Some have to be conspicuously seldom, others constantly run to the toilet – so bladder capacities are something individual, so to speak. However, there are also medical recommendations for the ideal frequency of going to the toilet. And so much in advance: they should not be too rare.
A healthy bladder can hold between 0.3 and 0.5 liters of fluid. If you drink enough water, you should urinate about six to seven times (or about every 2.5 hours) in a 24-hour period. The daily amount excreted in the urine is about one and a half liters. On the other hand, according to the Mayo Clinic, having to pee more than eight times is considered to be an overactive bladder.1 The urge to urinate too often or too little may be a warning signal from your body that something isn’t going right.
On the other hand, if you have drunk more, it can of course happen that you have to urinate particularly often. There are also drinks that have a diuretic effect – e.g. caffeinated, alcoholic or sweet lemonades. Anyone who has drunk a lot of coffee, cola or beer usually has to get out more often. That’s no reason to worry then. But the urge to urinate when it is too weak or too strong should not be taken lightly.
What does urination do anyway?
Urine is formed in the kidneys and consists of around 95 percent water, the rest is made up of (waste) substances, various acids and electrolytes. So you can say: Frequent urination is better than too infrequent urination, after all it is used for detoxification.
Instead of counting the trips to the toilet, a look at the metabolite can provide clues as to whether you have drank (sufficiently and) urinated frequently enough or not. «The best way to know if you’re well hydrated is by the color of your urine,» Amy George, MD, a urogynecologist at UC Davis Medical Center, tells SELF magazine. «If your urine is very dark and smells like something you just ate or drank, you probably need to drink more water. But if it is very clear or pale yellow, you are well hydrated.”
In the morning after getting up, there is a conspicuous dark color accompanied by an odour, which is not uncommon since one has lain down for many hours and the urine is then highly concentrated. During the day, on the other hand, a dark color can indicate that you have not drunk enough and have not diluted the bladder contents enough.
Also interesting: What you can read about your health in urine
Health reasons for urinating too infrequently or too frequently
Passing water too infrequently, even though you are drinking enough and are well hydrated, can be a sign of a kidney problem. Here it is worth seeing a doctor.
But urinating too often can also be a warning sign. First, try drinking a little less fluid to see if you’re just drinking too much. The urine color should still fall within the light yellow range. But if you still have to go to the toilet all the time, it’s worth dealing with the overactive bladder.
Also interesting: The optimal diet to prevent kidney stones
Overactive Bladder
When the bladder expands, it sends a signal to the brain that it needs to empty. But when you have an overactive bladder, your bladder is sending false signals to your brain that it’s time to empty, even when it’s far from full. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the causes of an overactive bladder are complex:
- weak pelvic muscles
- nerve damage
- Drugs, alcohol, caffeine
- infections
- overweight
- Estrogen deficiency after menopause
Treating an overactive bladder can range from changing certain behaviors to medications to nerve stimulation. Pelvic floor training is also recommended.2
Also interesting: Do you suffer from an irritable bladder? causes and treatment
As you get older, you usually have to do it more often
Age can also affect bladder behavior. In some men (e.g. because the prostate is getting larger) and women, a change in the structure of the bladder muscles leads to the urge to urinate more often. In addition, there is the fear of not being able to comply – this particularly affects women who have children and have not completed any training to stabilize the pelvic floor muscles. That’s why you’re more likely to go to the toilet on time.
Also interesting: how women can train their pelvic floor with love balls
Urge to urinate sometimes psychological
A constant urge to urinate can also be psychological. The more often sufferers think that they have to, the more often they have to. The initial tic eventually accustoms the bladder to being emptied frequently. As a result, it gives the signal to be full earlier. Experts assume that bladder training can have a positive impact on urge symptoms, i.e. that the bladder can be reconditioned.
In some cases, it is less the psychosomatic than the purely physical component to blame for the frequent urge to urinate, for example a pelvic floor dysfunction. This can usually be alleviated with physiotherapy.
Unnatural changes in bladder function
«A healthy bladder is free of bacterial infections or tumors, it stores the urine without symptoms at low pressure and at times signals fullness.» can be accessed via the PubMed Central specialist literature database.
There are several active ingredients in medications that can interfere with healthy bladder function. Certain diseases (e.g. of the kidneys and urinary tract) also have an influence on the quantity and other properties of the urine. If you only urinate around half a liter or significantly more than two liters per day, please contact your family doctor or a doctor specializing in internal medicine, urology or nephrology – and at the latest when you notice blood in your urine.