The main job of the kidneys is to remove waste and excess water from your blood. Your heart supplies the kidneys with blood to do this job. When the heart can’t supply the kidneys with enough blood, you might notice fluid building up in your hands, feet, and ankles. When you’re lying in bed at night, the fluid begins to return to your heart and kidneys. As a result, your body secretes natriuretic peptides that stimulate urine production to handle the excess fluid. Then you find yourself waking up and needing to pee.
Waking up once in the middle of the night with a need to pee can be common, but more than once isn’t normal, according to the American Urological Association. Of course, if you drink a lot of water (or alcoholic libations) before bed, you could be asking a lot of your bladder to hold all that fluid for the duration of your sleep. Frequently waking up to pee could also be a sign of sleep apnea. Women who’ve given birth or are experiencing menopause might also find themselves getting up a few times during the night. Men diagnosed with an enlarged prostate could have symptoms such as needing to pee more frequently.