Do you have to pee at night?

Do you always feel thirsty yet the water you drink seems to just rush through you? Do you have to wake up at night to pee?

Let me start by giving you an overview of potential reasons for this annoying disruption to your sleep:

• You simply drank too much too late.
• You have blood sugar regulation issues, such as diabetes.
• You suffer from Adrenal Fatigue (a form of sub-fertility), meaning that your cortisol production is out of balance, with your adrenal glands either producing too much or too little cortisol or at the wrong times of the day. The adrenal glands also produce aldosterone, which regulates fluids in your body and usually with advancing Adrenal Fatigue there is also increased urination as aldosterone levels drop and the body can no longer contain fluids. You might feel thirsty all the time, yet the water just seems to rush through you without being contained. Adding unrefined sea salt to your diet (as well as resolving Adrenal Fatigue through diet, mindset and lifestyle measures – reach out for more details) can help your body to better retain the water you drink – and also to increase your blood pressure, which tends to be low in this condition, too (at least in the more advanced stages).
• From a Chinese Medicine Perspective, nighttime urination is most commonly caused by “kidney yang deficiency” (which basically is the same as Adrenal Fatigue, since the adrenals sit on the kidneys). This means that the kidneys are weakened and unable to warm and transport fluids in the lower abdomen, as well as to supply the bladder with enough energy to contain the urine. It’s a very common consequence of under-eating. Symptoms: copious clear urine, nighttime urination, cold hands and feet, dizziness, tinnitus and pain in lower back and knees. Here you find dietary recommendations for this condition, which happen to be similar to the ones for Adrenal Fatigue (when it comes to the ideal macro-nutrient ratio, ideally take into account your individual Metabolic Type).

So, if you, too have to get up every night, give those recommendations a try – and let me know if they do make a difference for you!