In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleBest Time of Day to PoopFactors That Can Impact How Often and When You PoopHow to Get on a Regular BM RoutineFrequently Asked Questions
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
Best Time of Day to Poop
Factors That Can Impact How Often and When You Poop
How to Get on a Regular BM Routine
Frequently Asked Questions
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Whether you call it poop, No. 2 or a bowel movement, it’s about time we got more comfortable talking about it. As the kids’ book taught us,Everyone Poops.
Our stool can share secrets about everything from our fiber and water intake to the potential presence of an infection or disease.How much, how often and theappearance of our poopcan offer a robust window into our internal health.
We revealed that the “normal” frequency for poopingranges from twice per day to three times per week. Now, we tapped two gastroenterologists to help us get to the bottom of another question we get asked frequently:When is the best time of day to poop?
The Best Time of Day to Poop, According to Gastroenterologists
We’ll cut to the chase: There’s not necessarily a “best” time of day to poop, admits Will Bulsiewicz, M.D., a Charleston, South Carolina-based gastroenterologist and the author ofFiber Fueled. Far more important than the exact time is a consistent time. “Similar to nearly all other life on this planet, our body functions on a rhythm that aligns with the rise and fall of the sun. Rhythm is important,” Bulsiewicz says.
Since this rhythm is so critical, Kenneth Brown, M.D., a gastroenterologist in Plano, Texas, and the host of theGut Check Projectpodcast, says that certain times of day tend to be better than others in terms of setting a stool schedule. “In general,in the morning, shortly after waking up,tends to be the best time to poop for most individuals,” Brown says.
There are three main reasons why:
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8 Factors That Can Impact How Often and When You Poop
1. Diet
The simple act of eating, especially consuming a high-fiber meal, stimulates our intestines into action, Bulsiewicz says. Other dietary factors also come into play, too: “Maintaining adequate hydration is crucial for soft, easy-to-pass stools. Dehydration can lead to the colon absorbing more water from stool, resulting in harder, drier stools and potential constipation,” Brown says.
2. Physical Activity
Get going—and your gut will, too. “While we’re actually engaged in cardiovascular exercise, our gut motility typically slows down temporarily, only to rebound when we stop exercising,” Bulsiewicz says. “Exercise stimulates motility, which can help you have a bowel movement. When you move, your bowels move,” he says.
The reverse is also true: Lack of physical activity can slow gut motility and contribute toconstipation. Prolonged sitting can also place undue pressure on the rectum. Over time, this can weaken the muscles involved in pooping, Brown says. And those muscles need to function well for a full, complete BM.
3. Traveling
Bulsiewicz recently clued us in about the5 reasons why you can’t poop when traveling. This is a common challenge, the doctors agree, due to the way time zone shifts affect our circadian rhythms, changes in diet and water intake, increased stress and the possibility for a less active lifestyle. (Those tarmac delays and long flights are brutal for more than one reason!)
I’m a Food Writer Who’s Taken 44 Flights This Year—Here’s the #1 Thing I Pack to Stay Healthy (and Regular)
4. Stress
“Stress and anxiety impact the gut-brain axis, leading to alterations in bowel habits. Stress can increase colon contractions, causing diarrheaorreduce gut motility, resulting in constipation,” Brown says. How your gut reacts to stress depends on your own physiology and the hormones your body pumps out (like cortisol or adrenaline) when you’re feeling flustered.
5. Certain Health Conditions
Besides those mental challenges, other health issues can affect bowel movements, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, hypothyroidism, diabetes and neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis, Brown says. These medical conditions can increase or decrease the frequency with which you poop.
6. Some Medications
Over-the-counter meds like laxatives and stool softeners are designed to enhance bowel movements or facilitate easier stool passage, but if you’re taking them, it’s probably with the intention to bring on a BM. Other prescriptions, including some antidepressants, as well as certain narcotics, including opioids, may lead to constipation, since they reduce intestinal secretions and slow gut motility, according to Brown. If you’ve started a new medication and notice that your bathroom habits have changed, talk to your doctor—they may be able to adjust your medication or recommend a laxative to get things going.
7. Pregnancy
Carrying a kiddo stacks the deck against regularity. A growing fetus places pressure on the rectum, potentially hindering bowel movements. In addition, “Pregnancy-related hormonal shifts can reduce gut motility, causing constipation,” Brown says. “Increased progesterone levels can relax digestive tract muscles, hindering stool movement through the colon,” he explains.
8. Aging
Our digestive system naturally slows down as we age, leading to less frequent bowel movements, Brown says. Most humans start to move a little less as we get up there in years, and as we mentioned, lower levels of activity make people of any age more likely to poop less frequently. Plus, with age, all of our muscles—including those in the colon and rectum—generally weaken. This can increase risk for constipation. Our nerves become less sensitive, too, including those within the rectum, making it challenging to sense the urge for a bowel movement, Brown says.
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Fine-tuning your lifestyle can help you poop comfortably and like clockwork. Remember that everyone will respond differently to the following adjustments, and if you’re dealing with diarrhea or constipation for more than two weeks(or if either are painful or severe for shorter times than that), talk to your doctor.
To stay more regular, follow these expert-approved tips:
“The most important thing is that you poop with adequate regularity to keep things from backing up. Although a daily bowel movement may be a great way to accomplish this, it’s not a requirement to achieve my goal of adequate regularity,” Bulsiewicz says. “Additionally, there are many, many people who poop everyday and are still constipated. If you’re not completely emptying, then a small little daily nugget may not be adequate! So for me, I’m more interested in making sure it’s adequate rather than rigidly adhering to a specific frequency,” he explains. If your typical “normal” has changed and you’re suddenly pooping way more or less or the consistency is radically different, those are all cues to talk to your doctor to make sure everything is good with your gut and overall health.
Frequently Asked QuestionsRegular bowel movements, no matter what time of day they occur, play a vital role in maintaining gut health and preventing issues like constipation or fecal impaction, according to Brown. Our bodies are naturally primed for bowel movements in the morning. However, Brown says, “Regardless of the time of day, it’s crucial to pay attention to your body’s signals and not ignore the urge to have a bowel movement.”Adjusting your lifestyle to promote an A.M. poop is possible. Drink plenty of water, consume a high-fiber diet, aim to reduce stress and create a consistent sleep-and-wake schedule. Soon after you wake up, eat afiber-rich breakfastand drink a cup of coffee, then sit on the toilet for five minutes. This can help prime and train your body to go in the morning, every morning.From a scientific perspective, there is no single “correct” frequency for bowel movements, Brown says. What’s “normal” can vary from about two times per day to three times per week. As long as your stools are well-formed and easy to pass, and the schedule doesn’t cause discomfort, any of these rates are A-OK, Brown adds.
Regular bowel movements, no matter what time of day they occur, play a vital role in maintaining gut health and preventing issues like constipation or fecal impaction, according to Brown. Our bodies are naturally primed for bowel movements in the morning. However, Brown says, “Regardless of the time of day, it’s crucial to pay attention to your body’s signals and not ignore the urge to have a bowel movement.”
Adjusting your lifestyle to promote an A.M. poop is possible. Drink plenty of water, consume a high-fiber diet, aim to reduce stress and create a consistent sleep-and-wake schedule. Soon after you wake up, eat afiber-rich breakfastand drink a cup of coffee, then sit on the toilet for five minutes. This can help prime and train your body to go in the morning, every morning.
From a scientific perspective, there is no single “correct” frequency for bowel movements, Brown says. What’s “normal” can vary from about two times per day to three times per week. As long as your stools are well-formed and easy to pass, and the schedule doesn’t cause discomfort, any of these rates are A-OK, Brown adds.
The Bottom Line
EatingWell.com, May 2024
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Piedmont Healthcare.What Your Stool Says About Your Health.Hibberd T, Ramsay S, et al.Circadian Rhythms in Colonic Function.Frontiers in Physiology. 2023; 14 (1239278). doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1239278Azmi NASM, Juliana N, et al.Cortisol on Circadian Rhythm and Its Effect on Cardiovascular System.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(2): 676. doi:10.3390/ijerph18020676American Psychological Association.Stress in America 2023: A Nation Grappling With Psychological Impacts of Collective Trauma.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: The Carb That Helps You Manage Diabetes.
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Piedmont Healthcare.What Your Stool Says About Your Health.Hibberd T, Ramsay S, et al.Circadian Rhythms in Colonic Function.Frontiers in Physiology. 2023; 14 (1239278). doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1239278Azmi NASM, Juliana N, et al.Cortisol on Circadian Rhythm and Its Effect on Cardiovascular System.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(2): 676. doi:10.3390/ijerph18020676American Psychological Association.Stress in America 2023: A Nation Grappling With Psychological Impacts of Collective Trauma.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: The Carb That Helps You Manage Diabetes.
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Piedmont Healthcare.What Your Stool Says About Your Health.Hibberd T, Ramsay S, et al.Circadian Rhythms in Colonic Function.Frontiers in Physiology. 2023; 14 (1239278). doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1239278Azmi NASM, Juliana N, et al.Cortisol on Circadian Rhythm and Its Effect on Cardiovascular System.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(2): 676. doi:10.3390/ijerph18020676American Psychological Association.Stress in America 2023: A Nation Grappling With Psychological Impacts of Collective Trauma.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: The Carb That Helps You Manage Diabetes.
Piedmont Healthcare.What Your Stool Says About Your Health.
Hibberd T, Ramsay S, et al.Circadian Rhythms in Colonic Function.Frontiers in Physiology. 2023; 14 (1239278). doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1239278
Azmi NASM, Juliana N, et al.Cortisol on Circadian Rhythm and Its Effect on Cardiovascular System.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(2): 676. doi:10.3390/ijerph18020676
American Psychological Association.Stress in America 2023: A Nation Grappling With Psychological Impacts of Collective Trauma.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: The Carb That Helps You Manage Diabetes.
