: Why You Keep Waking Up to Pee at Night | Doc Cherry

It's already midnight. You keep on waking up just to pee and you find it difficult to sleep again. You have limit your water intake but it seems as if it's not working. Well simply because water is not just the culprit here. That's why in this video we will talk about the five common reasons of nocturia or the frequent urination at night. Stay with me until the end because you you don't want to miss what's number one. Hi this is again Doc Sherry, Doc Dr. Physical Therapy, glad to have you here. My team actually mentioned that many of you are not yet subscribed. If you want to know practical and helpful videos that can actually impact your quality of life, please don't forget to click the subscribe and the bell button below so you will be updated with our practical health videos. These are the five common reasons for nocturia. Elevated blood sugar. If your blood sugar reading is greater than 180 mg per dl, your body tends to get rid of the excess sugar. That's why you can expect frequent urination at night. If you're currently suffering from nocturia, if you can't sleep well, if you don't have well-rested sleep because of frequent urination, try to ask yourself, do you frequently If yes, please have yourself checked because... You know, these are considered as the triad of diabetes. The American Diabetes Association actually recommend that if you check your sugar before you have your meal, it should be between 80 to 130 mg per dl. And after having your dinner or meal, it should be less than 180 mg per dl. So here is what you need to do. Limit your sugar and carbohydrate intake especially in the afternoon or at night. You walk for 10 minutes. Clinical studies have actually shown that patients already diagnosed with diabetes type 2 actually have decreased blood sugar if they walk for 10 minutes after dinner by as much as 22 percent. Over time, this can have a big impact with your health. Avoid sugary drinks like sodas, energy drinks, and too much carbs especially in the afternoon or in the night. Salt and water intake. Actually, the focus of many is just with water intake. But we should never neglect our sodium consumption. Because do you know that salt actually attracts water? In a study done in 321 patients who experienced nocturia, they were asked to lower their sodium intake. And it came positive because 200 plus patients actually proved that they experienced lesser waking up at night just to pee simply by modifying their salt consumption. The World Health Organization actually recommends that we take only 5mg of salt per day. But mind you, the usual diet is times 2 of what is recommended. So here is a practical way on how to go around this. You cut down on your salt intake, especially in the afternoon or during dinner. You avoid instant noodles and processed meat because they are all high in sodium. As far as water intake is concerned, try to limit your water intake one to two hours before going to sleep. When you need to drink medications especially during dinner time, you take it with a small amount of water only and you can also talk to your doctor about this so you can sleep better. Fluid accumulation in your lower leg. If your work entails sitting or standing for too long all throughout the day, gravity actually helps assist the pooling of blood in your lower leg. That's why leg elevation is really helpful especially if you are experiencing nocturia. You try to elevate your leg against the wall for 10 to 30 minutes before you sleep. This is safe. However, don't do this if you find it difficult to breathe while you are in a supine position. Now, mind you, Many of you experience nocturia at the same time are also suffering with back pain and with sciatica. Your sleeping posture can actually help you. Why does this even matter? If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and you find it difficult to sleep because neuropathy symptoms tend to get worse at night, this technique can actually help you. If you want to assume the supine position, what you need to do is to insert a thin pillow beneath your knee. In this position, your spine is more aligned and we prevent rotational forces in the pelvis which can actually trigger your symptoms. Your next option is side-lying position. This time, you want to place the pillow in between your knees. This way, it will not trigger your symptoms. Pelvic and urinary conditions. Now, let's talk about men first. If you are more than 60 years old and you experience nocturia plus you experience dribbling in your urine, it is best to have yourself checked because these can be common symptoms of an enlarged prostate. Now here is a practical tip that you can do. We call it as double voiding. So you urinate first gently and then you wait for one minute and then you urinate again This way, it will increase your urine output. Another practical way for men is to urinate while being in a seated position. Yes, these can actually help you increase your urine output so we prevent waking up at night just to pee. Now let's talk about the ladies. Many are actually not aware that one common cause of nocturia is due to pelvic floor muscle weakness. Why does this happen? This is actually common, especially for women who had natural delivery. Actually, during pregnancy, hormonal changes plus increasing pressure to accommodate the growing baby can actually cause weakness in the pelvic floor muscles. Now, here is an important tip. This is a proven treatment plan for pelvic muscle weakness. Now, here is an important technique. This has been clinically proven to help with pelvic floor weakness. This is called the Kegels exercise. To do this, you can do it while sitting or while lying down. You just simply imagine you're stopping your urine. You want to target that muscle. Then you hold the position for three to five seconds, relax, and then repeat it 10 times. You can do Do this two to three times a day. This has been clinically proven to help you increase the strength of your pelvic floor muscles and to help prevent nocturia. So if you had been bothered by nocturia, we get to the root cause of the problem so you can sleep uninterrupted at night. Here are the five common causes. Elevated sugar, your salt and water intake, you have fluid accumulation in the lower leg, you have your dinner at the same time. pelvic and urinary conditions. If you will address this, it can help you sleep more soundly because now more than ever, health is our best wealth and sleep is restoration. Thank you very much for watching this video. If you have reached the end of this video, please comment where you are from in the comment section below because I would really love to know. Thank you very much. God bless you. I will see you on our next video.