Why do we urinate more in winter?

You are warm and cosy under the blanket and suddenly you feel the need to pee, even though you emptied your bladder just a little while back.

This is a frequent and frustrating scenario during winter. But is there a reason behind this? And does this happen with everyone or should you be concerned about the frequent need to urinate in cold weather?

According to doctors, there is no need to worry because it is completely natural.

During winter, heat is lost from the surface areas of our body to the environment. So, our bodies attempt to reduce loss of heat by retaining it to our core.

In order to do so, blood flow to our extremities like fingers and toes is reduced and blood vessels are constricted. As a result, blood pressure rises because the same amount of blood now has less space to flow through.

Here's where the kidney's function comes in.

To reduce the blood pressure, the kidney decides to reduce the volume of blood that flows through the narrowed vessels by filtering out some excess fluid from blood.

The excess fluid goes to your bladder and thus, makes you feel the urge to urinate more frequently.

A full bladder is another way for the body to lose heat, so urinating frequently helps preserve your core warmth.