Hi all,

I\'ve been talking with a few different people lately about the idea of setting "Goals" that point toward stopping bedwetting, reducing the frequency of wet nights, etc. While it\'s undoubtedly a good long-range goal -- after all, who here doesn\'t want to stop wetting, or want their child to stop wetting? -- my concern is that for many of us it may not be a realistic goal to try to set, at least in the short term.

The reason is that bedwetting, like anything that happens during deep sleep, is not something you can just one day "decide" to stop, or to do less often. Making it a "Goal" to stop wetting, or to wet less often, can easily be setting yourself up for frustration and failure UNLESS there are specific -- and substantial -- changes you are also making that have a reasonable likelihood of helping you to stop. Otherwise, how do you expect it to change? It\'s true that many people "grow out of it" eventually, but growing is also something that you can\'t control, just like deep sleep.

All this doesn\'t mean you can\'t set goals about bedwetting, though -- but instead of setting up a "goal" in an area you have no control over, why not start with setting goals in areas you CAN control, that might have a positive effect on your bedwetting? Examples of these kinds of goals might include:

1. Getting enough hours of sleep every night (so that your body is well rested and doesn\'t have to sleep as deeply);

2. Avoiding caffeine and sugary drinks, or at least avoiding them after a certain time of day (self-explanatory I think!);

3. Emptying your bladder immediately before bed every night;

4. Getting out of bed and emptying your bladder EVERY time you happen to wake up during the night (no matter how tired you are or whether or not you feel the need to go!);

5. Being consistent in taking prescribed medicine, or doing Kegel exercises or bladder muscle exercises as directed by your doctor;

6. Increasing your bladder\'s holding capacity through stretching exercises (do this ONLY in consultation with your doctor!);

7. Reducing the overall amount of stress in your life (or maybe include other specific things you can do to reduce stress, like work habits, exercise, etc.);

8. Using an alarm clock to wake up for a bathroom trip at a certain time of night -- or using and responding to a bedwetting alarm each night;

9. Reducing daytime wetting by using the bathroom on a certain schedule during the day;

10. Talking to friend(s) or loved one(s) about your bedwetting and gaining their support and encouragement in your efforts to stop.


All these goals are things that you CAN control -- unlike what happens in your body while you are deeply asleep -- and ALL of them are things that can help to stop or reduce bedwetting, if done consistently over the long term. (I\'m sure you can think of other ideas as well!) Why not start with one of these *manageable* goals and set yourself up for success? IF and WHEN the lifestyle changes you make start to result in an increased number of dry nights, THEN it might make more sense to start keeping track of dry/wet nights as a long term goal, and then you\'ll be able to see in concrete terms how much progress is being made.

I hope this is helpful to some of you as you think about setting your goals! If anyone has any questions or comments about any of these, please post them! Thanks and good luck to everyone!! :)