How Do You Get a Good Night's Rest When You Have BPH?

May is Better Sleep Month, as well as Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We appreciate the contributions of the Asian community around the world, and we also want to encourage better sleep. This goes especially for the men around the world struggling with BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), also known as prostate enlargement. 

As a man gets older, his prostate gland grows in size. Due to the fact that it's situated under the bladder and surrounding the urethra, an enlarged prostate may cause men to experience frequent urination, especially at night. Getting up to go to the bathroom many times a night can disrupt a good night's rest. We want men to know it's important to address their BPH and consider their options when it comes to symptom management. We also want the public, regardless if you're not a man or a man with BPH, to know that this condition exists. The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that the problem exists in the first place. 

Although frequent urination at night could be dealt with by keeping a bed pan under the bed so you could potentially fall asleep faster, if men don't take action with their overall health, BPH could interfere with quality of life. 

For men with BPH to get a good night's rest, drinking healthy fluids like water during the day and less fluids at night is a start. It may sound counter-intuitive to drink fluids regularly if you're experiencing frequent urination, but not drinking fluids at all could cause dehydration, and it can also make the urine in your bladder thicker, causing irritation and difficulty in passing. 

Mild BPH can be managed with watchful waiting if recommended by your doctor, and in that watchful waiting period you may make lifestyle adjustments such as reducing diuretics (tea and coffee) which make your bladder more active, reducing bladder irritants such as spicy foods, reducing excess body fat through physical activity and a nutritious and portion balanced meal plan, and warm baths to increase blood circulation to the prostate.  

We hope that this month, you can achieve better sleep from managing your BPH! Asian men have a low incidence rate of prostate problems like BPH, and it has been suggested that this may be to the inclusion of more plant based nutrition in their diet, including soy. We could learn from the example of the Asian community in how to consider plant based treatments (TCM, traditional Chinese medicine) and adding soy to our meals, which is high in protein but low in fat. 

Let's give it up for better sleep and the Asian community!