Women of a certain age, are too many trips to the bathroom affecting your sleep?

While you may be training your body for better overall health, did you ever think of retraining your bladder?

One in three adults over the age of 30 takes at least two trips to the bathroom every night. The figure jumps sharply at age 60. Barring a medical problem – a urinary tract infection, vaginal infection or irritation, constipation or other medical conditions, for instance – it is overactive bladder (OAB).

“Overactive bladder is characterized by urinary frequency, urgency and nocturia, making frequent trips to the bathroom at night,” said Xibei Jia, MD, FACOG, a urogynecologist at Urology Associates of Cape Cod. Dr. Jia is board-certified in urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery. Her expertise is surgical and nonsurgical treatments for female pelvic floor dysfunction.

While a woman can have both OAB and incontinence, they are different. OAB is a frequent urge to urinate; urinary incontinence is involuntary urination.

“Typically speaking, an average of six to eight times of urination during the daytime – when one is awake – is considered normal; once at night or less is considered normal,” Dr. Jia said. Bladder capacity (the amount the urine bladder can store) may decrease as one ages, she added.

Bladder Training

For a mild, nonmedical issue, the answer to OAB may lie in a few changes in behavior, called bladder training.

“It’s important to be mindful of the amount of fluid intake, types of fluid, and the number of times a woman goes to urinate during the daytime and at night,” Dr. Jia said. “However, the number of voids can be influenced by one's medical conditions, medications, diet and fluid intake.”

Before trying to self-diagnose OAB, though, see a medical professional.

“If a woman experiences bothersome symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency, and nocturia, with or without urinary incontinence, I recommend an evaluation with either a urologist or a urogynecologist” she said.

One of the first things that Dr. Jia recommends is evaluating what you drink before bed: Avoid bladder irritants such as caffeinated drinks, carbonated drinks, artificial sweeteners, and alcoholic beverages. Also try to avoid drinking a large amount of fluid right before bed.

Strengthening the pelvic floor, which gives support to the pelvic organs, such as bladder, vagina and bowel, is the goal. Pelvic floor exercises, often called Kegels, aim to prolong the time between trips to the bathroom and increase the amount of urine your bladder can hold. “The patient can perform exercises on their own, or better yet, see a physical therapist who is trained in pelvic floor exercises” Dr. Jia said.

Pelvic floor physical therapy and bladder training can help improve symptoms of OAB including diminish leakage, and the sense of urgency associated with the problem.

For more information about bladder training, Dr. Jia recommends this informational sheet.