How drinking water too close to bedtime interrupts your sleep

Drinking water before bed has a number of benefits, but drinking too close to bedtime can interrupt your sleep cycle and negatively impact heart health.

You need to drink water every day for your body to function properly. Throughout the day and while sleeping you lose water from breathing, sweating, and passing stool from the digestive system.

Some people drink a glass of water before bed to remain hydrated through the night. But drinking water too close to bedtime maybe unhealthy.

Drinking water before bed can increase the amount of times you need to urinate at night.

Your urine output decreases at night, allowing you to sleep six to eight hours without interruption. Drinking a glass or two of water before bed can change this cycle.

Sleep deprivation can also adversely affect your heart health. Lack of sleep can influence one’s potential for developing:

high blood pressure
high cholesterol levels
weight gain

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a study found adults 45 years of age and older who slept fewer than six hours at night were at an increased risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

Age can also play a role in your sleep and urinary cycle. The older you become, the more likely you will develop an overactive bladder. This could be related to medical conditions that can affect urinary bladder function, such as declining cognitive function due to dementia, or a stroke that will make it difficult for your brain to communicate signals to your bladder. Diabetes mellitus and benign prostatic hypertrophy can also affect your urinary bladder function.