It can be very difficult to lead a normal life with an overactive bladder. Even if you have settled down for sleep, an overactive bladder can bother you a lot. An overactive bladder not only causes physical discomfort, but can also cause social embarrassment.


For most people who suffer from this condition, an episode associated with the overactive bladder condition is extremely distressing.
People with an overactive bladder either wet the bed before they can get out or they have to get up and urinate so often that they often have sleepless nights. Here are some important overactive bladder diet tips for people who suffer from an overactive bladder and need respite from their condition.

• Avoid any kind of foods that cause irritation to the bladder: People suffering from overactive bladder have a condition known as nocturia. This means that they have a delicate condition in which they need to get up several times to empty their bladder. There are certain foods which are diuretics and cause the bladder to fill up very fast. These foods include caffeine, citrus juices and alcohol. There are some other foods as well which may cause irritation to the bladder. These foods include spicy foods like curry based dishes, cranberry juice, tomatoes and tomato based sauces, artificial sweeteners and chocolates.

• Limit your fluid intake at night: Since a person suffering from an overactive bladder may need to wake up several times a night to void their bladder, it is best to reduce the fluid intake drastically after lunch so that when it is time to sleep, the bladder may not have filled up again. Avoid drinking very large amounts of liquid in one go. Instead, drink small amounts of liquids throughout the day, except for the evenings.

• Regular Diet: You can continue with your regular diet, however, try and exclude diuretics and bladder irritants which can worsen your situation. Continue eating three meals a day, but try to lower the amount of spicy foods that you eat. There are not many other changes that you can make to your diet to treat an overactive bladder or incontinence. However, an increased intake of calcium can help improve the muscular contractions that may cause a cessation of urinary continence.

Along with the diet, it is important to exercise the kegel muscles so that they are stronger and can help the bladder contain urine for a longer period of time.