There can be various reasons why you’d prefer to poop in the morning. After all, in the morning, you’d (most likely) be at your home and in your bathroom! Simply, comfortable and hygienic!!
Speaking of hygiene; arguably it is the main reason why a person would want to poop in the morning in his/her own bathroom rather than using a public restroom (used by many people during the day ) to do a Number Two later in the day.
Hygiene is indeed an important factor. However, can it be the only reason that most people prefer emptying themselves out in the morning rather than doing it at different times of the day? Probably, hygiene is not the only reason…
Potential Advantageous of Pooping In the Morning
There are a great number of reasons that make pooping in the morning preferable for many people. Here are some of them you may agree with.
If you emptied your bowels in the morning:
- You wouldn’t (most likely) feel the urge of going to the toilet for Number Two somewhere outside such as at school or work on the same day.
- You wouldn’t find yourself in an emergency Number Two situation while taking a long journey by bus or by car.
- Your exercise or workout wouldn’t be interrupted by the urge to poop.
- You wouldn’t ( most likely) experience digestive issues such as stomach growling, gas or bloating.
Of course, there can be more and better reasons that you can think of. But, in brief, pooping in the morning relieve both your colon and your mind, as you wouldn’t need to think about when the urge to poop will hit during the day.
As an example though; wouldn’t it be good if you could poop in the morning at home before heading to school or work? It probably would.
In one survey, published on Healthline, 2000 people were asked about their toilet habits. And, results indicated that 61 % of participants empty their bowels mostly in the morning (1).
You may not be one of those who poop usually in the morning, though. If so, you might be wondering whether or not there are ways to make yourself poop in the morning, which is more favourable on several counts.
The good news is that there are effective ways that may help you poop in the morning. And, we have compiled the 8 most effective (medically supported) methods that may help you empty your bowels in the mornings.
Below, we will look at these methods and explain how these methods can help you evacuate your bowels in the mornings. Let’s start one by one.
1- Eat Enough Fiber
Why is eating fibre important? How does eating fibre help you poop in the morning? When should you eat fibre to see the difference in your bowel movements? These all are great and relevant questions to ask in order to understand the role of fibre in digestion and bowel movements. So, let’s provide answers to these questions.
Eating fibre is important for digestion because it plays a significant role in keeping the digestive tract flowing and making bowel movements regular (2).
Eating enough fibre may help you poop in the morning because it improves stool motility along the large intestine by making it soft and bulky (3),(4).
If you have irregular bowel movements, it may indicate that your fibre intake is insufficient. If so, that makes you susceptible to constipation. And, constipation ( as you can easily guess) can prevent you from emptying your bowels at any time of the day, including mornings.
So, if you complain about not being able to poop in the morning, then consider adding fibre-rich foods to your diet. Here are some of the fibre-rich foods and the best time to eat them.
- Dried beans, lentils, chickpeas, popcorn (in moderation ) and sweet potatoes are some of the fibre-rich foods that you can consume at dinner.
- Chia seeds, oats, bananas, raspberries, dried apricots, prunes, and dried figs are some of the fibre-rich foods that you can consume for breakfast.
To sum up; consuming these and similar fibre-rich foods will help regulate your bowel movements, which in turn, may help you poop in the morning.
2- Coffee
Presumably, you expected to see the name of “coffee” on this list. Simply because coffee is widely talked about and also consumed for its bowel activating effect. Or, you, yourself, are one of those who usually feel the urge to poop after having a cup of coffee.
Is it a myth though? Is there a scientific basis for this claim? Can drinking coffee genuinely make people poop, especially in the morning?
Well, studies and scientists suggest that coffee can stimulate the urge to poop. Let’s find out whether or not drinking coffee can genuinely help you poop in the morning!
In one study; 29% of participants (63 % women) claimed that coffee induced a desire to poop. Thereupon, researchers investigated the effect of black, unsweetened coffee on 14 healthy-subject. Eight of the responders claimed that coffee caused a desire to defecate. In a conclusion; researchers suggested that both regular and decaffeinated coffee can potentially increase bowel movements for 30 minutes after consumption (5).
As for how coffee stimulates the urge to go toilet; several studies suggest that caffeine, found in coffee, activates bowel movements as well as intestinal muscles, thus increasing the desire to defecate in some people (6),(7), (8).
However, it is important to underline that caffeine is not the only factor (although the strongest factor) that causes the urge to defecate (5).
It appears that drinking coffee may help you empty your bowel in the morning. Many people use this tactic to poop in the morning. And, it may work for you as well.
3- Walk After the Dinner
Doing intense exercise after having dinner may be potentially harmful to your body. However, doing light exercise after dinner, such as walking, has been shown to bring many benefits – mainly digestive benefits – to the human body.
So, the question is “can taking a post-meal walk somehow help you go to Number two in the morning”? The answer is it might help! Here is how…
We know that doing exercise (on a regular basis) strengthens the digestive tract and also decreases the time it takes for foods to move from the stomach to the intestines (9),(10). Both of these factors help regulate bowel movements.
It bears repeating; that the more regular your bowel movements are, the more likely you can poop in the morning.
If you have a big meal at dinner, consider taking a walk afterwards. It can boost metabolism and aid digestion. In this way, your body can digest the foods you ate at dinner by the following morning and may become ready to poop in the morning.
Even 15 minutes of walking after dinner can speed up the evacuation process. So, make the post-meal walk a habit of yours.
4- Drink Enough Water
If you can’t empty your bowels regularly every morning, ask yourself whether you drink enough water or other healthy liquids during the day.
Your answer to this question can explain why you don’t/cacan’t empty your bowels regularly in the mornings.
Because, when you don’t have enough water in your body, the colon withdraws water from the food waste. And, that makes the stool hard and difficult to pass, leading to constipation (11),(12),(13).
So, make sure you drink plenty of water (which means 8 to 9 glasses a day) and half a glass of water before going to sleep. This can help you empty your bowels every morning.
5- Avoid Fatty Foods
If you regularly eat foods with high-fat content, such as fast food, it may explain why don’t go for Number two in the morning or why you don’t have regular bowel movements.
So, what is the potential relationship between not being able to “evacuate” in the morning and eating foods high in fat regularly?
Fatty foods (or more accurately fat) take longer to digest compared to other nutrients such as carbs (14).
For example, if your menu is rich in fats – regardless of healthy or unhealthy – at dinner this evening, then your body may not be ready to empty the bowels by tomorrow morning due to the slow digestion process of fat.
The conclusion is that if your diet is always rich in fats, then it might be the underlying factor that is preventing you from emptying your bowels in the morning. Try to limit your fat intake, it can speed up the digestion process and may help get things moving. Nevertheless, it is important to note that dietary fats are essential for your body, so eat them as needed.
6- Consider Using Laxative
Here is an over-counter drug you can use to eliminate constipation and poop in the morning. However, Mayo Clinic and the National Health Service warn ” Use laxative in caution, carefully read the label directions, long-term use of a laxative may be harmful” (15), (16).
So, what are laxatives and how they may help you empty your bowels”? Briefly; laxatives are over-the-counter drugs designed to treat constipation. They are available in supermarkets and pharmacies.
In general, these types of drugs stimulate bowel movements by improving stool mobility, and bulk (16),(17).
Using laxatives can help you relieve constipation and help you poop in the morning. But, it is important to note that it is a temporary solution and these drugs may not be suitable for long-term use. So, it is best to talk to your pharmacist or doctor as to how often and at what dose you should use laxatives (15), (16).
7- Have Breakfast
You may not be a fan of having breakfast. However, waking up a bit earlier than you normally do and preparing yourself breakfast can be a great way to empty your bowels in the morning.
Indeed, your body does not evacuate what you have just eaten for breakfast. However, when you eat your stomach will force already digested foods through the gut to make room for the arriving foods. That, in turn, increases the pressure, thus triggering the urge to poop.
So, endeavour to have breakfast every morning, it will give you the energy you need to conquer the day, plus it might help you empty your bowels.
8- Apply Abdominal Massage
If you want to poop in the morning rather than later in the day, then consider giving your abdomen a gentle massage that can trigger digestion and help you poop in the morning.
It may sound like a myth, but there are studies that support the positive impact of doing abdominal massage on digestion, mainly on constipation.
For instance; in a study researchers analyzed the impact of abdominal massage on constipation and the quality of life of participants. And, findings indicated that participants who received abdominal massage:
- defecated more often
- had reduced symptoms of constipation
- had regular bowel movements
As for how you can apply a message to your abdomen to trigger poop; the following will help you perform a proper colon massage.
- Imagine that the circles, shown in the picture, are located in your abdomen.
- Lie down with your knees bent, but, make sure your feet touching the floor and your belly is relaxed and soft.
- Use your fingertips and gently apply pressure on the circles with both hands. Start at the bottom and continue clockwise.
- Do these massages before you eat breakfast and before going to bed.
By applying this colon massage you can trigger bowel movements and poop in the morning.
Tarkan is an experienced health writer ( currently more than 600 articles ) and also the founder of this website namely www.neededforhealth.com. His expertise in health stems from in-depth medical research and knowledge which he obtained over the course of many years.
Tarkan enjoys sharing factual knowledge on health, psychology and nutrition. He always aims to deliver evidence-based recommendations, provide links to related scientific studies.
