While it’s not uncommon for us to get up once in a while during the night to use the washroom, research suggests that getting up too frequently may be an indication of hypertension [1]. Frequent nightly urination, also known as nocturia is associated with and can be one of the early symptoms of congestive heart failure [2][3].
Why We Get Up To Pee At Night
Typically we should be able to get between 6 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. However, those who wake up to urinate frequently, do not have a normal sleep cycle. There are many reasons why you might get up to pee at night: [4]
- High fluid intake
- Drinking alcohol or caffeine at night
- Small bladder capacity
- High blood pressure [2],[1]
- Untreated diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2)
- Pregnancy
- Water retention
- Sleep apnea
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men [5]
- Certain drugs such as diuretics, cardiac glycosides, demeclocycline, lithium, methoxyflurane, phenytoin, propoxyphene, and excessive vitamin D [4]
How Are Late Night Bathroom Trips Linked To High Blood Pressure
More recently, a study by researchers in Japan found that the number of bathroom trips during the night could be associated with high blood pressure [1]. The study was presented on March 30th, 2019 at the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS 2019).
In this study, 1,882 participants completed a health questionnaire, of these people 1,295 got up to pee at least once per night, on average. Those who got up to urinate at least once per night were linked with a 40 percent greater chance of having hypertension.
