Doctor reveals on TikTok why you should not pee in the shower

First, she noted the overall bladder fitness, which applies to everyone. She cited the “Pavlov’s Dogs” experiment, in which the Russian scientist would ring a bell every time he puts food out for the dogs. Eventually, the dogs started to associate the sound of the bell and start to salivate even when there’s no food there.

“If you pee in the shower or sit on the toilet while the water is running, you’re creating an association in your brain between the sound of running water and having to pee,” Jeffrey-Thomas said in her video. 

She also said that this association coupled with pelvic floor dysfunction (or when one is unable to control the muscles to complete bowel movement) lead to some “leak issues when you hear running water outside of the shower.”

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Reply to @gwas007 why you shouldn’t pee in the shower (probably part 1 of multiple?) ##learnontiktok ##tiktokpartner

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“Your bladder relies on signals it gets both from the stretch of the bladder walls as it fills, as well as signals from the brain, which let it know when to contract to urinate. 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,” Jeffrey-Thomas told BuzzFeed.

She added, “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.”

For the second reason why peeing in the shower is not a good idea concerns those who have female anatomy as they are not designed to pee standing up, even when doing the “Capt. Morgan” pose with a leg up, according to Jeffrey-Thomas.

@scrambledjam

We are the sum of our actions. Little habits can have huge consequences down the line. ##LearnOnTikTok ##TikTokPartner ##bladderretraining

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She says with this peeing position, one’s pelvic floor is not going to relax appropriately, meaning one would not be emptying one’s bladder well, or pushing to empty completely, which is also bad. She clairifed in one of her videos that peeing in the shower while squatting all the way down, which allows the pelvic muscles to relax is okay.

“To maintain continence (i.e. not peeing your pants at inappropriate times), the pelvic floor generally wants to remain contracted in a standing position or hovering position, so to urinate in those positions, one has to bypass these normal continence mechanisms, which can be problematic down the line,” Jeffrey-Thomas said in an interview with BuzzFeed.

Both men and women have a pelvic floor, whose functions include holding the pelvic organs in place like the uterus and bladder, and it also helps hold urine. 

Jeffrey-Thomas recently posted a video about the “bad habits for your pelvic floor,” which include peeing in the shower. She says these bad habits contribute to one’s overall bladder and pelvic floor function which, when not prevented, can have huge consequences in the future.

Among these bad habits include:

• Pushing out your pee (or poop)
• Hovering over the toilet
• Peeing “just in case” (or when you don’t actually need to)
• Doing tons of Kegel exercises without being evaluated by a pelvic floor PT

So, does peeing in the shower still sounds appealing to you?