You may be familiar with this scenario: you wake up in the middle of the night with an urgent need to visit the bathroom. Once you’ve satisfied the urge, you can’t get back to sleep.
Having to get up to go to the toilet several hours before the alarm clock goes off can be really annoying, especially if it happens several times a night. And everyone who experiences this knows how tired you can feel the next day.
This problem affects many people, and can of course be due to many reasons. But one reason is being presented by Japanese researchers and it may surprise you. The secret lies in the diet.
The problem of having to get up up and pee several times a night can be due to a medical issue. As most people know, it is a problem that often gets worse with age, partly because as we get older our antidierutic hormone levels shrink which causes the elasticity of our bladder to decrease.
But there are also other reasons that may lie behind the urge to go in the night. Diabetes, overactive bladder, certain drugs or prostate enlargement in men are some examples – as well as something as simple as drinking too much before bed.
But Japanese researchers from Nagasaki University found that one reason could be linked to your diet, more specifically, in our salt intake.
In a study of more than 300 volunteers, researchers found that a reduced salt intake led people to urinate less.
What Japanese researchers found means just a slight change in our diets could help reduce or even stop this issue.
Study author Dr Matsuo Tomohiro told BBC News larger studies were needed to confirm the link.
“This work holds out the possibility that a simply dietary modification might significantly improve the quality of life for many people,” he added.
And best of all – it’s not very hard at all to cut down on salt. A simple tip is to replace salt with spices like garlic or ginger when you cook at home. Another tip is to replace salty alternatives to potassium rich ones such as bananas, beans, yogurt and potatoes.
But as always, be sure to consult a doctor before making any drastic changes in your diet.
The problem of having to pee several times a night may have different causes for different individuals. But by paying attention to this potential cause, maybe it can help some to stop such an inconvenience.
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