The need to urinate at night, thus interrupting sleep, apparently affects most people over the age of 60. For some it’s a source of irritation, for others it’s a serious issue, leading to lack of sleep and stress.
Now, evidence is mounting that night urination is related to the amount of salt in your diet.
A group of researchers from Nagasaki University, led by Dr Matsuo Tomohiro, has studied salt intake in a group of 321 men and women who had a high salt intake and had problems sleeping – Japanese people tend to have a higher than average salt intake. The patients were given guidance and support to reduce salt consumption. They were followed for 12 weeks, and salt consumption measured biochemically.
223 members of the group were able to reduce their salt intake from 10.7 gm per day to 8.0 gm/day. In this group, the average night-time frequency of urination dropped from 2.3 times/night to 1.4 times. In contrast, 98 subjects increased their average salt intake from 9.6 gm/night to 11.0 gm/night, and they found that the need to urinate increased from 2.3 times/night to 2.7 times/night. The researchers also found that daytime urination was reduced when salt in the diet was reduced.
This reduction in the need to go to the bathroom at night caused a marked improvement in the quality of life of the participants, as measured by the standard CLSS-QoL questionnaire.
More on this study and its findings can be found on the Medical News Today website.
