Photo: New Africa (Shutterstock)

We were all there: a dazed realization in the middle of the night that it is time to pee again. While this is sometimes the result of illness, it is often just an uncomfortable routine. In this case, there are a few simple fixes that can make night bathroom breaks much less frequent.

But first, this caveat regarding medical problems. Definitely see a doctor if you are concerned about your sleep or your bladder. Sometimes waking up to pee (“nocturia” as they call it) happens because you pee too much all the time. This can have a variety of causes, from common ones like a urinary tract infection to some serious ones like diabetes or heart failure.

On the other hand, you may be waking up to other issues affecting your sleep. Then when you’re awake, your brain says, puppy, you might as well use that time to take a trip to the bathroom. In these cases, peeing isn’t the problem. Please consult a doctor if something is wrong. Otherwise, these tips can help:

Hydrate earlier in the day

Often we are not too thirsty in the morning and maybe we are too busy during the day to drink a lot. If you drink most of your fluids in the evening, you can go to bed with a full bladder. The solution here is simple: drink water earlier in the day so you don’t fill up right before bed.

(If you’re chasing a drinking destination during the day – eight glasses for example – think about whether that amount of water will actually help you. Lots of us don’t need as much extra water as we thinkSo experiment with reducing that number to see if it helps.)

Note that we are only changing the time we drink, not cutting off water, and not becoming dehydrated. Being dehydrated can also make it difficult to feel good at night. Notes from the Sleep Foundationdue to distractions such as a dry mouth or headache.

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Don’t drink right before bed

If you’ve been hydrated throughout the day, stopping drinking fluids an hour or two before bed shouldn’t be a problem. This includes caffeine for obvious reasons: you don’t want it to keep you awake. While caffeine is notorious for its diuretic properties (which make you pee), if you are used to it, The effect is pretty minimal.

And you shouldn’t drink alcohol before bed if you can help. Alcohol is definitely a diuretic, and it is too known to disrupt sleep.

Lift your legs up

The Sleep Foundation too suggests You try to raise your legs for a few hours before bed because your body can absorb some water from your legs when you are lying down. This can only mean sitting on the couch with your legs raised. You don’t have to do a headstand. Work your way into your bedtime.

Make it easy for yourself to go back to sleep

Despite our best efforts, there will still be occasional bathroom outings. Sometimes the problem isn’t that you had to get up, but that it’s difficult to go back to sleep afterwards.

So do your best to design your bedroom an easy place to sleep. Use blackout curtains to keep your bedroom dark or use a sleep mask that is just a blackout curtain for your eyeballs. Earplugs or a white noise device can help if you are disturbed by noise. And whatever you do, don’t check your phone just because you’re awake.

Adjust the temperature of your home at night as it is easier for most of us to sleep in slightly cooler temperatures. Put a night light on or keep a small, dark flashlight next to your bed so you don’t have to turn the lights on. (There are even toilet seats with one built-in night light for that very reason.)

Photo: Claire Lower

Ever since I interviewed food journalist Alicia Kennedy their daily eating habitsI longed for tomato toast, a decidedly summery treat that feels unattainable in mid-February. Big, juicy tomatoes are currently out of season – but they are tiny tomatoes (like cherry or grape) are juicy, sweet, and easy to find year-round. Luckily they make a fantastic tomato toast.

Like its big tomato brothers, the tiny tomato toast is a bright, cheerful dish that is perfect for breathing life into a cold, gray morning or a rainy lunch break. You can keep it simple – with grated tomatoes, olive oil and flake salt – or you can grate the tomatoes on a creamy surface: cream cheese, labneh, whipped cottage cheeseor avocado. I like to keep the layer of creamy things pretty thin; You want just enough to create a hydrophobic layer between the tomatoes and the toast so that the juices from the former don’t seep into the bread and make it moist.

When it comes to toppings, salt is usually plentiful, but I’ve been looking into it lately Chili oil, air-fried ginger, and spring onions. Lemon peel, za’atar, sumac, all bagel spice, Your favorite vinegar and very finely grated cheese are all possible options; Remember, the tomatoes are the star. Leave space for them to shine.

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The only downside to grating tiny tomatoes is that you don’t have to hold on tightly when grating, but I – a very clumsy person – didn’t have any glitches. Hold the fruit by one end of its elongated body (or grab the stem, if you have it), then rub it over the toast, dropping the seeds, gel, and juicy pulp until you form a small knot of shattered skin have meat. Throw that on the toast too. (Make sure you use a grater with large holes, not a microplate.) Add your seasonings and any finishing touches you want and chew down.