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United States Democrat Cory Booker broke the record by delivering the longest Senate speech in history earlier this week. He began his address on Monday night and went on to speak for 25 hours and 5 minutes, criticising the Donald Trump administration for inflicting harm on the American public.
To prepare for his marathon speech,
Booker told reporters he fasted for days and curbed water intake so he could stand long without the need to take a bathroom break. “I think I stopped eating on Friday and then stopped drinking the night before I started on Monday,” he told CNN. “It had its benefits and it really had its downsides.”
However, experts advise against not peeing for long hours, warning about its consequences.
Let’s take a closer look.
Harms of holding pee for long
Attending nature’s call is well…natural. When it comes to peeing, both going too much or too little are bad for you.
Urologists do not recommend holding urination for long hours as it could lead to complications such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), and bladder and kidney damage.
Stephen Freedland, a professor of urology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told The Washington Post in 2021 that if someone frequently starts holding in their urine and lets their bladder overfill, it could overstretch the organ and hurt its effectiveness over time.
The urinary bladder is responsible for storing pee until a person relieves themselves. An adult bladder can usually hold a pint, or two cups, of urine but can stretch to keep more. A human takes 9 to 10 hours to produce this much pee, as per Healthline.
Speaking to The Guardian, Dr Rena Malik, urologist and pelvic surgeon, said that when a person holds in their urine for too long, it is basically “food for bacteria”.
If urine sits too long in the bladder, it could cause UTIs. Often ignoring the urge to pee could harm pelvic floor muscles and lead to incontinence – the involuntary passing of urine.
As per Medical News Today, those who habitually put off emptying their bladder could feel pain or discomfort. It may also hurt when they finally pee.
Experts warn against dehydrating yourself to avoid the urge to pee as Booker did. Dehydration is “not recommended”, Dr Bashir Al Hussein Al Awamlh, a urologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian, told The Guardian. While some people do not drink enough water when they do not have easy access to a washroom, “it’s more effective to stay hydrated overall and avoid caffeine and alcohol, which act as diuretics and can increase the urge to urinate”.
The body still produces
urine even when a person is dehydrated but the liquid typically becomes more concentrated and can irritate the bladder lining, Malik said to the British newspaper.
Booker also experienced muscle cramping towards the end of his marathon speech.
“When you don’t have enough electrolytes to support your muscles and your blood volume, you get symptoms like that, and if it goes on too long – thankfully, he stopped at 25 hours – but really significant dehydration can affect your kidneys. It could affect urinary issues, and it can even cause you to faint,” Dr Mishal Reja, a gastroenterologist and internal medicine physician at Extension Health in New York, told CNN.
Peeing too often isn’t good news
Urinating frequently is also not a good idea and could cause the bladder muscle to contract over the years. “Going 12 hours between urinating is not normal; going every 15 minutes is not normal,” Freedland told The Washington Post.
If you are constantly rushing to the washroom to pee, it can affect the bladder in the long run, experts say.
“A lot of times when they actually go to try to empty their bladder, there’s not a whole lot there, but the intensity of the urge is as if they’re about to have a minute-long pee,” Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, a pelvic floor physical therapist at Greater Boston Urology, said to The Washington Post.
If you pee too often, it is possible to retrain your bladder, including through medications, to quell the intense urge to use the washroom.
How often should you pee?
It differs from person to person. Experts say adults should pee every three to four hours when they are awake.
However, this changes depending on what and how frequently you have been drinking or eating, or if pregnant.
Alcohol, caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea and carbonated drinks increase the urge to urinate. It is better to avoid consuming them before bedtime so as not to frequently get up to urinate.
Experts suggest listening to your body and its needs. Keep track of your washroom habits and contact a doctor if anything seems amiss.
With inputs from agencies