featured-image

If you're regularly waking up , there are some easy ways to build a more productive morning bathroom routine. "Bowel movements go in cycles for many individuals, like it's part of their rhythm," Dr. Felice Schnoll-Sussman, a gastroenterologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, tells TODAY.

com. And most of us "would love to wake up in the morning, have a bowel movement and be done with it," she says. While that , there are some ways to tailor your morning routine to encourage a healthy bowel movement.



The colon naturally has increased motility — movement via muscle contractions — in the morning, Dr. Ekta Gupta, associate professor of medicine in the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at Johns Hopkins University, tells TODAY.com.

So it makes sense to “develop a bowel regimen that takes advantage of that” in order to have a bowel movement, she explains. And, the experts say, enhancing that natural motility with a few other gut-healthy habits, like drinking warm liquids and doing some light activity, can further encourage a bowel movement. Not necessarily.

The truth is that , and for many, that's perfectly fine, Schnoll-Sussman explains. What really matters is whether or not that's generally a normal pattern for you, she says. Some people have a healthy bowel movement every morning (or even multiple times a day) like clockwork while others only poop once every few days and still feel fine.

If you notice a prolonged change in your bowel habits, that can be a sign of se.

Back to Health Page