If you feel very thirsty before bed, you may want to drink a small glass of water to help you get through the night. However, the ideal is to stay hydrated throughout the day so you do not need to drink excessive amounts of water at bedtime.
In moderate amounts, drinking water in the evening can still be beneficial. Water is an essential nutrient that keeps your body hydrated, joints lubricated, breaks down waste and much more. “It's just a matter of balancing it out and not having large amounts of water right before bedtime,” says Dr. Vensel Rundo.
Make sure you stop drinking water at least two hours before your target bedtime. One study shows that a short fluid intake-to-bedtime window of one hour wasn't enough for people with nocturia.
Drinking too much water at nighttime may contribute to nocturia. Other associated conditions include bladder overactivity, bladder infection, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia.
Share on Pinterest Drinking water before bed may increase the need to urinate at night. Nocturia is the increased need to urinate at night. While asleep, the human body produces more hormones that slow down kidney function and decrease urine production.
Drink one glass of water 30 minutes before a meal to help digestion. Remember not to drink too soon before or after a meal as the water will dilute the digestive juices. Drink water an hour after the meal to allow the body to absorb the nutrients.
Drinking a glass of water before bed prevents heart attacks and strokes. The American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with other national health organizations, recommend several ways of decreasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
For instance, eating a particularly salty or spicy snack or meal just before bed can cause thirst that's temporary, but intense — potentially intense enough to wake you up. Additionally, alcohol and caffeine can dehydrate your mouth, so it's best to limit both before going to bed to avoid dry mouth.
Why Does Water Taste Better at Night? Dehydration, good oral hygiene before going to bed and minerals in water are the most common reasons why water tastes better at night.
When You're Drinking Too Much Water. In most people, with normal kidney function, drinking too much water can irritate your bladder increasing the risk of urine leakage. As fluid intake increases, the amount of urine made will increase along with it.
Drink More Water
You may feel a little more bloated from the extra water, but your body will balance itself out at night. Just make sure to stop drinking water an hour before bed so that your bladder does not ruin your chances of a good night's sleep.
Drinking water first thing in the morning immediately helps rehydrate the body. Your six to eight hours of sleep is a long period to go without any water consumption. Drinking two or three glasses of water right when you wake up is a good way to rehydrate your body quickly.
Wait Between Drinking and Bedtime
It is recommended that alcohol not be consumed in the last four hours before bedtime. 1 Even though alcohol may help you fall asleep, it interferes with the quality of your sleep. Moreover, it can take one hour for your body to process one serving of alcohol.
While some worry that drinking too much water can negatively impact our sleep, studies show that staying hydrated can not only help you sleep better, it can also improve your health.
Nuts like almonds, walnuts. View Source , pistachios, and cashews are often considered to be a good food for sleep. Though the exact amounts can vary, nuts contain melatonin as well as essential minerals like magnesium. View Source and zinc.
For the average person, "I'd say 8 to 12 ounces of water before bed should be enough to quench your thirst—and hopefully not too much to make you run to the restroom a few times throughout the night," Ehsani says.
Given the quantity of blood that filters through your kidneys on an hourly basis, those few extra cups are as insignificant to your kidneys as barnacles are to a battleship. So the best time to drink water is not at night.
By drinking more water in the morning, your body will get a head start on keeping your bodily fluids properly balanced throughout the day. With a proper balance of bodily fluids comes proper organ function. The lymphatic system is a great example of the positive effects of drinking more water.
There's no concern that water thins down or weakens down (dilute) the digestive juices or interfere with digestion. In fact, drinking water during or after a meal helps how your body breaks down and processes food (digestion). Water is vital for good health.