![](\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/536919\/original\/file-20230711-19-qt6put.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=703%2C209%2C4288%2C2597&q=45&w=754&fit=clip\"\/)
Happyphoton\/iStock via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Jennifer Ahn<\/a>, University of Washington<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Curious Kids<\/a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you\u2019d like an expert to answer, send it to cu***********@th*************.com<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n What happens if you have to go to the bathroom in your sleep? \u2013 Calleigh H., age 11, Oklahoma<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As you drink water during the day, your body turns extra liquid it doesn\u2019t need into pee. Your bladder stores the urine and eventually alerts you when it\u2019s time to take a trip to the toilet.<\/p>\n But what about at night? How does your body know not to pee while you\u2019re asleep?<\/p>\n Just because you\u2019re snoozing doesn\u2019t mean your body is totally offline \u2013 continuous processes like breathing, digestion and, yes, making pee, still happen while you\u2019re asleep. Your bladder and your brain work together to know what to do with that big glass of water you drank before bed.<\/p>\n Using the bathroom every day is routine for many people, so it\u2019s something you might not pay much attention to. But as a pediatric urologist<\/a>, understanding how the brain and bladder work together \u2013 and sometimes miscommunicate \u2013 is an important part of my job.<\/p>\n The bladder has two main jobs: to safely store urine and to empty it out. While it seems simple, these two tasks take a lot of complex coordination<\/a> of muscles and nerves \u2013 that\u2019s the brain\u2019s job.<\/p>\n For babies and young kids, the bladder has reflexes, meaning it automatically knows when to squeeze the muscles to empty the urine. Since babies can\u2019t control this consciously, they typically wear diapers. But as kids grow<\/a>, the bladder muscles and nerves also grow, which gives a youngster more control over their bladder.<\/p>\n During toilet training<\/a>, which usually happens by the age of 3 or 4 in the U.S., kids learn how to use the toilet voluntarily. This means that they can feel when the bladder is getting full and their brain can receive and understand that signal. The brain can then tell the bladder to \u201chold it\u201d until they\u2019ve made it to the toilet and it\u2019s safe to pee.<\/p>\n Most children first learn how to use the toilet during the day. Using the bathroom overnight can be more difficult<\/a> because the sleeping brain doesn\u2019t receive signals in the same way as when awake.<\/p>\n While awake, if there\u2019s a loud noise or a bright light, the body senses it and reacts. But during sleep, the body may not hear that noise or see that light because the brain is in sleep mode<\/a>. Imagine sleeping through an overnight thunderstorm that you didn\u2019t realize happened until you hear people talking about it in the morning. Your brain didn\u2019t process the loud noises because it was focusing on sleep.<\/p>\n The same thing can happen with bladder signals. The bladder fills with urine 24 hours a day, even while you\u2019re snoozing, and it sends signals to the brain when it\u2019s full. In order to help you get enough sleep, your brain will tell your bladder to hold it until morning.<\/p>\n Sometimes, if you really need to go, your brain will tell your body to wake up so you can go empty your full bladder. While it\u2019s normal to wake up to pee sometimes \u2013 especially if you drank a big cup of hot chocolate right before bed \u2013 most older kids can usually sleep through the night without needing to use the toilet.<\/p>\n When the brain and bladder are working together well, your bladder gradually fills up overnight and hangs on til morning when you stumble into the bathroom to empty it.<\/p>\n But there are many ways the communication between the brain and the bladder can break down. For one, the brain may not get the bladder\u2019s message that it\u2019s time to go. Even if the brain gets the message, it may not be able to tell the bladder to hold on. Or, when the bladder can\u2019t wait, the brain might not tell your body to wake up. If the signals and messages aren\u2019t sent, or are received incorrectly, the bladder will go into reflex mode<\/a> \u2013 it squeezes to empty itself of pee, even though you\u2019re fast asleep in bed.<\/p>\n Wetting the bed at night, which doctors call nocturnal enuresis<\/a>, is more common than you might think. About 15%<\/a> of kids between ages 5 and 7 wet the bed sometimes. Even some teenagers experience it. It\u2019s more common in boys, and often there\u2019s a family history, meaning parents or relatives may have dealt with nighttime accidents too.<\/p>\n There are a few reasons why nighttime wetting happens. Since kids\u2019 brains are growing and developing, nighttime communication between the brain and bladder can take longer.<\/p>\n Some bodies make more pee at night, making it more likely the bladder will get full during sleep. Some people have smaller bladders that fill up fast. Sometimes having difficulties with sleep or being a deep sleeper can make it harder<\/a> to wake up at night if you really need to pee.<\/p>\n Most kids who wet the bed at night outgrow it as their brains and bodies continue to develop. At that point, they can sleep through the night without needing to pee, or their bodies are able to wake up at night to use the bathroom when they need to.<\/p>\n If wetting the bed is an issue, there are some things that can help<\/a>, like drinking less liquid in the evening or using the bathroom right before you go to bed. These precautions make it less likely that the bladder will be too full during sleep. There are also bedwetting alarms that can help train the body to wake up when the bladder needs to be emptied. If there are concerns about nighttime accidents, or if accidents start happening in older children, I recommend consulting a doctor.<\/p>\n Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you\u2019d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to Cu***********@th*************.com<\/span>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.<\/em><\/p>\n And since curiosity has no age limit \u2013 adults, let us know what you\u2019re wondering, too. We won\u2019t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.<\/em><\/p>\n Jennifer Ahn<\/a>, Assistant Professor of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Washington<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your bladder can signal the brain when it\u2019s full, even while you\u2019re asleep.Happyphoton\/iStock via Getty Images Jennifer Ahn, University of Washington Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you\u2019d like an expert to answer, send it to cu***********@th*************.com. What happens if you have to go to the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[607,608],"ppma_author":[1162],"class_list":{"0":"post-5749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-womens-rights","8":"tag-pee","9":"tag-youreasleep"},"yoast_head":"\n\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nThe bladder and the brain<\/h2>\n
What happens in sleep mode?<\/h2>\n
Nighttime accidents<\/h2>\n
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Olga Rolenko\/Moment via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n