Should You Drink Water Before Bed?

If you're looking for more simple ways to get a better night's rest, you may have heard that drinking water before bed might help. Let's explore the pros and cons of drinking water before bed and if the benefits outweigh the downsides.

The Pros of Drinking Water Before Bed

• Lowers Blood Pressure and Heart Rate

Drinking water before bed may reduce blood pressure and heart rate, which can help with falling asleep faster and staying asleep.

• Improves Mood 

Hydration may improve mood, calmness, feelings of satisfaction and produce other positive emotions, which may help create the right atmosphere for a peaceful night's rest.

• Relieves Headache Symptoms 

Drinking water before bedtime may help relieve some forms of headache and reduce symptoms, severity, and duration.

• Prevents Dehydration 

Drinking a glass of water before bed can rehydrate the body and help you sleep better at night.

The Cons of Drinking Water Before Bed

Drinking too much water before bed may lead to nocturia, a condition in which you wake up to use the bathroom several times per night, increasing the risk of developing insomnia and impacting a person's ability to get proper recovery sleep. Nocturia may also result from bladder overactivity, bladder infection, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and sleep disorders.

What You Can Do

Limit water intake in the two hours leading up to bedtime and manage your caffeine and alcohol consumption throughout the evening. Try to use the restroom one last time right before going to bed, reduce the amount of salt in your daily diet, increase your daily physical activity levels, and include pelvic floor exercises.

In conclusion, staying sufficiently hydrated during the day may improve sleep health, and there's evidence that suggests that the longer your sleep duration is, the less dehydrated you may be. Therefore, hydration likely benefits sleep, which, in turn, may support optimal hydration.