Getting up to urinate at night stinks
Midlife crisis is a real thing, and I understand why.
Middle-aged men are sleep-deprived.
Most middle-aged men get up to urinate at night
Almost 70% of middle-aged men get up at least once at night to urinate, and one-third of men over 30 make two or more trips to the bathroom.¹ Ok, maybe the lack of sleep doesn’t 100% excuse men’s poor life decisions, but it does offer some insight.
This condition is called nocturia — when you have to get up more than once during a 6–8 hour sleep to urinate. I got up 2–3 times in the night before losing 30 pounds, which makes sense as obesity can cause nocturia.² And I was perpetually tired.
A hunt for the nocturia problem
But even after losing 30 pounds, I would get up at least once at night to pee. My sleep quality improved remarkably, but can’t I dream without interruption a few nights a week? So, my wife and I searched for a solution on a Saturday road trip. These are the things old couples talk about. And complain about the kids not visiting more often.
We read countless articles and reviews, and my wife is very particular about supplement quality as she’s becoming a subject matter expert. She found a supplement, and the box states in small letters, “Supports healthy prostrate & normal urine flow.”
Many men commented in the Amazon reviews that the probiotic helps them sleep through the night or cuts their nocturnal trips down to one. Yes, a probiotic with 50 billion CFUs helps with nighttime urination.
I had no idea what a CFU is or why I needed them, but CFU stands for “colony-forming unit,” a term to describe the number of viable microorganisms in a probiotic supplement. Apparently, viable microorganisms are essential to gut health, but you have two more important questions — what is this super supplement, and does it prevent your frequent urination at night?
The super supplement for nighttime urination
The probiotic supplement is Prostrate+ by Garden of Life and formulated by Dr. David Perlmutter, whom my wife was already a massive fan of. I told you, she’s a health and nutrition nerd.
And yes! I’ve taken Prostrate+ for two months, drastically reducing my nighttime urination. I used to get up every night at least once, but now I sleep through most nights and have more energy.
I won’t be able to blame my midlife crisis on a lack of sleep.
I’ve also experienced another benefit appreciated by middle-aged men but use your imagination. My wife gets embarrassed by such talk.
Men, let’s get stronger down the stretch with better sleep.
Footnotes:
- https://www.byramhealthcare.com/blogs/what-does-nocturia-mean
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6606941/
**This article first appeared in Medium.
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