What is nocturia?

Nocturia is when you have to go to the bathroom many times during the night.

Imagine your body is like a water balloon that fills up with liquid all day long. When it's full, you might need to pee at bedtime, but sometimes it keeps filling up even after you're asleep! That means your bladder, the part of your body that holds urine, gets full again later in the night, and you have to wake up to go to the bathroom once more, or maybe even twice or three times!

Your body’s clock, like a little internal timer, might be telling your bladder it's time to empty out during the night. Sometimes, if you drink too much liquid before bed, like a big glass of juice or water, that extra liquid can make your bladder fill up again.

Or maybe your body doesn’t know when it's nighttime and keeps sending messages to your brain saying “go pee!” even though you’re supposed to be sleeping!

Nocturia isn't something magical, it’s just how some people's bodies work, especially if they're little or if their bladders are smaller.