If you tend to have to poop regularly at times that feel inconvenient for you, you might be wondering whether you can change what time of day you need to go.
The good news is that it’s possible to train your brain to poop at a certain time each day, Farhadi says. This can be especially beneficial if you find yourself habitually “holding it” until a more convenient time, which could lead to constipation over time if you do that too often, he says.
“When you try to ignore signals from your bowel, you’re basically training your brain to stop paying attention when there’s urgency,” he says. “The more you stop hearing these signals, the quieter they’ll become, and that can lead to a chronic constipation problem.”
To train your body to poop at a certain time every day, you can use a technique known as bowel retraining. It taps into the brain’s need for consistency and predictability, Farhadi says.
Bowel retraining is often used for people with fecal incontinence or severe constipation, but it can also benefit anyone who’s looking to poop at the same time every day.
For instance, if you want to poop every day before work — let’s say 6:30 a.m. — Farhadi suggests sitting on the toilet at that time for about 10 to 15 minutes, as if you’re already pooping.
It’s important not to strain or force yourself in any way to try and poop, he says. You’re simply setting up the expectation in your brain that this is your “pooping time.”
“After about a week of doing this consistently, at the same time every morning, even on the weekends, you’re likely to start to see a shift,” says Farhadi. “Your brain starts to anticipate that this is its designated time to send signals to the bowel for evacuation. It’s the same idea behind having a bedtime routine as a way to tell your brain it’s time to wind down to sleep.”
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