Sick of getting up in the night to pee? Try cutting down your salt intake.
Scientists in Japan have uncovered a link between consuming too much salt and the need to wee at night.
Nagasaki University found 321 men and women who had trouble sleeping and a high salt intake. About two-thirds lowered their salt intake from an average of 10.7g a day to 8g a day.
In doing so, they lowered the average number of times they woke up to wee from 2.3 to 1.4 a night.
Ninety-eight of them increased their salt intake from 9.6g to 11g, and found they had to get up more often - increasing from 2.3 times a night to 2.7.
"This is the first study to measure how salt intake affects the frequency of going to the bathroom, so we need to confirm the work with larger studies," said Dr Matsuo Tomohiro, who led the study.
"Night-time urination is a real problem for many people, especially as they get older. This work holds out the possibility that a simply dietary modification might significantly improve the quality of life for many people."
An unrelated study in the Netherlands, also released on Sunday (NZ time), found treating sleep apnea can also reduce the need to go the toilet at night.
Sleep apnea is a condition which causes sleepers to pause breathing, or only breathe very shallowly, while sleeping.
Both studies were presented at the European Association of Urology congress in London, and are yet to undergo peer review.
Newshub.
