Why do I urinate at least 2 times during the night in a Hammock

[GoneShootn]

It really is a strange phenomenon. The only way I've ever been able to sleep through the night in a hammock w/o having to pee multiple times is if I cut off all liquids at least 2 hours before going to sleep. If not, I'll get up at least twice within the first hour or two of laying in the hammock, and then usually once or twice more during the night. Then, I'll have to pee like a racehorse in the morning when I get up in the morning.

My theory is that your body is still slightly hinged at the waist in a gathered-end hammock, and this puts more pressure on your bladder- which will cause you to have to pee more often. I wonder if bridge hammock users encounter the same issue?

I think that the best and most plausible answer is that, even in a relatively flat lay, your feet are somewhat elevated, and any excess fluid in your legs and feet will migrate to the abdomen and be processed. That saying, I sometimes have to get up once, sometimes twice, and sometimes three times. Why the difference? It probably depends upon what and how much I drank in the evening plus how much excess fluid I may be retaining for other reasons. For example, if I am eating a lot of carbs, then excess of energy is stored partially as glycogen in the muscles. Glycogen binds to water. Is that a factor? I don't know. I know that there are several variables but not what they all are. I do know that beer will make me pee. So will tea and coffee, because both have caffeine, which is a diuretic.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/8...ral-diuretics/

So what should we do? I'm no expert, but here are some thoughts:
1. Limit what you drink before you hit the sack.
2. Avoid diuretics.
3. Go to bed early so as to get the peeing out of the way and maybe your last hours will be the most restful.

I will say this, however...I would rather sleep well in a hammock and have to get up three times to pee than sleep poorly, or not at all, in a tent and not have to get up even once. And if I had to deal with all of the tent issues, I wouldn't go at all.

"When in a hammock, it's like you are being cradled in God's hands."

I'm a poet and don't know it...
(who will admit to being old enough to be able to finish that?)

[rweb82]

I think that the best and most plausible answer is that, even in a relatively flat lay, your feet are somewhat elevated, and any excess fluid in your legs and feet will migrate to the abdomen and be processed. That saying, I sometimes have to get up once, sometimes twice, and sometimes three times. Why the difference? It probably depends upon what and how much I drank in the evening plus how much excess fluid I may be retaining for other reasons. For example, if I am eating a lot of carbs, then excess of energy is stored partially as glycogen in the muscles. Glycogen binds to water. Is that a factor? I don't know. I know that there are several variables but not what they all are. I do know that beer will make me pee. So will tea and coffee, because both have caffeine, which is a diuretic.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/8...ral-diuretics/

So what should we do? I'm no expert, but here are some thoughts:
1. Limit what you drink before you hit the sack.
2. Avoid diuretics.
3. Go to bed early so as to get the peeing out of the way and maybe your last hours will be the most restful.

I will say this, however...I would rather sleep well in a hammock and have to get up three times to pee than sleep poorly, or not at all, in a tent and not have to get up even once. And if I had to deal with all of the tent issues, I wouldn't go at all.

"When in a hammock, it's like you are being cradled in God's hands."

I'm a poet and don't know it...
(who will admit to being old enough to be able to finish that?)

Your theory also makes sense to me. It's probably a combination of a few different factors.

[slugbait]

GoneShootn said "I'm a poet and don't know it"... but I have poet's feet- they're Longfellows.

[OneClick]

It really is a strange phenomenon. The only way I've ever been able to sleep through the night in a hammock w/o having to pee multiple times is if I cut off all liquids at least 2 hours before going to sleep. If not, I'll get up at least twice within the first hour or two of laying in the hammock, and then usually once or twice more during the night. Then, I'll have to pee like a racehorse in the morning when I get up.

My theory is that your body is still slightly hinged at the waist in a gathered-end hammock, and this puts more pressure on your bladder- which will cause you to have to pee more often. I wonder if bridge hammock users encounter the same issue?

That has to be it. At home I eat and drink basically the same thing every day. I'm pretty boring when it comes to meals. So it's absolutely not what/when/how much I'm drinking.

[GoneShootn]

GoneShootn said "I'm a poet and don't know it"... but I have poet's feet- they're Longfellows.

Yep, although continuing the rhyme, "but my feet show it - they're Longfellows."

[GoneShootn]

It really is a strange phenomenon. The only way I've ever been able to sleep through the night in a hammock w/o having to pee multiple times is if I cut off all liquids at least 2 hours before going to sleep. If not, I'll get up at least twice within the first hour or two of laying in the hammock, and then usually once or twice more during the night. Then, I'll have to pee like a racehorse in the morning when I get up.

My theory is that your body is still slightly hinged at the waist in a gathered-end hammock, and this puts more pressure on your bladder- which will cause you to have to pee more often. I wonder if bridge hammock users encounter the same issue?

I think that's probably a good idea, only I would suggest having a small bottle of water available in case you wake up in the night with a dry mouth.

[rweb82]

I think that's probably a good idea, only I would suggest having a small bottle of water available in case you wake up in the night with a dry mouth.

Yeah, that's why I rarely cut myself off completely from liquids at night. I can't stand having a dry mouth while trying to sleep. The only time I'll do it is if it's going to be really cold at night, and I know I won't want to get out of the hammock in my skivvies.

[cougarmeat]

Sometimes, if I wake up in the middle of the night, and have dry mouth, I put on a light nylon balaclava, and pull it up over my mouth. It encourages me to breath through my nose (a polite way of saying it keeps my mouth shut). If I do breath though my mouth, I’m breathing through the balaclava and retain more moisture.

As far as peeing - it takes character to get up, go for a short walk, and return. But maybe not so much considering the alternative. My body encourages me by stopping heat production. “… well cougarmeat, not only are you going to feel bladder pressure, you are also going to get cold. Get up and do something about it. …”

I may play with pee bags you can buy that contain a solidifying gel. Just yesterday I was at a Day Park for the first summer kayak paddle and the rest rooms at the launch end of the lake were closed. Also, there was a lot of people around - albeit on the shore and mostly looking out at the water. It would have been easily discrete with car angle and Jeep doors to provide some visual blockage and use one of those bags.

I know, “Just run out behind some tree.” sounds easy enough. But in some settings, privacy can be surprisingly difficult to achieve.

[OneClick]

I may play with pee bags you can buy that contain a solidifying gel. Just yesterday I was at a Day Park for the first summer kayak paddle and the rest rooms at the launch end of the lake were closed. Also, there was a lot of people around - albeit on the shore and mostly looking out at the water. It would have been easily discrete with car angle and Jeep doors to provide some visual blockage and use one of those bags.

I know, “Just run out behind some tree.” sounds easy enough. But in some settings, privacy can be surprisingly difficult to achieve.

Rear door open...act like you're looking for something in the back seat.

[breedena]

Rear door open...act like you're looking for something in the back seat.

I wish it worked that way. (It's different for girls.)