Spending too much—or too little—time urinating can be dangerous and a sign of hidden underlying health conditions, experts have warned.
It should only take you an average of 21 seconds to completely empty your bladder, according to American researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
If you’re spending much longer peeing, you’re potentially holding in urine for too long, which can lead to your bladder expanding too much.
The average bladder holds between 400ml and 600ml, roughly one pint, and people typically need to pass urine four to eight times a day.
However, experts have warned that waiting until you’re bursting before going to the loo puts you at a higher risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs), which can lead to potentially life-threatening kidney infections.
Meanwhile, frequently peeing for too little time can be a sign of an overactive bladder—which is when you have a sudden, strong urge to urinate even when your bladder isn’t full.
The American researchers found 21 seconds to be right amount of time any mammal weighing over 6.6lbs (3kg) should spend urinating in their ‘Law of Urination’.
Their hours spent watching clips of various mammals emptying their bladders landed them IG Nobel Prize—a satirical prize to achievements that make people laugh.
A study has suggested the healthy amount of time you should be spending on the loo urinating
But the dangers of holding in your pee are no laughing matter for Chris Blick, a consultant urological surgeon at the Princess Grace Hospital in London.
He previously told MailOnline: ‘Generally speaking you shouldn’t force yourself to wait until you are desperate to urinate.
‘Occasionally, this technique may be used as part of bladder retraining to support patients with overactive bladders.
‘Holding on too much can be painful and, if you have a urine infection, can make you feel unwell.
‘If you regularly hold in your urine, over time this can cause your bladder to stretch.’
Meanwhile, on urinating too often, he said: ‘This will potentially train your bladder to empty when it doesn’t need to, and can create a habit leading to unwanted frequency of urination.’
In 2020, a man’s bladder tore apart after holding urine for 18 hours after he drank 10 bottles of bear and fell asleep.
Mr Hu, 40, from Eastern China was exhausted after his boozy night out and went straight to bed without going to the toilet once.
A man previously suffered a torn bladder after not urinating for 18 hours when he fell asleep
He was rushed to a local hospital, Zhuji People’s Hospital of Zhejiang Province after suddenly suffering severe abdominal pain.
After conducting a CT scan on Mr Hu, the medics discovered that the man’s bladder had been torn apart with three holes.
One of the tears had even opened up towards his abdominal cavity and caused part of his intestines to enter the bladder.
Mr Hu was immediately scheduled to undergo an operation to fix his bladder following the doctors’ shocking discovery.
The surgeons said that the man could be in a life-threatening condition if his bladder tears were not repaired in time.
It also follows a recent warning from an NHS GP that scrolling on your phone while on the toilet can trigger a host of health problems.
According to Dr Punam Krishan, these include haemorrhoids, also known as piles, a weakened pelvic floor—triggering continence issues—and, in extreme cases, lead to a painful condition called rectal prolapse.
Haemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels in the back passage that can cause itching, discomfort, bleeding, and a persistent feeling of needing to pass stool.
Though often dismissed as minor or embarrassing, haemorrhoids are extremely common—affecting an estimated one in three adults in the UK at some point.
And the increase in prolonged toilet sitting, often coupled with mobile phone use, is quietly contributing to a rise in cases, Dr Krishnan said.
Experts have previously warned against ‘peegasms’ which became a bizarre new sex trend.
A man published in a forum that his girlfriend told him releasing pent-up urine caused her to experience shivers ‘from her spine to her head’, MailOnline reported.
