Why does the cold make us want to urinate more?

Now that we are in the middle of winter season, with its corresponding cold, rain and snow, it is normal that we rush not only to wrap ourselves more, but to take care a little more and to nourish ourselves in order to increase our defenses and protect ourselves. It is also normal, incidentally, that we investigate about issues directly related to winter.

But if at some point in your life you have been cold-or very cold-it is quite likely that you have already noticed something: when outside we are at low temperatures, we tend to have more desire to urinate, and we usually even do it more often. Why does this happen?

We must bear in mind that, throughout the day, our body receives a certain amount of liquid through not only the intake of water glasses, but ultimately any type of beverage, such as for example juices or fruit juices, teas or infusions, and even soft drinks (although obviously they are not the best option from a nutritional and health point of view).

In any case, after having ingested fluid, and once processed, our body has two ways to eliminate excess: through sweat and through urine.

Precisely, When we are cold our body is not able to generate enough energy to cause sweating, in this way, that excess of liquid that we have ingested and that our body does not need must be expelled through the urine.

Explained in another way, when the temperature is low (especially during the winter months), sweating decreases, so that eliminates the possibility that our body discard that excess liquid through sweat. As a consequence, liquids are recognized by the kidneys, processing them in the form of urine.

But this is not the only cause. When it's cold our muscles contract, causing our muscles to become fully tensed. At that moment, the bladder produces a greater amount of urine.

Therefore, below we can summarize the two main causes why, in winter or when it is cold, we tend to go to the bathroom more times to urinate:

The inability of our body to sweat, because it does not have enough energy to cause sweating.
Muscle contraction caused by cold, particularly of the bladder, which causes the production of more urine.

So, we should not worry if during the winter we go to the bathroom more times.

This does not mean that we should not hydrate in winter ...

It is evident that however much we want to go in winter (or when it is very cold) to go to the bathroom and urinate, this does not mean that we should not be properly and adequately hydrated.

And, although it is not appropriate we should drink 8 glasses of water per day or at least 2 liters of water per day (in the opinion of reputable nutritionists, such as Julio Basulto), we must, in short, drink depending on the thirst we have at all times.

And if precisely during the winter we are not so thirsty, the ideal is to try to drink liquids every so often, not only water, but also hot soups and broths (ideal to reduce the cold), teas or infusions. ThemesWinter