It’s 2 o’clock in the morning and you are jerked awake by your bladder screaming at you to relieve itself. You stumble out of bed to use the facilities, and you try to do it as quickly as possible so you can resume your peaceful slumber. Madness ensues when, after your head hits the pillow, you are now wide awake and can’t go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for what seems like an eternity, you’re finally able to go back to sleep. Your bladder wakes you up again at 6 am to use the restroom and, even though you are delirious and sleepy, you can’t go back to sleep, and you get up to go about the rigors of the day.
This annoyance of having to get up two or even three times a night to use the restroom is known by the medical term nocturia.[1] This condition affects fifty percent of adults over the age of fifty and one in three adults over age thirty.[2]
Health Consequences of Nocturia
Nocturia can have severe health consequences due to the disruption of the sleep-wake cycle.[3] Essentially every health condition gets worse when the body does not get the right amount of sleep.[4] When I say the right amount of sleep, I don’t just mean the right amount of sleep overall but in the four different stages of sleep (N1, N2, N3, and REM).[5] A full sleep cycle lasts between 90-120 minutes; a good nights’ rest consists of getting four to five cycles per night. Nocturia disrupts the sleep cycle.
Not getting an uninterrupted night’s sleep leads to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, obesity, high blood pressure, depression, and heart disease. A reduced capacity to function, mental fatigue, and an increased risk of mental health challenges are commonplace. Those with nocturia have a 1.8-fold higher mortality risk.[6] Nocturia significantly increases the risk of falls, fractures, and injuries; twenty-five percent of falls in older adults occur at night during bathroom trips. Overall quality of life declines related to physical health, mental health, social functioning, and daily energy levels when nocturia is at play.
Nocturia: Biological Mechanisms of Action
Nocturia works by different biological pathways in women and in men. Nocturnal polyuria, which means increased production of urine while sleeping, is the most common cause of nocturia in women. Other causes include an overactive bladder and inflammation in the urinary tract.
The prostate is the major mechanism by which men suffer develop nocturia.[7] The prostate increases in size as men age, a condition called benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). An enlarged prostate compresses the urethra, causes incomplete emptying and increases both the frequency and urgency to urinate.
The Molecular Solution for Nocturia
Mother Nature has planted millions of molecules in nature that can help with essentially every health condition—including those late-night trips to the bathroom. Astonishingly, one food contains a molecule that helps for nocturia for women and that same food contains another molecule that can help men with nocturia! That food is pumpkin seeds!
Cucurbitacins B and E in pumpkin seeds can reduce an overactive bladder in women and quell the urgency to urinate while asleep.[8] These molecules are also good for urinary incontinence. Pumpkin seeds should be a staple in a woman’s diet, especially after the age of 30 when sleep disturbances and bladder issues are more common. Pumpkin seeds are also an important component of the seed cycling protocol used to balance hormone levels.
beta-Sitosterol is a molecule that is part of a larger class of molecules called phytosterols. These molecules are found in varying degrees in all plants and play much the same role in supporting health of the cellular membrane and signaling that cholesterol does in mammalian cells. On top of its essential role in plant biology, beta-sitosterol is medicinal in humans.[9] Along with regulating cholesterol and blood sugar levels in both women and men, beta-sitosterol regulates the signaling pathways of the prostate, which results in less time in the bathroom at night.[10]
Eating one tablespoon of pumpkin seeds daily provides enough cucurbitacins and beta-sitosterol to reduce nocturia in women and men respectively. These molecules don’t degrade under heat; as such, eating either raw or roasted pumpkin seeds provides efficacious amounts of these molecules. Pumpkin seeds are great additions to salads, smoothies, avocado toast, shakes, scrambled eggs, soups, and protein bowls.
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I appreciate you and I am grateful to be with you on this molecular journey to greater health and happiness!
Be well,
Dr. Dan
[1] Hou, Xiang-Yi et al. “Nocturia: An overview of current evaluation and treatment strategies.” World journal of methodology vol. 15,4 104696. 20 Dec. 2025, doi:10.5662/wjm.v15.i4.104696
[2] Leslie SW, Sajjad H, Singh S. Nocturia. [Updated 2024 Feb 17]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK518987/
[3] Kim, Sun-Ouck et al. “Impact of nocturia on health-related quality of life and medical outcomes study sleep score in men.” International neurourology journal vol. 15,2 (2011): 82-6. doi:10.5213/inj.2011.15.2.82
[4] Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research; Colten HR, Altevogt BM, editors. Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2006. 3, Extent and Health Consequences of Chronic Sleep Loss and Sleep Disorders. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/
[5] Patel, Aakash K., et al. “Physiology, Sleep Stages.” StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 26 January 2024.
[6] Lavadia, Alvin Christopher et al. “Nocturia, Sleep Quality, and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” The world journal of men's health vol. 44,1 (2026): 36-48. doi:10.5534/wjmh.240237
[7] Singam, Praveen et al. “Nocturia in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia: evaluating the significance of ageing, co-morbid illnesses, lifestyle and medical therapy in treatment outcome in real life practice.” The aging male : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of the Aging Malevol. 18,2 (2015): 112-7. doi:10.3109/13685538.2015.1011614
[8] Gauruder-Burmester, Annett et al. “Cucurbita pepo-Rhus aromatica-Humulus lupulus Combination Reduces Overactive Bladder Symptoms in Women - A Noninterventional Study.” Planta medica vol. 85,13 (2019): 1044-1053. doi:10.1055/a-0946-2280
[9] Shen, Mingyue et al. “Phytosterols: Physiological Functions and Potential Application.” Foods (Basel, Switzerland)vol. 13,11 1754. 3 Jun. 2024, doi:10.3390/foods13111754
[10] Wilt, T et al. “Beta-sitosterols for benign prostatic hyperplasia.” The Cochrane database of systematic reviews vol. 1999,2 (2000): CD001043. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001043