Can IV Hydration Help You Sleep Better?

It’s safe to assume we’ve all heard the old adage about drinking eight glasses of water a day. While drinking water throughout the day is important for overall health and, obviously, hydration, we’re most concerned about sleeping through the night.

In certain cases, IV hydration therapy can help with just that.

“Think of hydration as your body’s sleep thermostat,” says Greg Jones, board-certified naturopathic physician and founder and medical director of Enovative Wellness Center. “When you’ve had enough hydration, your body has what it needs to regulate temperature, circulate blood, and keep things running smoothly while you sleep. But when you’re dehydrated, that thermostat can start acting glitchy. IV fluids allow hydration to go directly into the bloodstream, which can be especially useful when someone is unable to drink enough water or needs quick medical treatment.”

So, what’s the connection between IV hydration therapy and sleep, exactly? Ahead, we’ll explore everything you need to know about IV hydration and how it can impact your Z’s. Talk about H2Whoa.

What is IV hydration therapy?

If you’ve ever been in an emergency room or stayed overnight in a hospital, chances are you’ve gotten an IV. IV hydration therapy is exactly what it sounds like—aka hydration through an IV.

But, of course, it’s a little more technical than that.

“IV hydration therapy puts fluid and other nutrients directly into a vein through a small, flexible catheter, usually in the arm,” explains Andrea Colon, licensed naturopathic doctor and founder of RECLAIM Integrative Medicine.

The base fluid is typically saline or lactated Ringer’s with electrolytes. A hydration drip can be between 500 milliliters to 1 liter, with treatments lasting between 30 to 60 minutes.

While drinking water is obviously great for staying hydrated, IV hydration can work more quickly.

“When you drink water, it has to move through your stomach and be absorbed through your intestines before it reaches your bloodstream,” says Colon. “An IV skips that entirely, so the fluid is available to your body right away.”

This can be especially ideal for people who are severely dehydrated after extreme sickness or other activities.

“Think of IV hydration therapy as giving your body a hydration boost without having to chug several glasses of water,” explains Jones. “It can be a helpful option if someone is feeling depleted from things like illness, intense exercise, travel, heat, or just not getting enough fluids.”

How dehydration disrupts your sleep

There’s pretty much nothing worse than not being able to sleep through the night, and dehydration can be a severe culprit for interrupted Z’s. Not to mention, dehydration and bad sleep are a vicious cycle.

“Dehydration can make sleep worse, and short sleep can make dehydration worse,” says Colon. 

In fact, a 2019 study from Penn State found that people who slept around six hours a night had up to 59 percent higher odds of being dehydrated over people who slept eight hours.

Colon points to the hormone, vasopressin, which “tells your kidneys to hold on to water overnight,” she says. “Much of it is released later in the sleep cycle, so when you cut sleep short, you miss part of that signal.”

And, according to Jones, dehydration overnight can affect more than just your kidneys. “

You may feel warmer or more uncomfortable at night, wake up thirsty, or experience things like headaches, dry mouth, or muscle cramps,” he says.

Can IV hydration improve sleep quality?

The short answer is, yes—but with some caveats. While IV hydration is helpful for—you guessed it—hydration, it isn’t a complete cure-all for a night of better sleep. However, here are some ways it can help.

Fast fluid replacement for severe dehydration

If you find yourself feeling severely dehydrated after a stomach bug or intense workout, you may benefit from IV hydration therapy since it enters the bloodstream directly.

“I see it make a difference in someone who is truly depleted,” says Colon, who specifically points out the following cases:

• After a stomach bug or food poisoning
• A rough night of drinking
• A long-haul flight
• An endurance event in the heat
• A stretch of heavy night sweats

“Replacing what they lost takes away the headache, the racing heart, and the restlessness that were keeping them up,” she says. “Patients often tell me they slept better that night than they had in days.”

It’s worth noting that incorporating IV hydration into your sleep routine shouldn’t come lightly.

“It should never be treated as a one-size-fits-all energy boost,” stresses Jones. “It should be based on the person’s condition and administered appropriately.”

Electrolytes and muscle relaxation

There are a host of electrolytes you’ve probably heard of—sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, and magnesium among them—which all work to keep the body running properly.

“Think of electrolytes as your body’s electrical crew,” says Jones. “When people are dehydrated or low on certain electrolytes, they may experience muscle cramps or that annoying feeling of restless, uncomfortable muscles when they’re trying to wind down for the night.”

When it comes to feeling more relaxed, magnesium is imperative. Not only does it help calm the nervous system and support GABA (the brain’s main relaxing messenger) but it helps muscles relax too.

“When magnesium is low, muscles can stay tense or cramp, which is one reason it gets so much attention for sleep,” explains Colon.

Luckily, IV hydration therapy experts can add various electrolytes to your IV drip. Colon points to magnesium specifically, along with vitamin B6 (to help calm the body down) and glycine to “help lower core body temperature, which is one of the signals your body uses to fall asleep.”

Drinking water vs. getting an IV: what you really need

Before rushing to get an IV drip, ask yourself whether you’re drinking enough water. Because while IV hydration therapy can be beneficial for people with severe dehydration, most people can improve their sleep simply by drinking enough water during the day.

“When it comes to hydration, my answer is usually pretty simple—start with the glass of water,” says Jones. “You don’t need an IV every time you feel a little thirsty.”

Instead, look to IV hydration therapy if you’re significantly dehydrated, unable to keep fluids down, or need medical treatment “for a more serious fluid imbalance,” he advises.

Didn’t drink all eight glasses in a day? That’s not necessarily cause for immediate concern, according to Colon.

“The biggest mistake I see is people who barely drink all day and then down several glasses of water right before bed,” she says. “That usually means waking up one or more times to urinate, and that broken sleep can do more harm than mild dehydration would have.”

Safe ways to stay hydrated before bed

Here are a few quick tips and tricks to making sure you’re hydrated enough before you lie down at night. 

• Drink water throughout the day. “When it comes to bedtime hydration, think steady sips, not a water chugging contest,” says Jones. “The goal is to go to bed comfortably hydrated, not to drink a giant bottle of water five minutes before bed and then spend half the night making trips to the bathroom.”
• Replace electrolytes earlier in the day. “If you sweat hard or spent time in the heat, add an electrolyte drink, coconut water or a pinch of salt in water in the afternoon,” suggests Colon.
• Caffeine will keep you up at night—literally. “Caffeine has a half-life of about five hours, so an afternoon coffee is still working at bedtime,” says Colon. If you struggle with sleep, she suggests cutting off caffeine around noon.

FAQs

Will an IV therapy session help me sleep tonight?

It might. Scheduling a session for IV hydration therapy can help your body and muscles relax while adding hydration and electrolytes back in, which can lead to better sleep overnight. However, it’s not a guarantee, nor should it be your only course of action for staying hydrated.

“Keep in mind that IV therapy isn’t a shortcut to better sleep or a replacement for everyday hydration,” says Jones. “Good hydration, nutritious food, quality sleep, and taking care of yourself still do the heavy lifting. IV therapy can be a useful tool when it’s appropriate.”

Can dehydration wake you up in the middle of the night?

It most certainly can. “Dehydration is a common trigger for headaches and for nighttime muscle cramps, especially in the calves and feet,” says Colon, noting that these can pull you out of deep sleep.

How long before bed should I stop drinking water?

The answer lies more in how much water you should drink before bed, instead of when to stop. If you’re staying adequately hydrated throughout the day, you won’t need to chug as much water right before you slip between the sheets.

“Don’t try to catch up at night,” says Jones. “Think of hydration more like watering a plant. You want a steady supply of water over time, not an entire watering can dumped on it at once.”