Bladder diary
Keeping a bladder diary can help you and your urologist understand your symptoms and find suitable treatments. A bladder diary is used to track:
- How much liquid you drink
- How often you urinate in the day
- If/when you experience any accidental leakage
- How often you need to urinate at night.
- How much urine you pass through the night
The amount of urine you pass can be measured using a jug, such as those found in most supermarkets.
Lifestyle changes
You can try to lessen the symptoms of nocturia by making a few changes in your lifestyle.
Here are some helpful tips:
- Try to drink most of your liquids during the earlier part of the day, so that by the late afternoon and evening, you are not drinking much, as this will help reduce the need to get up to go to the bathroom during the night.
- Try to limit the amount of caffeinated drinks (such as tea and coffee), fizzy drinks and alcohol you consume, as these types of liquids can irritate your bladder and make you need to urinate more frequently. Remember that even de-caffeinated drinks contain some caffeine.
- Try lying down and raising your legs above the level of your heart for a short time in the afternoon or early evening as this can help any fluid that has built up in your lower body during the day to move back to your kidneys and be urinated out before bedtime.
- Wearing compression stockings during the day can help reduce the amount of fluid that builds up in the legs over the course of the day and would otherwise need to be urinated out at night.
- Seek physiotherapy support to learn exercises that will strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
- If you have difficulty walking or staying balanced, it may be helpful to keep a toilet chair (commode) near your bed.
Remember, it’s still important to drink at least 1 to 1.5 litres of water a day.
Bladder training techniques
The aim of bladder training is to teach you how to control your bladder, instead of your bladder controlling you. If your nocturia is caused by an overactive bladder, your doctor may suggest you try bladder training techniques. You can find out more about overactive bladder syndrome here.
Bladder training involves resisting the urge to urinate for a short period of time to train your body to hold larger amounts of liquids for longer. Your doctor will discuss the best method of bladder training for you, but a common method is to distract yourself for 5 to 15 minutes each time you get the first urge to urinate (using whatever method works best for you). The following week, you do the same thing but try to delay passing urine for an additional 5 to 15 minutes.
This technique of ‘holding’ your bladder could help you reduce the need to go to the toilet during the night.
Sleep training techniques
Training your body to sleep well through the night can make it less likely that you will wake up to go to the toilet. Here’s some of our top tips for sleep training:
- Keep up a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day to help your body get used to sleeping through the night.
- Do some physical activity during the day to help keep your sleep routine healthy and improve the quality of your sleep.
- Make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep, or too much sleep, it can affect the quality of your sleep at night.
- Try sleeping in a comfortable space, that is dark, quiet and of a pleasant temperature to help you sleep better.
- If you smoke, be aware that nicotine is a stimulant, so it is likely to have a negative effect on your sleep quality.
