Water is vital for our health. Water is essential for human health. A person cannot survive without it for more than a few hours. Daily hydration is crucial to maintain a healthy body.
Although it is more common to think of hydration in terms of exercise and diet, increasing research is examining the relationship between sleep and hydration.
Insufficient sleep can increase your chances of becoming dehydrated. Dehydration can also make it difficult to fall asleep. Excessive urination can lead to sleep disruptions.
The right amount of fluid can help improve your overall health. It may also make it easier to sleep better without having to go to the toilet or wake up feeling dehydrated.
What Is The Relationship Between Hydration And Sleep?
Hydration is essential for all systems of the body. This is why you might experience sleep problems or other symptoms from dehydration.
People suffering from severe dehydration may feel tired, lethargic or fatigued. Dehydration can also cause other symptoms, including headaches, dry lips and nasal passages, muscle cramps, and dry eyes. This makes it difficult to fall asleep well.
Excessive hydration can also cause sleeping problems. Frequent nighttime urination, also known as nocturia (nocturia), can disrupt sleep by interrupting it with frequent trips to the toilet. People who have trouble falling asleep after getting out of bed can find nocturia particularly problematic.
Evidence suggests that dehydration can also be caused by a lack of sleep. A study of almost 20,000 adults in the United States and China found that people who slept less than six hours per night had significantly higher rates dehydration rates than those who slept eight hours.
Although this observational study cannot prove causality, the fact that there was an association in two cultural contexts is a strong indicator of the validity of the findings. There are biological reasons why poor sleep could affect hydration.
The majority of water loss occurs through urination. However, fluids are also lost through skin and respiration. This is called insensible loss. About 300-400ml of water is lost each day through breathing. The majority of this loss occurs during sleep. However, it can vary depending on whether the person breathes through their nose or mouth.
There is no fluid intake during sleep to compensate for water loss. This is why the circadian rhythm (or internal clock) of the body is thought to be responsible for maintaining a healthy level of hydration.
The body produces a hormone called Vasopressin during the last part of sleep. This hormone promotes water retention.
This natural process can be interrupted or cut short by disrupting sleep, which may interfere with hormone signals for water retention. Sleep deprivation can directly lead to dehydration.
How To Avoid Sleep Dehydration
While it is normal for the body’s net loss of water at night, there are steps you can take to prevent this from leading to dehydration.
Get Good Sleep
A good way to prevent dehydration is to get enough quality sleep. Sleep is a complex process that allows the body to recover for overall health.
Making sleep a priority is a key component of sleeping well. One common principle in sleep hygiene is to have a regular sleep schedule that allows you enough time to get the rest you need. Positive sleep hygiene can also help you to rest well by limiting your late-night electronic device use, creating a relaxing bedtime routine, using a comfortable mattress, and avoiding the use of electronic devices at night.
Keep Hydrated Throughout The Day
It could be that you’re not staying hydrated throughout the day if you find yourself frequently thirsty at night.
- Drink fluids frequently, and set a reminder on your calendar if you have trouble remembering.
- Use a water bottle to keep your water handy and track how much you have consumed.
- Water is the best choice. Be careful with sugary drinks such as soda, juice, caffeinated and even alcoholic drinks.
- A balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, and other nutrients can help you get more water.
Choose A Comfortable Bedroom Temperature
Sweating can lead to water loss in the night. If your bedroom is too hot or your sleep patterns are too hot, you may find yourself dehydrated.
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This will prevent you from getting too hot at night. Experts recommend that your bedroom thermostat be set on the cool side.
Wear light, loose clothes and breathable bedding to keep you from overheating.
Keep Hydrated At Night Without Frequent Urination
It is difficult to know how to keep your body hydrated while sleeping without needing to wake up every hour to use the toilet. There are several tips that can help you avoid dehydration or excessive trips to the toilet.
- Limit fluid intake in the hours before bed. It is fine to drink water but try to limit your consumption of alcohol in the hours prior to bed.
- Avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine at night. You may need to pee throughout the night. Additionally, caffeine and alcohol can disrupt your sleep quality and cycle.
- Lift your legs at night. Your body absorbs water from your legs when you lie down. You can let this process happen without disrupting your sleep by elevating your legs a few hours prior to bed.
- Go to the bathroom before going to bed. This will reduce your need to urinate in the middle of the night.
Sometimes, you may have to get up more than once a night to go to the bathroom. This is a normal occurrence for most people. It also increases with age and certain medical conditions.
It is important that you make it as simple as possible for yourself to go back to sleep when you get up. These simple tips can help you fall asleep.
- Use a low-wattage or motion-activated nightlight so that you don’t have to switch on multiple lights every time you use the bathroom.
- Keep the path to the toilet free from any hazards that could cause you injury or make you trip.
- When you wake up, resist the temptation to check your phone or other electronic devices.
- You should block out as much light as you can, using a white noise machine or sleep mask if needed.
- Establishing a routine for relaxation, such as taking deep, controlled breathes.
Talk To A Doctor
Talk to your doctor if you are concerned about frequent dehydration, poor sleeping, or frequent trips to the toilet at night. Examining your case can help to determine if there is an underlying medical condition that could be causing your symptoms. Your doctor may also recommend changes to your daily water intake and diet.
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