This is why you don't need to pee when you sleep

Once you stop wetting the bed as a child, your body takes over control of when you should go to the bathroom. This bodily superpower is most appreciated at night when you sleep for full seven or eight hours without the need to pee. However, certain conditions like diabetes make some people more prone to frequent urination than others.

Nighttime urine retention

The simple reason why you may not be waking up to urinate frequently is that at night, your body produces less urine. When you are sleeping, your kidney, which is responsible for balancing the amount of water in your body, takes a downtime and filtrates less urine, according to the Urology Specialists of Ohio website.

This causes your bladder to relax and hold more urine. The specialists explain that the kidney functions under the control of a part of the brain known as the hypothalamus which creates a hormone called vasopressin or antidiuretic hormone (ADH) that instructs cells to retain water.

When you sleep, your body increases its production of ADH, signalling to your kidneys to keep absorbing and recycling water and preventing the creation of urine. Mostly. Some water does still pass through to the bladder, slowly filling it up. This, along with the suppression of ADH as you wake up is why most people have to urinate first thing in the morning.

Possible reasons why you may have the need to pee at night

Although most healthy people can get through the night without urinating, some people in their 20s and 30s struggle with having to urinate in the middle of the night, condition known as nocturia. Approximately 10% of people over the age of 20 have to urinate two or more times per night. The percentage increases as people become older, the Urology Specialists of Ohio said on its website.

However, certain conditions can make you more prone to frequent urination. According to Women’s Health:

see your doctor to check for a urinary tract infection (peeing would be painful) or overactive bladder. Less commonly, needing to pee a lot could be a sign of a medical condition like diabetes (often accompanied by thirst)

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