Relieving yourself, taking a leak, spending a penny. Whatever you call it, urination is a near-universal experience, although the frequency of doing so can be far more individual.
Some people wake up bursting multiple times a night, while others can go for a full working day without so much as a single trip to the loo – and where you sit on this scale can say a lot about your overall health.
According to Hamid Abboudi, consultant urologist at New Victoria Hospital, tea, coffee, alcohol or fizzy drinks can make you pee more often than usual, as they ’cause the bladder to become over active or over twitchy.’
Medical conditions – including UTIs, prostate or bladder cancer, multiple sclerosis and strokes – can also impact this, along with your gender and whether you’re pregnant.
But the main factor affecting frequency is your age, as Hamid explains: ‘Across a patient’s life span there are likely to be several changes to toilet habits.’
Wondering what’s ‘normal’ for each stage of your life? Urine luck.
Children: 6 to 14 times a day
‘Young children may urinate 8 to 14 times a day, which decreases to 6-12 times for older children,’ Hamid tells Metro.
If a child needs to pee more often than this, it could be down to one of the following issues:
- Caffeine consumption, which increases urine output and can cause bladder muscle spasms
- Constipation
- Consuming ingredients a child is allergic to
- Holding on urine for too long
- Small bladder capacity
- Structural abnormalities in the bladder or urethra
Teenagers: 4 to 6 times a day
While teenagers typically pee around 4-6 times a day, it’s not uncommon for this to increase while they’re going through puberty and the ‘transition of hormonal imbalances’ that comes with it.
Hamid says that most of the time this is ‘nothing to worry about and will naturally clear up,’ but adds that it can potentially be a sign of something more serious.
If frequent urination continues, issues such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), diabetes, excessive caffeine consumption or – in rare cases – bladder cancer could be to blame.
Adults under 60: 6 to 9 times a day
Hamid says it’s normal for most adults to pee 5-8 times during the day and ‘once at night depending on their circumstances.’
However, he adds that ‘women tend to urinate more frequently than men,’ citing one study which found women average 5.6 times per day, while the figure for men sat at 4.8.
‘For women, pregnancy can be a trigger, as the pressure effect of the baby on the uterus can cause increased frequency of urination and nocturia (nighttime urination),’ explains Hamid. ‘Urinary tract infections are also very common in women and can lead to increased urinary frequency.’
Adults aged 60+: Up to 10 times a day
As we age, we may find it harder to hold on, as kidney function starts to decline and bladder muscles become weaker.
According to the NHS, nocturia is also more common, and elderly people ‘may be getting up twice a night’ to use the loo as a result of reduced antidiuretic hormone (ADH) regulating the amount of water in the body.
Additionally, Hamid says ‘older adults are more likely to be on a form of medication called diuretics for various medical conditions’, and this can make for more frequent toilet trips throughout the day at night.
He adds: ‘For men, as they get older the prostate gland increases in size. This puts a pressure effect on the bladder and can increase the number of times a man urinates.’
Red flag symptoms to look out for
Hamed recommends seeking medical advice if you experience any of the following symptoms:
- Blood in the urine
- Any change to your usual habit
- Waking up to pee more than once each night
He adds that cigarette smokers should be extra vigilant of a change in pattern, as this group is at ‘increased risk of bladder cancer’.
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