Most people pee four to eight times a day, and up to once at night. If you’re going much more often, or it’s disrupting your sleep or daily life, there’s usually a reason worth finding.
Imagine planning every outing around toilet locations and getting up three times a night. You’ve cut down on drinks, which only makes you feel unwell. A bladder diary shows you’re drinking lots of tea and cola. Swapping some for water and doing bladder training cuts your trips in half.
Common causes
- Drinking a lot, especially caffeine, alcohol and fizzy drinks
- Urinary tract infection, with burning and urgency
- Overactive bladder, with sudden strong urges
- Enlarged prostate in men, with weak flow and night-time trips
- Diabetes, with thirst and tiredness
- Pregnancy
- Medicines such as diuretics (“water tablets”)
- Menopause and weakened pelvic floor
- Anxiety
What helps
- Keep a three-day bladder diary of drinks and toilet trips
- Cut back on caffeine, alcohol and fizzy drinks
- Don’t restrict water too much, as concentrated urine irritates the bladder
- Reduce drinks in the two hours before bed
- Try bladder training, gradually extending the time between trips
- Practise pelvic floor exercises
But when should I see a healthcare provider?
See a healthcare provider if frequent urination comes with burning, blood in urine, fever, back pain, extreme thirst, weight loss, a weak stream or difficulty emptying your bladder, or leaking. Seek urgent help if you can’t pass urine at all. A urine test and blood sugar check are often the first steps.
Your next step: Keep a bladder diary for three days and take it to your healthcare provider or pharmacist if you’re going more than eight times a day.
Sources: NHS (Urinary incontinence and overactive bladder), International Continence Society, Mayo Clinic, Urology Care Foundation.
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