Do you wake up at 2:00, 3:00, or even 4:00 in the morning, irresistibly compelled to urinate? This action seems harmless, but it could reveal a silent disorder in your body. And no, it’s not necessarily linked to that last glass of water you drank before bed… This common but often overlooked phenomenon can affect the quality of your sleep without you even realizing it. Here’s what it hides and, more importantly, how to avoid it.
Getting up to urinate at night: not so normal
In reality, our bodies are designed to be able to sleep for 7 to 8 hours without interruption, even without the need to urinate. This is done by a hormone called ADH (antidiuretic hormone), secreted at night: it limits urine production while we sleep.
But here’s the thing: when this hormone is poorly secreted or our sleep is too light to enter the so-called REM (paradoxical sleep) phase, the body no longer retains water. The result: your bladder wakes you up… when you should be dreaming.
The Invisible Impact of Lack of REM Sleep
REM sleep is an essential phase of nighttime rest. It’s when our brain sorts memories, our body repairs itself, and ADH is released. If you can’t enter this phase, you secrete less ADH… and you urinate more. It’s a vicious cycle.
The result : you wake up tired, your concentration decreases, your mood suffers, and your bladder isn’t the only one to suffer the effects .
