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Your bladder can sometimes be a sensitive beast, say experts. There are a number of reasons influencing how often we have to pee, including age, diet, medical conditions, medications, volume of fluid intake, and type of fluid intake, says Ekene Enemchukwu, M.D., urologist at Stanford Medical Center.
One of the most common influences is age. As we get older, we can add increased risk for overactive bladder-which can cause incredibly annoying issues with frequency and urgency-to the list of health issues that could happen to us, says Enemchukwu.
Aside from how old we are, diet also plays a big part in how often we have to take a leak. Beyond just how much were drinking, what were drinking is an important pee predictor. Bladder irritants like carbonated beverages , spicy foods, acidic fruits, artificial sweeteners, sugars, and alcohol can leave you running for the nearest restroom.
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Caffeinated drinks pack a particularly strong punch. Caffeine is both a direct bladder irritant, and its also a diuretic, says Bilal Chughtai, M.D., assistant professor of urology at Cornell. It makes your bladder more overactive, and it also makes you produce more urine.
If youve seen your doc and have ruled out overactive bladder as a cause, and youve been cutting back on the caffeine, the answer to why you have to piss all the time might simply be stress. Sometimes, if youre anxious or stressed, that can lead to high sensitivity of the bladder, says Chughtai.
The good news is, there are steps you can take to prevent pee problems. In addition to cutting back on bladder irritants, Enemchukwu has her patients practice bladder retention techniques. If you typically have to pee every two hours, try to stretch it to two and a half and eventually three hours between bathroom breaks. The goal is to train the bladder over time to hold more urine, she says. And of course, theres always good old-fashioned kegels.
The bottom line: Try not to sweat it. But if the piss issues persist, even after behavioral changes, it might be time to see a doc.