During a recent happy hour, a few friends and I found ourselves discussing the phenomenon called “breaking the seal”. This is where a person can be drinking at a bar/pub for a few hours before needing to use the restroom for the first time, but then will need to go every 10-15 minutes afterwards.
My own personal theory–a rather blithe one–has attributed this to (pardon the expression) a “bucket brigade” model of the bladder, i.e. it takes about two hours before that first drink makes it’s way–er–down the pipe, and the drinks you’ve had in the meantime follow quickly in succession.
One of us, however, argued that the diuretic effects of alcohol were to blame. He cites (1) the fact that this phenomenon occurs with mixed-drink imbibers, even though on average they consume a smaller volume of fluid than straight beer-drinkers, and (2) the phenomenon is also seen with drinkers of caffeinated beverages like coffee, but is not as pronounced in non-caffeinated beverages like water.
His points seem anecdotal (like the evidence cited in any bar argument), but have piqued my curiosity, so I thought I’d throw the question out to the Teeming Millions. Does anyone know of a physiological reason for this phenomenon?
You’re both right. Alcohol’s diuretic effect is a significant factor, but it’s not instantaneous. There’s a delayed reaction, but it applies to all those drinks you’ve had for the last hour or two, a la your bucket brigade analogy.
There was a thread on this sometime within the last year. I imagine if you search on “breaking the seal” you’ll find it.
I subscribe to the “bucket brigade” theory as well, except I visualize it like a sponge that you’re slowly and steadily pouring water into. Eventually, it is going to get to the point where the water starts leaking out, and from that point on, it will leak pretty much constantly.
I get this effect from non-alcoholic drinks like diet coke and fizzy water (no caffiene). I actually seem to end up peeing a lot more if I just drink the fizzy water than if I just drink diet coke, so I don’t think the diuretic effect of caffiene is having as much of an impact as the sheer volume of liquid you’re drinking.