Does Holding In Your Poop Cause Constipation?What Studies Show
Bloating & DigestionArticleBusy days, shared bathrooms and travel make it tempting to hold it. In one experiment, 12 healthy men who deliberately held in bowel movements for a week went from about 9 a week to under 4, and the time food took to pass through nearly doubled. Health agencies list ignoring the urge as a cause of constipation. Here is what the study found, its limits, and a simple routine that works with your gut.
In this article
Holding it until you get home, or until the office bathroom is empty, is common. Health agencies list ignoring the urge among the causes of constipation, alongside travel and changes to your routine.12 One experiment shows what holding it can do.
The holding experiment
Researchers had 12 healthy men live one normal week and one week of deliberately holding in bowel movements, in random order, with the same diet and activity.3
| Normal week | Holding week | |
|---|---|---|
| Bowel movements a week | About 93 | Under 43 |
| Time for food to pass through | 28.8 hours3 | 53.1 hours3 |
| Time in the last part of the colon | 8.8 hours3 | 32.1 hours3 |
The authors concluded that toilet habits can change how the colon works in ways that look like constipation.3
The limits
It was 12 men for one week, with no women studied.3 It shows what holding does in the short term, not over years.
A routine that works with your gut
- Go when you feel the urge. Don’t put it off.42
- Use the breakfast window. Eating helps the colon move, so trying 15 to 45 minutes after breakfast may help.4
- Give yourself time rather than rushing.4
- Raise your feet on a low stool so your knees are above your hips.2
- Plan for travel, a common trigger.1
See also kiwifruit, prunes and magnesium for constipation and what your poop color means.
When to see a doctor
See a doctor if you have blood in your poo or you’re constipated and tired all the time.2
Try: “I hold in bowel movements at work because the bathroom is shared, and I’m constipated most weeks. Is that likely the cause, and what else should I try?”
Bloated by Dinner covers this in Chapter 7, “Three and Three,” in a section called “Don’t Ignore the Urge.” Its Belly Clock has room to mark each urge you noticed and didn’t act on, so a mid-morning pattern of skipped trips shows up next to your stool types. See the book.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It isn't a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional who knows your health history. See a doctor for blood in your stool, constipation with weight loss or tiredness, a lasting change in bowel habit, or new symptoms after 50. Get urgent care for severe belly pain with vomiting or being unable to pass gas. Girl Playbook does not endorse any specific product, test, or provider.
Girl Playbook sells this book. It provides education and worksheets, not individualized medical care.
Sources
The research behind this article, in the order it’s cited. How we source our articles.
- NIDDK, constipation causes, 2026Symptoms & Causes of Constipation (opens in a new tab)ab
- NHS, 2026Constipation (opens in a new tab)abcd
- Digestive Diseases and Sciences (abstract via PubMed), 1990Behavioral modification of colonic function. Can constipation be learned? (opens in a new tab)abcdefghi
- NIDDK, constipation treatment, 2026Treatment for Constipation (opens in a new tab)abc
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