Experts have made bold assertions about how a contentious shower habit might benefit the environment while also having a positive effect on your health.
According to rapper Cardi B’s social media followers, the world is divided into two groups: those who pee in the shower and those who deny doing so.
A survey commissioned by Abcotechbrand.com found that an impressive 61 percent of respondents occasionally indulge in a golden flow while showering, while the remaining 39 percent reportedly would never engage in such a habit.
But are you aware that urinating while washing could help soothe your body?
In an interview with the Daily Star, General Practitioner Dr Hana Patel revealed that the sound of running water can often aid people in urinating.
“Men with issues passing urine found that listening to sounds of running water helped them,” she said.
“This is because water is calming for the body and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).”
The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is a web of nerves that assists your body in relaxing after stressful periods and facilitates essential processes like digestion and airway muscle tightening when you’re calm, as explained by the Cleveland Clinic.
Swinburne University of Technology concurs that the sound of running water can enhance the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, stating: “This would relax the bladder muscles and prepare the bladder for emptying.”
The experts also suggested that the sound of running water might also have a conditioned psychological effect.
This is because of the ‘countless times in our lives where this sound has coincided with the actual act of peeing, it may trigger an instinctive reaction in us to urinate’.
This phenomenon is similar to Ivan Pavlov’s discovery of classical conditioning, where dogs learned to salivate when a bell was rung.
However, Dr Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas has contended that although peeing in the shower appears harmless, it might be having a negative impact on your bladder health.
In a TikTok video, she asserted that a woman’s pelvic anatomy isn’t designed for urination while standing and is not ‘conducive to pelvic floor relaxations’.
While shower urination boasts several positive health advantages, it can also help the environment.
Princeton University notes that a standard toilet flush consumes seven gallons of water per flush, whereas Michigan Daily indicates that substituting a toilet flush with a slightly longer shower can save up to 6.125 gallons of water.
Eliminating just one toilet flush per day could significantly lower the average American’s 156-gallon daily water usage.
This means less water consumption, saving you a few dollars in the process!
Are you considering spending a penny in the shower soon?
Or will you continue to stand firm with the 39 percent of people who categorically refuse to pee in the shower?