It's time to own up - who here has peed in the shower?
There is no shame in it, it's safe to say that most people will have done it in their time as a study quoted by Newsweek revealed that 76% of people have killed two birds with one stone when washing.
Everybody has their reasons, I'm sure, it saves on water and you get to wash your hands almost immediately... that is if you are one of those who actually wash their hands after peeing because it turns out that some people don't.
But apparently, there is a very good reason why you should refrain from letting loose in the shower, as pelvic floor therapist Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas explained.
Taking to TikTok, Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas explained that the reason is similar to Pavlov's experiment with dogs, as the humans that pee in the shower are conditioning themselves to need to urinate whenever they hear running water.
I don't know about you, but there is nothing worse than needing to pee and being stuck around the sounds of water, like rain on the window or a tap running.
"If you pee while the water is running then you're creating an association in your brain between the sound of running water and having to pee," she told her followers in a TikTok video.
The doctor went on to explain how, if you don't have a strong pelvic floor, this "could potentially lead to some leak issues when you hear running water outside of the shower."
Suddenly it's all starting to make sense, isn't it? By saving a few minutes by peeing in the shower you could be creating a lifetime of crossing your legs every time you hear water.
Safe to say, those in the comments were also pretty taken aback by this revelation as they shared their thoughts after viewing the video.
"I'm an ocean girl and I've peed while swimming my entire childhood and now I feel the urge every time I touch water. I can't get rid of it," one person penned.
A second added: "IS THAT WHTY I NEVER HAVE TO PEE UNTIL IM IN THE BATH OR SHOWER."
A third seemed confused by questioning: "But what about all of the times we go to the bathroom without running water? Shouldn't this do something to counteract the fewer times water is on?"
So, much like in the real world, let's get a second opinion.
Urogynaecologist Dr. Teresa Irwin has also taken to TikTok to explain that, while emptying the bladder in a standing position is good in some ways, it does train us to release urine every time we hear running water.
"You don't want to do it all the time because what happens is every time you hear the sound of water your bladder is going to want to pee - because it's used to hearing the sound of the water in the shower," Dr. Irwin explained.
"So whenever you're washing your hands, washing the dishes, your bladder is going to be salivating so to speak because it wants to go and pee," she added.
Honestly, if this can't get you to stop, I really don't know what will.
