New Year’s Lifestyle Tips for Better Bladder Health for Men
The New Year comes with a promise of hope, rejuvenation, and a fresh start. For men with urinary
incontinence (involuntary urine leakage), it’s the perfect time to make new resolutions to improve your
bladder health.
Sticking to new health routines and regimens can be difficult, so start with the simplest routines first.
Here are some simple lifestyle habits to try in 2022 for improving life for men with urinary incontinence.
Lifestyle Tip #1: Start Sleeping More
Sleep is essential for most bodily functions and helps reduce the risk of heart disease, hypertension, and
even weight gain. Adequate sleep improves the regulation of metabolism and improves overall health.
Research also shows that the lack of proper sleep can worsen bladder leakage. Simply put, poor sleep
habits are bad for your bladder and can lead to repetitive midnight awakenings, can irritate the bladder
muscles and cause nighttime urinary output.
How to Get Started: Plan your sleep and eliminate electronic devices at least 30 minutes prior to bed.
Make sure you receive an adequate amount of sleep, usually 7-8 hours every day, which will help you
feel rested in the morning.
Lifestyle Tip #2: Drink More Water
Get enough water each day! Water keeps you hydrated and improves the performance of your urinary
system. Getting 7 to 8 glasses of water each day is essential. Not drinking enough water, on the other
hand concentrates urine which gives it a strong odor, which makes it even more embarrassing when
you have involuntary bladder leaks.
How to Get Started: The trick is to drink enough water during the day, especially before and after
exercise, to avoid heavy concentrations of urine in your bladder. Be smart about the timing of
fluid/water intake and do not drink anything, especially coffee or carbonated drinks, a couple of hours
before going to the bed to prevent having to get up throughout the night.
Lifestyle Tip #3: Quit or Reduce Consumption of Cigarettes and Alcohol
Smoking and alcohol consumption is harmful to your health and may cause long-term health issues for
your urinary system. There is evidence to suggest that chronic smoking leads to smoker’s cough that can
put enormous pressure on the bladder worsening bladder leaks.
How to Get Started: Quitting and/or reducing consumption of cigarettes and alcohol may lead to better
urinary health outcomes. Since it can be hard to quit these habits, you may want to get advice from your
doctor and seek support from family and friends.
Lifestyle Tip #4: Start Exercising
While conventional exercises can help with overall health, specific exercises like pelvic floor exercises
(Kegels) can help control the impact of urine leakage in men. Doing these exercises daily can strengthen
your muscles down there. It can help reduce the risk of urine leakage when you cough, sneeze, laugh or
have a sudden urge to urinate.
How to Get Started: Do Kegels daily (in three sets; 10 repetitions) by tightening your pelvic muscles,
holding for 3 seconds and then relaxing for 3 seconds. Here is a link to an excellent video showing you how
to do Kegels properly. The good news is that Kegel exercises work for most men, helping to regain
bladder control within 9-12 months.
Lifestyle Tip #5: Protect Your Mental Health
UI is associated with loneliness, which can lead to depression and or other mental health issues. If you are experiencing a decline in your emotional and social well-being, seek help from your family doctor.
How to Get Started: For more information please refer to our page about Coping with the Emotional
Tolls of Urinary Incontinence. As well, the Province of BC has the following resources available:
Province of BC Support
Lifestyle Tip #6: Build a Relationship With Your Family Doctor
This one should be one of the top contenders for your New Year’s resolution for better urinary health
over the age of 60. Even if you have control of your bladder now, the prevalence of UI increases significantly
with advancing age.
How to Get Started: Regular visits with a family doctor or a urologist can help you prepare for UI and
potentially detect other medical conditions associated with urinary function.
Lifestyle Tip #7: Practice Better Bathroom Discipline
Better bathroom discipline is an accumulation of multiple habits that contribute to your urinary health.
How to Get Started: Use the bathroom when needed, take time to urinate, empty your bladder
completely, try to relax when urinating, urinate after sex, and properly wipe yourself afterward.
Lifestyle Tip #8: Find Good Bladder Control Products
Be selective about the bladder control products you try. Do your research, get recommendations from
your urologist or family doctor and select a product that fits all your needs the right way.
How to Get Started: Book a free consultation to talk to Contino® support about your urinary
incontinence and see if the Contino® device might be a good solution for your bladder leakage.
