Water Intake & Nighttime Bathroom Visits: A Stay-at-Home Mom's Concern

Question
Hi, I am a 45 year old single mom of a 14 year old daughter.  We live in the Bay area.  I am a stay at home mom and swim almost every day.  I understand that I am to be drinking 1/2 gallon of water everyday.  I do drink lots and lots of water and will be figuring out today if I do drink 1/2 gallon water a day...in the meantime....my question is....I have to get up at least 2 times a night to go to the bathroom and i feel that getting up 2 or 3 times a night is disruptive to my sleep.  
Is this normal?
maybe I should stop drinking water after 6pm?
i enjoy drinking water around 8pm and later but find it difficult when my sleep is disrupted.
thank you in advance for helping...
cathy  

Answer
Hi Cathy,
A half gallon of water is a bit too much water. Max 4-6 16 oz bottles should be plenty. Try stopping liquids approximately 2-3 hours before bed time and see if this fixes the problem. If it doesn't there may be bladder dysfunction issues to evaluate.