People who watch five or more hours of television per day are more likely to wee multiple times in the night, academics have said.
Scientists from China assessed the health data of 13,294 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the US.
More than 30% of the participants self-reported that they suffer from nocturia – waking up more than once during the night to urinate.
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The results show that the participants who spend more than five hours a day watching TV are 48% more likely to experience nocturia compared to those who watch less than an hour.
“To our understanding, this study represents the first exploration of the correlation between TV and/or video viewing time and nocturia,” said the authors.
Frequently watching TV for lengthy periods of time can trigger the development of type 2 diabetes and bladder dysfunction, the study has reported.
The researchers said: “Moreover, TV watching typically aligns with beverage consumption, leading to an elevated fluid intake and a decrease in sleep quality is closely linked to experiencing nocturia.
“Increasing public awareness of this potential health risk encourages individuals to be more mindful of their TV and/or video time.”
James Catto, Professor of Surgery at the University of Sheffield, who was not involved in the study, noted: “There could be a number of factors muddying the waters in the new study.
“Those with nocturia tended to be older, have a higher body mass index than those without, and were less mobile.”
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He added: “[Have] they got nocturia because they’re watching telly all day, or they watch the telly all day because of other factors and then they just end going to the toilet more often?
“If you’re going a lot at night, and it’s bothering you, see a GP, they’ll do a few tests to make sure you’ve not got diabetes. But most people are not too bothered by going once or twice at night.”
Read the study in the journal Neurourology and Urodynamics.
