# Why do I only have to pee \*after\* I get comfortable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 9, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492 "2009-04-09T11:55:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wmdkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19adc/32.png) [@wmdkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmdkitty)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/1 "2009-04-09T11:55:01Z")
I swear, I never have to pee until it’s horribly inconvenient. I’ll get settled in to bed, really _into_ a book, or otherwise comfortable/occupied, and – not five minutes later – I’m up and heading for the commode. Does anyone else experience this phenomenon? What causes this? ---
**Author:** ![wmdkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19adc/32.png) [@wmdkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmdkitty)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/2 "2009-04-09T11:57:01Z")
Yes, double-posts are bad – I just forgot to change the notifications for this thread. ^\_^; I apologize! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/3 "2009-04-09T12:55:37Z")
Maybe it’s _because_ you’ve relaxed that your body releases its grip as it were and says, “NOW.” ---
**Author:** ![wmdkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19adc/32.png) [@wmdkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmdkitty)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/4 "2009-04-09T12:58:17Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Maybe it’s _because_ you’ve relaxed that your body releases its grip as it were and says, “NOW.” That’s about what Mom figured, too. Oh, god, road-trips with me are NOT fun – Every. Other. Rest. Stop. (Or it feels like it, at least…) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/5 "2009-04-09T13:30:52Z")
I’ve wondered about the in bed thing myself. When we’re upright, our badders are in a different position than when we’re prone, so the urine must shift too. Does that account for the sensation of “needing” to go, when we get up and barely pee? ---
**Author:** ![wmdkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19adc/32.png) [@wmdkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmdkitty)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/6 "2009-04-09T13:32:44Z")
I’ve wondered that, too. Hey, do we have any MDs on the boards? ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/7 "2009-04-09T14:50:09Z")
I have always assumed it’s because when you’re active, your brain is receiving many signals. A low-level need to urinate is competing for attention with all the other things you are doing. When you get comfortable and remain still, that signal can now be heard clearly because there is nothing else going on. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-only-have-to-pee-after-i-get-comfortable/492492/8 "2009-04-09T15:32:09Z")
This happens to me too. I wonder if when Im active and busy my body is more focused on the tasks at hand. When Ive had a chance to loosen up I can hear the less important messages in my body’s network like “go pee” or “your back hurts a little” or “the top of your head itches.” Or what muttrox said. 🙂