A doctor has warned that a controversial shower habit two thirds of Americans have admitted to doing could have awkward consequences further down the line.
Shower time has proven unusually controversial lately – with people admitting to getting up to all sorts in there, from having a snack to brushing their teeth.
And on top of that, there’s also a debate over how often we should be showering too.
But experts seem to be in agreement that one very common habit, that 62 percent of Americans admitted to doing in a YouGov survey, is not a great idea for your health.
And it’s not just ordinary folks that do it. Celebs like Kelly Clarkson and Madonna have admitted to the controversial time saving habit, but apparently they should consider rethinking.
Two in three Americans have admitted to the controversial shower habit (Getty Stock Image)
According to Dr Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, what may seem just a harmless shower habit is, in fact, impacting your bladder health and your normal toilet routine.
Yes, we’re talking about urinating in the shower.
While this may not sound like proper etiquette (particularly if you’re sharing a shower with others in your household), it’s a habit that many people have admitted indulging in.
If you’re in this group of people who wee in the shower, Dr Jeffrey-Thomas urges you to rethink your habits.
Why is peeing in the shower bad for you?
“We want to avoid training our bladder to associate certain signals with the urge to pee. In this case, peeing in the shower associates the sound of running water with urination or with submersion in water,” she said on TikTok.
“This can often transition into being triggered by other sounds of running water (like when you’re running the faucet to wash your hands or the dishes) or when you’re in bodies of water.”
Reply to @gwas007 why you shouldn’t pee in the shower (probably part 1 of multiple?) #learnontiktok #tiktokpartner
♬ Similar Sensation (Instrumental) – BLVKSHP
So if we want to avoid a weak bladder, it’s best to stick to peeing in the toilet.
Just like ‘pushing out’ urine and ‘hovering over the toilet’, peeing in the shower can be particularly damaging for women’s pelvic anatomy, as it isn’t built to urinate while standing up.
In her clip, Dr Jeffrey-Thomas says that peeing whilst standing is not ‘conducive to pelvic floor relaxations’.
Speaking to BuzzFeed, she also said that cisgender men have the ‘prostate to support the bladder’, but cisgender women and those who’ve had gender-affirming surgeries ‘don’t have the same level of support’.
How often should you be peeing?
Dr Jeffrey-Thomas also said if we want to strengthen our bladders, we should also be peeing less frequently.
Just don’t. (TikTok/@thepelvicdancefloor)
She continued: “Normal time between trips to the bathroom is every three to four hours during the day but a minimum of two and ideally, you should not be getting up at night.
“We know that as your bladder steadily fills up, the intensity of the feeling of needing to go will increase more and more and more until we get to this peak but that wave will come back down and it will settle back down.
“The goal is to be able to use these techniques to kind of ride the wave so that we are not giving in at that high level of intensity to go.
“If you’re constantly giving in and going at the top of that wave, it’s training your body to send that really urgent signal more often, you’re perpetuating the cycle.”