SALT INTAKE A CAUSE OF NOCTURIA?

Kidney and urinary tract
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Lowering your salt intake could mean fewer trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, a new study suggests.

Most people over age 60, and many even younger, wake up to pee one or more times a night. This is called nocturia. This interruption of sleep can lead to problems such as stress, irritability or tiredness, which can affect quality of life.

There are several possible causes of nocturia, including — as this study found — the amount of salt in your diet.

The study included more than 300 Japanese adults. They all had high salt intake and sleeping problems. They were given instructions and help to reduce their salt intake and followed for 12 weeks.

The American Heart Association recommends that people consume no more than 2,300 milligrams (2.3 grams) of sodium daily. That’s about a teaspoon of salt.

Ideally, the AHA says, people shouldn’t have more than 1,500 milligrams (1.5 grams) of sodium per day. Table salt is made up of about 40 percent sodium, according to the AHA.

More than 200 people in the study reduced their salt intake. They went from an average of 11 grams per day to 8 grams a day.

With that reduction in salt, the average number of nighttime trips to the bathroom to urinate fell from 2.3 to 1.4 times per night. The number of times people needed to urinate during the day also decreased.

In comparison, the nearly 100 participants whose average salt intake rose — from 9.6 grams per night to 11 grams nightly — had an increase in nighttime trips to the bathroom, from 2.3 to 2.7 times a night, the study revealed.

The study was to be presented Sunday at the European Society of Urology annual meeting, in London. Findings presented at meetings are typically viewed as preliminary until they’ve been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Dr. Marcus Drake is a professor at the University of Bristol in England and leader of the working group for the ESU Guidelines Office Initiative on Nocturia. “This is an important aspect of how patients potentially can help themselves to reduce the impact of frequent urination. Research generally focuses on reducing the amount of water a patient drinks, and the salt intake is generally not considered,” he said. 

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Not sure if this study is conclusive that salt intake deduction is responsible for going to nightime trips to bathroom from 2.3 to 1.4, since this is very slight reduction, and that other factors may be playing in this mix that have not been considered.

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rocky31676  They say that this is a preliminary, non-peer reviewed study.  So eventually the impact of reducing salt could be greater or less than what they found

What caught my attention was that reducing salt led to a 43% reduction in nighttime trips (2.3 to 1.4 times).  Since it doesn't require sugery or travel or thousands of $$ in expense or pain or bleeding, I'm going to give it a try.

Thats significant enough for me.

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Hi jjjj , Less night trips : Is it because of lower urine production ? Hank

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I urinate at least 3 times a night I have liminted salt intake I have stopped drinking after a centain time and I still pee 3 times a night.

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Is it because salt makes us retain fluid, then when we are at rest, the fluid is released making its way to the bladder?  My husband is addicted to salt and also has a nocturia problem, sometimes up to every 30 minutes.  Flowmaxtra has reduced that frequency but he could only give up or reduce salt for about 3 days before he decided it did not work!!!!

 

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The combination of high salt intake + high liquid intake is very bad for nocturia. Cutting down one will help, both will help more, unless you have other more serious conditions. In your husband case, getting up every 30 minutes is not normal. He may need to look into prostate and/or bladder and/or urinary retention problems. Just be careful and investigate thoroughly before jumping into any surgeries. Hank

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Thanks, Hank.  He has had a number of investigations which show his prostrate is very good  (small) for his age.  He had a special MRI.  PSA is very low.  I think the salt/water retention is a fairly good reason for his problem.  Drs/urologist have not got on to the salt theory yet.  Also I think (from female experience), we have to train our bladder out of the problem too.  If we had a problem with it, say an UTI, we tend to retain a bit of the habit after the event has passed.

 

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Have had that issue, nocturia. It prevents me from getting a good nights rest and I'm stressed out. I have been trying to drink less fluids before bedtime, and all it seemed to do is less urine but up and about every few hours which is a real issue along with other issues (insomnia, dizziness, nausea in the morning hours) I've been experiencing.

Could be my losartin, though I took it for years with no issues or side effects, except some belly bloat  and fatigue. But high blood pressure can't be ignored.

Will be trying to lose a bit of weight (not obese) so I can reduce the Losartin.

Will try reducing salt intake as well and see if it makes a difference in nocturia, even if it is a slight reduction.

Have to try everything so won't know exacty  what works.

Was taking ginger (a knob in hot water steeped for an hour) drunk slowly for the nausea , but even there one wonders what kind of soil the ginger is grown in and I buy a large bag and use it often. The organic I saw which was more expensive had mold, so I buy it as fresh as I can. I'm even trying to grow my own which definatly would be organic.

I'm desperate to sleep a good nights rest because I'm exhausted and don't get much done being tired. Rest in the afternoon, though don't sleep even then.