Setting your poop clock in easy steps

Your body is actually programmed to poop in the morning:

During sleep, colon motility generally stops, and as soon as you wake up stimulating waves from the colon moves stool to the top of the rectum. Once the rectum senses the stool it signals the brain that it's time to head to the toilet. Yes, you can train yourself for regular BM by using the bathroom at the same time every day.

The gastrocolic reflex helps BM:

After eating food, when the stomach stretches it releasing hormones which signal the colon to squeeze and move stool out.

Following the below mentioned tips can help schedule Bowel Movement:

Keep a BM diary:

Yes, monitor yourself to understand what you're eating when you are having a regular BM, this will help you connect the dots on how to change your lifestyle and habits for regularizing BM.

Load up on foods with fiber:

Fiber-rich foods create an osmotic gradient—that means they force more water to be pulled into the colon during digestion. This helps ease and prevent constipation. Good sources of fiber include fruits, veggies, beans and whole grains like barley and bulgur. BM may go haywire by stress, traveling, change in diet, lack of sleep or an infection.

Or, take a fiber supplement:

You can get the same effects from ‘psyllium husk’ ( ispaghula ) before going to bed. This is a natural fiber and should help you get in the habit or train your body to poop when you wake up in the morning.

Stay hydrated:

This means drinking enough fluids by aiming for about 11 to 16 cups. Water intake includes fluids and water-rich foods (like fruits and vegetables). When the body is poorly hydrated, it will compensate by withdrawing water from the large intestine (colon) resulting in hard stools.

Drink hot tea or coffee:

These are catalysts to jumpstart your gastrointestinal tract. Caffeine or green teas are stimulants in the morning to kicks off things. Caffeine primes your body into adapting to a morning poop routine.

Eat Breakfast:

You might be skipping breakfast because you're not hungry in the morning or are following intermittent fasting and eating later or you don’t like to have breakfast. But if you want to train your body for morning poop schedule, eating helps because it triggers gastrocolic reflex.

Listen to the Urge:

Don’t ignore or delay the ‘gotta go’ feeling, with your busy lifestyle. Listening to the urge helps maintain a normal stooling pattern.

If You Don't Succeed, Try Again Tomorrow:

Go to the bathroom and see if you can go. But don't sit there for a half hour on your phone — that can cause straining which creates problems.

Try squatting over the toilet when you think you might be ready to go:

The squatting position can be mimicked by putting a stool under your feet to raise your knees up. Squatting modifies the anatomy by relaxing the muscles in that area while also elevate the part of your colon that makes for easier emptying of the bowel.

Exercise:

Because hiking, walking on uneven grounds, jogging, and biking can all increase your metabolism, which in turn increases intestinal motility. Incorporate short regular workouts into your routine.

Or try a prescription laxative:

Talk your doctor about trying prescription laxatives but this should be left as a last resort because the downside of laxative medications is the body can get used to them, so eventually you might not be able to go poop without.

Know When to Call Your Doctor:

Your BM can send some pretty clear alarm signals when things are off. Visit FirstCure Health and see a doctor for any presence of blood (but especially if you have a family history of colon cancer) or for drastic changes in your BMs.