A urologist has said that men should sit down to pee, following the results of a 13-country survey which found that a lot of men never do that.
On May 16, data analytics firm YouGov released the results of an important survey, breaking down by country what percentage of men pee standing up or sitting. The survey found some interesting differences, including a nearly 40 percent gap between the US and Germany in terms of men who sit down to pee every or most times they need to go.
In the US, just 10 percent of men said they always sat down to pee (when they needed to pee only, and not poop), while 31 percent said they never sit down and 17 percent said they rarely do. Younger men were more inclined than older men to say that they sat down to pee, and less inclined to say that they never sit down to urinate.
In Germany, where most men said they peed sitting down most or every time, YouGov notes there is a mocking term “sitzpinkler” literally meaning someone who sits down to pee. Germans pee sitting down regardless.
So which is best? According to a urologist talking to the Telegraph, sitting down is better for men. As well as being better for hygiene (have you ever noticed there’s less splashing if you place a hose in a bucket, rather than wave it around like a lasso from a significant height above), consultant urological surgeon at the Alexandra Hospital, England, Gerald Collins told the Telegraph that sitting helps you empty your bladder more efficiently.
According to Collins, when you are standing the muscles in your pelvis are tense. As you sit down they relax, making urination faster and easier. He stressed that sitting down was of particular benefit to men as they age and may develop enlarged prostates. Enlarged prostates, in turn, can stop men from emptying their bladder fully, and result in problems from urinary tract infections to bladder stones.
Studies have looked into the topic of peeing standing up vs sitting, particularly focusing on men with enlarged prostates. One study found that patients with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) were able to achieve a better flow when they made the extra effort to sit down.
“We conclude that the sitting posture is the best position for men with urination problems, e.g. due to an enlarged prostate to urinate in, whereas no difference was found in healthy men,” they wrote in their study. “This is clinically important, because residual urine may result in complications such as cystitis and bladder stones.”
Sitting is mainly of benefit to men with enlarged prostates, but given that over 90 percent of men in their 80s have the condition, you might want to get used to sitting down while you are young.
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