How Does the Bladder Work?

As the bladder fills, it stretches. This is “normal”. As it stretches, it sends a signal to the brain saying “hey I’m filling”. At about 40% full (~5-7oz) the bladder says “hey there’s something here”. Typically, people barely recognize that and push it off- which is good. As your bladder continues to fill, the bladder continues to stretch and the nerves in the bladder lining say “hey ok this is about 75% full” (~6-10oz), let’s start looking for a bathroom”. That’s typically the first real urge but you should be able to hold that. After that you will get more consistent urges to go to the bathroom and that’s when I’d encourage people to go- when you feel a STRONG urge. Check this out to see what’s “normal” for bladder.

A caveat to this is when you get a sudden onset of consistent urinary urge. In that case, I’d suggest seeing a physician to make sure nothing else is going on. Urgency can be a sign of infection but also overactive or tight pelvic floor muscles. It’s best to be assessed if in doubt.

Here’s a post about how much you should drink in a day.

Here’s a video about the muscles of the bladder and pelvic floor and their role in emptying.