One of the hallmarks of urinary incontinence is the overwhelming urge to pee throughout the day. This occurs primarily with urge incontinence, which is one of the two main types of UI (the other is stress incontinence). Under normal circumstances, your bladder communicates to the brain when it’s full, which makes you feel the urge, which signals that you should go to the bathroom. For those of us who have urge incontinence, however, there’s a bit of a miscommunication. The bladder tells the brain it’s full—even when it’s not. Then the bladder tries to empty—and sometimes that happens when there’s not a bathroom in sight (or else way too suddenly to get to one).
Of course, there are many solutions and products out there to make sure these leaks aren’t too disruptive when they do happen, but one of the easiest and most effective things you can do long-term is train your bladder. In other words, you can follow a few simple steps to train your bladder to empty on a schedule, eventually reaching longer and longer intervals that allow you to keep living the carefree life you deserve.
How to train your bladder in five easy steps
1) Start a bladder diary
First thing’s first: If you want to train your bladder, you need to start at a baseline. For a couple of days, keep a bladder diary, in which you write down when you pee (or leak), how much, and what you drink throughout the day. This should help you figure out more or less how often you pee. You can download a bladder diary here.
2) Make a schedule…
After you’ve figured out how often you empty your bladder by using your bladder diary, you’re ready to move on to step two of training your bladder. Add 15 minutes to however often you determined that you pee. So, for instance, if your bladder diary indicates that you go to the bathroom every hour, set an interval for yourself of one hour and 15 minutes.
3) …and stick to it
Now comes the hard part. Pee first thing when you wake up in the morning, and then every hour and 15 minutes (or whatever your predetermined interval may be) until bedtime. Use a stopwatch or set the alarm on your phone to make sure you stick to the schedule in order to be sure you train your bladder properly. The important thing here is to go to the bathroom even if you don’t feel like you need to. This trains your bladder to operate on a schedule, which is important when you start lengthening the intervals.
4) Wait five minutes
Now comes the even harder part. If you feel the urge to go when it’s not your scheduled time to pee, make yourself wait five minutes. Count backward from 100 or do something else to distract yourself. The point here is to emphasize mind over matter; you’re training your bladder to listen to you, not the other way around. If after five minutes the urge hasn’t subsided, it’s okay to go to the bathroom. But then continue sticking with your schedule.
5) Prolong your intervals to keep training your bladder
After a week or two, when you’ve become a pro at peeing every 75 minutes (or whatever your case may be), and you’re doing it naturally without extra urges, add 15 minutes to your intervals. Now, you’re peeing every hour and a half to train your bladder to wait longer. Once you master that, add another 15 minutes, and another. The goal is to eventually pee about every three hours. If you successfully reach that point, consider your bladder trained!
What to expect after you train your bladder
For some women, it takes several weeks or even a few months to train their bladder completely. But the reason it works is because training your bladder tells your body that you’re in charge. And getting into a regular routine lets your bladder (and your mind) understand that a bathroom break is coming—so there’s no need to leak.
Of course, training your bladder might not cure your urge incontinence entirely, and if you have mixed UI (a combination of urge and stress), other interventions might be necessary, too. It’s always a good idea to talk to your primary care doctor or OB-GYN. But no matter what your doctor recommends, training your bladder is always a great place to start, and a good practice to maintain.