‘I’m a doctor – this is exactly how often you should be going to the toilet’

A doctor has issued a warning about going to the toilet, sharing a two-hour rule. According to the expert, relieving yourself too often could be sending the wrong message to your brain.

The number of times you urinate each day will vary depending on several factors. How much you’ve had to eat or drink, how much caffeine you’ve had, the temperature, and whether you’re stressed or anxious can all influence this.

However, what you might not realise is that going too many times can have a long-term impact.

In a video uploaded to social media platform TikTok, Doctor Suraj Kukadia explained more.

The NHS doctor shared how often you should be going. He said: “You should be peeing, on average, every two to four hours, even if you’re well hydrated.”

For this reason, going every hour could be a mistake. “And if you’re peeing every hour, you’re training your brain to misfire, and you could be creating urge incontinence.

“Your bladder and brain communicate in a feedback loop. Your bladder fills with urine over two to four hours.

“Stress receptors in the bladder wall detect the volume increase and when your bladder is half full, so around 150 to 200 ml, the stretch receptors send a signal to your brain, and then you get a mild urge awareness that your bladder is filling.”

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He continued: “And that process is normal. But if you pee every time you feel even a hint of bladder fullness, even at small volumes like 50 or 100 ml, your brain starts learning the wrong pattern.

“You constantly respond to small bladder volumes. Your brain recalibrates. It starts thinking, ‘bladder at 50,200 mil – time to pee’.”

This can result in you being unable to store as much urine. Dr Kukadia, who is better known online as Dr Sooj, said: “Now the urge signal gets stronger, more frequent and more intense.

“Your stress receptors become hypersensitive, and they start firing at lower volumes. Basically false alarms.

“You are literally rewiring your brain bladder connection to misfire. And this is how you develop urge incontinence.

“The sudden, uncontrollable urge to pee even when your bladder isn’t full and that is a learned pattern.”

Luckily, there are steps you can take to reverse this. Dr Sooj said: “But you can retrain the brain bladder loop. When you feel a strong urge, stop, and stay still.

“Tighten and relax your pelvic floor rapidly, kind of like you’re trying to stop a pee midstream.

“This sends a competing signal to your brain to override the urgency. You are teaching your brain that small bladder volumes do not require immediate emptying.”

If you’re experiencing urinary incontinence

On the NHS website it says you should see a GP if you have any type of urinary incontinence. It says: “Urinary incontinence is a common problem and you should not feel embarrassed talking to them about your symptoms.

“This can also be the first step towards finding a way to effectively manage the problem.”