6 Healthy Bladder Habits to Develop When Working From Home

Working from home has changed many aspects of our daily habits, as well as our mental and physical health — and that includes our bladder health.

Being at home makes it easy to use the bathroom literally whenever you want (even while muted on a conference call), but that’s not necessarily the best thing for your bladder health.

Whether you’re trying to get your bladder in shape for a return to the office, or you just want to be more conscious of bladder health while working from home, here are six tips to follow:

1. Drink enough — but not too much.

One of the great things about working from home is that it’s easy to stay hydrated. You can fill up your water glass whenever you want without having to schlep to the office kitchen. However, hydration can be a double-edged sword.

You can actually drink so much water that you make yourself need to go to the bathroom unnecessarily. If your urine is totally clear, or you find yourself using the restroom more than once every two hours, then start keeping track of how many fluids you drink — not just water, but all beverages.

If you are drinking more than three liters (100 ounces) while simply sitting at home, then that might be too much. Try cutting back a little bit, but not so much that you become dehydrated.

2. Don’t overdo it on caffeine.

You should also examine not just how much you’re drinking, but also what kinds of beverages you’re consuming. After all, when you work from home, it’s super easy to just pop into the kitchen and grab a beverage as a pick-me-up multiple times a day.

Caffeinated beverages, such as coffee and tea, are known to contribute to the urge to urinate. So are carbonated beverages of all kinds, as well as alcoholic drinks. If you have been drinking a lot of these kinds of beverages, that might explain why you have to urinate so much.

Try limiting your intake to see if that helps cut down on the bathroom runs. And while you’re at it, learn how to calm an irritated bladder and avoid foods that upset your bladder as well — think acidic and spicy foods, tomato-based products, and chocolate.

3. Pay attention to how often you go.

When you work from an office, you have to regulate your bathroom usage. You can only go between meetings or on your break, which forces you to stay on a schedule. However, when you work from home, you can go whenever you want (and, in fact, you might find yourself in the bathroom not because you need to go, but because you’re bored and want to take a break).

You may slide into a habit of going once an hour, or even more frequently than that. This isn’t a good practice to keep up in the long run because it trains your bladder to expect shorter intervals between restroom stops, which lessens your ability to hold it for an average period of time.

Track how often you’re using the bathroom on work from home days. If you are using the bathroom more than once every two hours, then try lengthening the intervals between bathroom stops and see how it goes.

4. Keep track of your bladder urges.

Bladder urges are one thing you might notice once you start trying to use the bathroom less frequently. Over time, your body gets used to more frequent bathroom breaks, which can result in more frequent urges to urinate.

Once you start trying to cut back on bathroom breaks, you might notice that you still get the urge to urinate once an hour (or however often you were previously urinating), which can cause some discomfort.

If you experience an urge, try waiting five to 10 minutes before you use the bathroom. In many cases, it will pass quickly, and you’ll realize that you didn’t actually have to use the bathroom quite yet.

5. Get proactive about your bladder control.

Most people who had previously healthy bladders won’t experience more than temporary discomfort as they adjust back to their regular office bathroom schedule. However, if your bladder health was already compromised, then you might need to be more proactive about getting your bladder back into shape.

If you’re truly worried about your urinary urges or frequency, then talk with your doctor to see if it falls within normal range or if you need to be concerned. If incontinence is an issue, there are many different treatment options you can pursue.

For instance, a bladder training regimen can help you increase the intervals between bathroom visits, while bladder control products will help protect against leaks while you’re at the office.

6. Stay active during the day.

It’s very hard to stay active while working from home, which has ramifications for many aspects of your physical and mental health, including your bladder. Because your pelvic muscles are involved in so many activities, including standing and walking, simply moving around can help keep those muscles strong.

Working out also causes your body to get rid of fluids via sweat, which keeps them from going straight to your bladder (this is why you need to drink more fluids on hot days when you sweat more).

If you’ve been pretty sedentary while you work from home, try taking short breaks once an hour to move around, plus a longer break once during the day to go for a walk or do a workout. This physical activity can help improve your bladder control over time.

Follow these six tips to build good bladder health habits when working from home. It may take some time to see results, but if you stick with it, then you will begin to see improvements.