How "Just in Case" Peeing Could be Impacting Your Bladder Urges
Do you tend to go to the bathroom "just in case?" Maybe before a long car ride or when you are not sure when you will find the next bathroom? With little ones, this is a common thing because you don't know what *imperfect* time they will pick to need to find the restroom! This is something many of us got into the bad habit of doing growing up, and while there is no need to feel bad for doing this, we want to share why this bad habit is one you should try to break!
Our bladder and our brain have an amazing connection. The bladder is actually a muscle that can stretch and expand and will send a message to the brain as it gets full that it's time to go! It's a delicate system where the bladder talks to the brain, then the brain tells the bladder "Okay, you are on the toilet, now you can pee!" The bladder then contracts to pee and our pelvic floor muscles relax to allow the urine to flow. It's amazing all that goes into one trip to the toilet!
However, when we pee "just in case", we start to train our bladder that it's not telling our brains at the right time to pee. Meaning, it's not picking up on the "fullness" it needs to in order to tell the brain we gotta go! After a while, our savvy bladder begins to fill to a smaller amount and remembers "Hey, this is when they want me to push out pee, so it's time to go!" EVEN when it's not full.
All to say we can train our bladders to hold too much or to hold not enough urine before it sends the urge signal. Peeing just in case can cause urinary urgency and frequency and is something we can retrain!
We should be peeing every 3 hours or so and our bladders should be full! The best advice is just to go when you feel the urge to go! If it's a frequent urge, try to suppress that as much as you can to retrain your bladder.
Another harmful thing people will do when they have bladder urgency is drink less water and fluids. This can actually make it worse! We should be drinking half of our body weight in ounces of fluid per day and at least 2/3 of that should be water. So if you are 200lbs, you should be consuming 100oz of fluid per day and at least 66oz should be water. This changes with circumstances, exercise, etc. When we don't consume enough water, our urine becomes very concentrated. You can see this when you pee while dehydrated and the urine is more odorous and darker in color. When urine sits in your bladder without much dilution, this irritates the bladder and may cause it to want to empty before it's full, making your urgency worse.
Your body knows what it needs and when it needs it. It's up to us to listen!
If you are having troubles in the bathroom, or with anything related to your pelvic health, your best bet is to give us a call and get tailored advice from a pelvic floor expert! (401)602-7006 or reach out via email at info@aranciapt.com.