Is It Good to Drink Water Before Bed?

You’ve heard of the midnight snacks, the nightcaps, and the warm glasses of milk. Ever heard of taking a big swig of cool water right before bed to help you fall asleep? It may sound like a good idea—water is so, so important to our overall well-being, but it could actually negatively affect your sleeping patterns. 

Wondering why? Keep reading. 

Well, what’s the big deal anyway?

You definitely didn’t hear it here first—water is a big deal. Despite being vital for all known forms of life, water helps your body in more ways than one. [1] Check out what water can do for you:

• Regulates your body temperature
• Protects your tissues, spinal cord, and joints
• Helps excrete waste through perspiration, urination, and defecation
• Helps maximize physical performance
• Helps prevent constipation
• Aids in digestion
• Helps with nutrient absorption
• Helps you lose weight
• Improves blood oxygen circulation
• Helps fight off illness
• Helps boost energy
• Aids in cognitive function
• Helps improve mood
• Helps keep skin bright
• Prevents overall dehydration

For optimal health, it is important to keep your daily water intake regulated. General water intake that meets most people’s needs are [2]: 

• About 15.5 cups of water (125 ounces) each day for men
• About 11.5 cups (91 ounces) daily for women

Hydration is key to health and wellness. Water intake necessities can vary depending on several factors including if you exercise or live in a hotter region, feelings of thirst, and urine that is dark or colored. Typically, a sign of proper hydration is pale or non-colored urine, but please always consult your healthcare provider for proper guidance for your personal dietary needs.[2]

Is drinking water right before bed healthy?

Alright, so the bottom line—drinking water before bed isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

There is the drawback that drinking water before hitting the hay may disrupt your sleep cycle.

At the same time—this question is heavily debated. There are also some possible benefits, too:

• Studies show that drinking water can improve your overall mood, satisfaction, and calmness. A deprivation of H2O may also affect your sleep-wake cycle. [3]
• Water is a natural cleanser for your body, capable of detoxification and boosting your body’s ability to break down waste by increasing blood circulation. Experts say it is possible that drinking warm or hot water right before bed may help not only keep you hydrated throughout the night, but also help to cleanse your body of unwanted toxins and alleviate stomach pain and cramping. [4]

Given this info, what should you do? 

Overall, it is recommended to drink water throughout the day rather than too close to bedtime so as not to impact your sleep-wake cycle. An irregular sleep pattern has a lot of negative effects on your overall health like high blood pressure, weight gain, and high cholesterol levels down the line. [5,6] Why risk it? 

Instead, if you do get really thirsty at night, make sure to drink water 2 to 4 hours before going to bed so you don’t need to keep getting up to go to the bathroom. The general consensus is 8 glasses of water per day, but to keep yourself hydrated, you should also be [7]:

• Increasing your vegetable and fruit intake (they contain a heavy percentage of water).
• Drinking a glass of water with every meal.
• Drinking water before and after exercise.
• Drinking water when you’re hungry (sometimes thirst is mistaken for hunger).

What do I need to do to get ready for a really good snooze?

Staying hydrated isn’t the only way to get the best night’s sleep. What else can you do to optimize your sleeping routine? You need premium bedding designed to maximize your sleep oasis. Let’s take a look. 

1. Create cloud-like support for your body by finding ultra-soft bedding to layer on your bed. To start out, invest in a pillow that can provide support for your head and neck, like our Luxury Pillow, and high-quality sheets that help cool your body and maintain healthy thermoregulation for comfort and breathability, like our Luxury Sheets. You can also layer even more with our plush Luxury Comforter, which is hypoallergenic and stuffed with a fluffy polyester fill that resembles the airy, cuddly softness of traditional feather down.
2. Make sure your bedroom is relaxing. A great place to begin is some pleasant fragrances, such as the aromatherapy-inspired, essential oil-infused Cosy House Lavender Linen Spray, which you can spray directly on your linens to leave a soothing scent behind. For optimum relaxation, check out the Cosy House Luxury Weighted Blanket, too. With the gentle power of deep-touch pressure stimulation technology created by thousands of tiny glass beads, our blanket is carefully crafted to simulate the feeling of a hug to help calm the nervous system.

Cosy House Collection offers a range of different products to make your nights comfier and cozier. Click here to discover even more affordable luxury today!

What is your favorite pre-sleep routine? Do you drink water before bed? Let us know in the comments below! The Cosy community always loves hearing from each of you. 

We've gone ahead & enclosed a 10% off coupon below for you to use if you'd like to take the plunge and try out our sheets for yourself! To shop our collection & get 10% OFF Use the code 'BLOG10' at checkout.

Resources:

1. Silver, N. (2020, July 1). Why is water important? 16 reasons to drink up. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/why-is-water-important#energy 
2. SHARE     Report Sets Dietary Intake Levels for Water, Salt, and Potassium To Maintain Health and Reduce Chronic Disease Risk. Nationalacademies.org. (2004, February). Retrieved from https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2004/02/report-sets-dietary-intake-levels-for-water-salt-and-potassium-to-maintain-health-and-reduce-chronic-disease-risk 
3. Pross, N., Demazières, A., Girard, N., Barnouin, R., Metzger, D., Klein, A., Perrier, E., & Guelinckx, I. (2014, April 11). Effects of changes in water intake on the mood of high and low drinkers. PloS one. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3984246/ 
4. Anthony, K. (2018, September 18). Drinking water before bed: Is it healthy? Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/drinking-water-before-bed#positive-effects 
5. Daghlas I;Dashti HS;Lane J;Aragam KG;Rutter MK;Saxena R;Vetter C; (2019). Sleep duration and myocardial infarction. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31488267/ 
6. Team, T. H. E. (2018, October 6). Nocturia: Causes, treatments, and prevention. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/urination-excessive-at-night#prevention 
7. Popkin, B. M., D'Anci, K. E., & Rosenberg, I. H. (2010, August). Water, hydration, and health. Nutrition reviews. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908954/