I pee once an hour. Is that normal?

Confession time: I don’t think I’ve ever sat through an entire movie without having to get up and pee. The same goes for a night of sleep — for a long time, I didn’t even know people could get a full eight hours without being interrupted by a need to go. Frequently having to get up and go to the bathroom is as annoying to me as it is to the people I’m sitting next to on an airplane, but do I actually need to worry about how much I pee?

Sara Reardon, a pelvic floor therapist, says that it’s normal to pee every two to four hours during the day, and zero to two times during the night. If you’re going more than that, that’s a condition called “urinary urgency,” and sometimes called “overactive bladder syndrome,” which is characterized by a frequent urge to pee.

“When you are drinking fluids throughout the day, your bladder starts to expand like a deflated balloon that gets fuller and fuller,” she explains. “As it stretches, it sends a signal to the brain that says, ‘Hey, bladder is getting full. I'm going to have to pee soon.’ Then, your pelvic floor muscles can tighten up and tell the bladder to quiet down, so you hold it.”

One of the reasons why people may pee more frequently is that your bladder is more sensitive, meaning it won’t take a lot of urine in order for you to believe that you have to go. If you always pee right before you go anywhere, that might be part of the problem.

Logically, you would think peeing before you leave the house would stop you from, say, begging a Subway employee to let you use the toilet. Unfortunately, it is a vicious cycle: When you start going to the bathroom when you don’t have enough urine in your body to really constitute a need to empty your bladder (about 400 to 600 milliliters), your bladder capacity shrinks. That’s why going to the bathroom "just in case" may not actually work in your favor in the long term. (We can blame our parents for making us all do this before long car rides, right?!)

Another reason you might feel the sensation to go to the bathroom, Reardon says, is that your pelvic floor muscles may not be working optimally. We need those muscles to tighten up when the bladder wants us to urinate, but if they’re too tense or too weak, they can’t send the signal to the bladder to essentially back off.

And then there's the other part of all of this: What are you eating and drinking? It's possible you may be consuming things that make your bladder more sensitive, such as caffeinated and carbonated drinks, as well as spicy foods, acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus and even processed meats. So, you know — most of the fun stuff.

The notion that we all must constantly be hydrating — like, say, with a giant water bottle on our desk (hello, Stanley) — may not be doing our bladder any favors, either.

Urologist Dr. Rachel Rubin says that while you should not be dehydrated and should have generally clear pee, “this idea that you have to be drinking a huge amount of water constantly all throughout the day is not really based on data … from a bladder health perspective.” This is especially true for nighttime, as drinking too much liquid too close to bed can disrupt your sleep by waking you up to go.

“I usually say after dinnertime you probably shouldn't be drinking too much if you want to not pee so much,” she says. “You can do experiments with yourself on the nights that you cut liquids off after dinner. Do you have a better night sleep?”

For people who struggle with the urge to pee but don’t have any underlying health issues, you may have to first practice sitting with the uncomfortable feeling of having to go. I know — it doesn't sound fun. But breathing exercises and even just simple distraction (I recommend scrolling through recipes on TikTok) can help take your mind off having to go to the bathroom. That could also mean practicing waiting until the end of a movie to hit the theater's restroom, and while you might be a little squirmy in the moment, ultimately, it can help you stay in your seat without the urge to pee moving forward. And really, isn't that what we all want?

Another thing that may help: pelvic floor exercises. Kegels can also help reduce that urge to pee, but Rubin says there is a caveat — if your muscles are too tight and really tense, you may need to also relax the muscles of the pelvis instead. A pelvic floor therapist can help you learn what’s best.

Losing weight, if you are overweight, may also help improve your ability to hold your urine, according to urologist Dr. Victoria Scott.

“Your pelvic floor is really like the hammock for your whole abdomen, and it plays a really important role in your core strength,” she says. “[With extra weight,] there is extra weight on the pelvic floor and the bladder, which can increase dysfunction.”

OK, but what if you've tried all of this, and you're still jetting off to the bathroom every hour? For people for whom lifestyle changes don’t address the problem, Rubin says there are medical interventions one can take. Medications known as anticholinergics are often prescribed for urinary incontinence, the medical term for bladder control problems. Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), a procedure derived from acupuncture, can also help an overactive bladder.

“We can put Botox in the bladder,” Scott says. “That works to relax that bladder muscle the same way it relaxes your muscles in your face, get rid of the wrinkles.”

It's also worth pointing out that there are other things about your bladder you should not ignore. Scott adds that no matter how often you are going to the bathroom, you should never see blood in your urine, as that can signal something serious. So can pain in your pelvis or burning with urination or a sudden onset of urinary frequency, which “might suggest an infection,” Scott explains.

There are also times when peeing frequently can signal something more serious, such as diabetes. Hormonal changes during menopause, as well as certain neurological issues like Parkinson’s disease, may also lead to an overactive bladder, says Scott. If you’re concerned about your frequent urination, it’s always best to see your primary care physician, who can assist you in next steps.

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