Using the Toilet in the Night? A surprising new study…
All right, so every once in a while we have a little too much liquid before bed, and – well, you know. But what if you find you’re getting up many nights – or every night? Even if you haven’t had a lot to drink?
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This condition is known as nocturia. There are a number of things that can cause it (besides too much fluids) – diabetes, a bladder or urinary infection, hypercalcaemia, and others. But men and women get nocturia, and it tends to be more common in the elderly.
But there are at least a couple of interesting connections for those with headaches and migraine. First of all, a class of drugs commonly used for migraine can cause nocturia – beta blockers. It might be a symptom to look for… interrupted sleep can make things worse instead of better.
But there’s something else that just might be the cause – obstructive sleep apnea (sleep apnoea). We’ve talked a lot about sleep apnea before, and its relationship to migraine and headaches.
Many people assume that they wake up simply because they need to urinate. But it may be the other way around – they may want to urinate because their sleep was interrupted by sleep apnea.
Normally associated with sleep apnea is snoring. However, it turns out that nocturia may be just as good an indicator – better, maybe, since the patient may be more aware of it.
A recent study checked data on 1007 adults treated at sleep clinics. The finding? Neither snoring nor nocturia is proof of sleep apnea, but both are equally strong indicators.
There can be many causes of nocturia – some long term. Sleep apnea seems to be a major one. Many people just assume they have a "small bladder", or that they’re "just getting old" – but there’s probably more to it than that.
Because of the strong connection between sleep apnea and migraine, if you have nocturia, you should be properly checked out, preferably at a sleep clinic as well as by your regular doctor. A small clue might make a big difference in your health.
via wegohealth