Why does the sight or sound of running water make us want to pee? Can’t see why our ancestors might come upon a river and that’d be one of their first thoughts.
In: Biology
This is an instinct which humans share with lots of animals. There is actually a good reason why you might want to pee near a river or stream. The river keeps the area around them cleaner as they wash anything away with them. If you pee at the top of a meadow the pee have to flow through the meadow potentially contaminating all the plants there with parasites. However if you pee at the bottom of the meadow down by the stream then the pee will only flow the short distance to the stream before getting washed out to sea. So say you are going to a meadow to collect some herbs you will first get to the stream and get the urge to pee. So when you get to the top of the meadow your bladder is empty and there is no need for you to pee.
It shouldn’t that much, unless you normally pee in the shower. Then you’re kind of Pavloving yourself into associating that sound with bladder release.
I believe it’s basically just Pavlov. Between the pee hitting the water in the toilet/urinal, the sounds of sinks running etc in public bathrooms and obviously pissing in a shower your body has associated the sound of running water with relief from your urge to urinate.
I’m a man of a certain age – with an enlarged prostrate – and running water makes me want to pee. I also get the ‘ key in the door’ syndrome. Don’t get old kids!
I have never experienced this. Is this common?
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