As men age, they frequently have to get up during the night to urinate as result of prostate enlargement. A new study shows that the most physically active men are less likely to wake up for a bathroom run.
The analysis included roughly 30,000 men with benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH. Those who exercised at least an hour a week were 13% less likely to report nighttime urination and 34% less likely to have problems with nighttime urination. The authors encourage more study into the role and amount of physical activity to manage symptoms of BPH.
[Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, online, Aug, 2014]
Since regular exercise has long been recommended as a way to promote better sleep, this sounds like a no-lose proposition. We have also heard from several men who have found home remedies that help them with this problem. Torrence reported:
“I buy the unsalted roasted pumpkin seeds and take 2 teaspoons on my cereal EVERY MORNING and it has helped me immensely. I can’t guarantee it to work for everyone, but the man on Peoples’ Pharmacy who gave the same result as I have had is why I tried them in the first place. I certainly hope they work for you and anyone else who tries them.”
Another man has found that raisins as a bedtime snack cut down on bathroom visits:
“I read about eating raisins before bed to reduce nighttime urination and I love this idea. It worked the first night I tried it. Instead of visiting the bathroom every hour all night long, I made half as many visits to the bathroom.
Last night I ate about a cup of raisins and the results were astounding. I got up only once in the middle of the night. I had no side effects either except a good night’s sleep!”
A cup of raisins is a lot. But it might not require that much to get benefit:
“I read in your newsletter about 11/2-2 mos ago about the raisins and started to use them. I have COPD so I wake during the night but I no longer have to go to the bathroom during the night. I only eat one of the small mini boxes but that suffices.”
