Sleep Apnea and Frequent Evening Urination

Many individuals blame their frequent visits to the toilet each night time on an overactive bladder (OAB) or, for males, an enlarged prostate. Whereas these could also be frequent causes of nocturia (waking as much as urinate multiple time per night time), an typically neglected trigger is obstructive sleep apnea. If you happen to marvel how sleep apnea might trigger you stand up a number of occasions at night time to urinate, a current research by Miyauchi et al  confirms each the connection between nocturia and sleep apnea in addition to the advance seen with remedy.
We start by noting that many sufferers who stand up ceaselessly at night time accomplish that as a result of they make an excessive amount of urine at night time. The bladder is just filling up extra rapidly than it ought to. Usually for younger folks, not more than 20% of your each day urine manufacturing ought to come while you’re asleep. In older sufferers, lower than 33% is extra regular. Sufferers who exceed this are stated to have nocturnal polyuria, which means they make an excessive amount of urine at night time. That is simply identified by having sufferers maintain a diary for a number of nights to measure how a lot urine they make through the night time in comparison with the day.

Whereas there are a number of causes of nocturnal polyuria, an typically neglected one is obstructive sleep apnea. Blockage of your airway in sleep apnea ends in a variety of destructive stress within the chest as you attempt to breathe (strive closing your throat and taking a breath).  This causes extra blood to return to the center. When this a part of the center expands from the additional blood, it releases a hormone (atrial natriuretic peptide) that makes you make extra urine. It’s as if the physique thinks there may be an excessive amount of blood quantity (possibly you drank a variety of fluid) and tries to eliminate the surplus fluid. So, sufferers with obstructive sleep apnea make an excessive amount of urine at night time.

The encouraging information is that remedy of the sleep apnea akin to with a masks offering steady airway stress (CPAP) not solely treats the sleep apnea but additionally will cut back the urine manufacturing and the nocturia. So subsequent time you end up getting up that third or 4th time at night time, think about having an analysis of whether or not you make an excessive amount of urine at night time. In that case, a take a look at for sleep apnea could also be so as.