Why the best way to empty your bladder is while sitting down

Scientists have found that sitting down to pee can make it easier for you to empty your bladder faster and more completely. — dpa

AFTER international research last month suggested that the vast majority of men around the world are standing while urinating, one urologist says he believe they’re getting it wrong.

”Sitting is probably the most efficient way of doing it,” Gerald Collins, a consultant urological surgeon at Alexandria hospital in England, told British newspaper The Telegraph in May.

Collins says men likely evolved being able to wee from a standing position for the sake of convenience, but just because men can stand up to pee does not make it the best way to pass water in terms of their health.

In a 2014 study on the “optimal voiding position,” Dutch researchers found that sitting down to pee may make it easier for you to empty your bladder faster and more completely.

It’s especially beneficial for men to fully empty their bladders if they suffer from lower urinary tract issues and an enlarged prostate, problems that can worsen with age, the study said.

Sufferers are at a greater risk of developing kidney stones, urinary tract infections or kidney infections if they fail to fully empty their bladders.

Earlier in May, a 13-country YouGov study found that Mexican, Polish and British men are least likely to sit while weeing, with only 6-10% of men saying they sat down to pee every time.

Men urinate sitting most often in Germany, Sweden and Denmark (19-40%), places where many public bathrooms have signs asking users to sit rather than stand for hygiene reasons.

Age also makes a difference, and “older German men are much more likely to always sit down to pee than their younger counterparts, while in Britain, Australia and the US older men are more likely to say they never do,” writes YouGov’s head of data journalism, Matthew Smith.

Germany is a world leader in sedentary micturation, despite this country having a special insult for the practice: “sitzpinkler.” The noun, meaning someone who sits and pees, is often used pejoratively in other contexts to suggest wimpishness. – dpa