Waking up to urinate during sleep is serious health issue – Pharma

On the occasion of World Sleep Day, March 18, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company, says it is time for the world to wake up to disruption of sleep by nocturia – the need to pass urine.

The company said despite being the most common cause for a broken night’s sleep, the condition is an underrated one with many short and long term health effects for which people do not seek medical attention, threatening the health and quality of life of up to 45 per cent of the world’s population.

The Swiss company said interruptions in sleep by trips to the bathroom are associated with adverse impact on attention span, memory recall and learning in the short term; and while long term effects are under study, poor sleep quality has been associated with significant health problems such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, obesity, diabetes, weakened immune systems and even some cancers.

“Nocturia is not just isolated to a particular demographic: up to 60 per cent of elderly men and women display symptoms of nocturia, but it can affect all ages as 30 per cent of people over the age of 30 make at least two trips to empty their bladder every night.”

“By ignoring simple signs such as this, the public are overlooking a problem that will only worsen over time and will continue to have a negative impact on quality of life and health. It is therefore important not to ignore a broken night’s sleep and to visit a doctor if one is having problems with getting up in the night due to the urge to go to the bathroom,” the company said.

World Sleep Day is an annual event organized by the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM) to celebrate sleep and call action on important sleep-related issues such as medicine, education, driving and other social aspects, and to lessen the burden of sleep problems through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.

By Emmanuel Odonkor