Winter and Holiday Stress Can Make Urinary Incontinence Worse
Suffering from incontinence is stressful, and stress can make incontinence worse.
Bladder control issues are aggravated in the winter, too, when cold weather and looming holidays can worsen urinary incontinence. What can you do about stress incontinence during the holiday season?
This article by the Pelvic Awareness Project explains why urinary incontinence may feel worse during the winter months. We’ll also offer practical strategies for women, from managing stress to supporting pelvic floor health, to help you stay confident and comfortable through the holidays.
Is Incontinence Worse During the Holidays?
The winter holiday season often brings joy but also stress. Busy schedules, family gatherings, travel, rich foods, and colder weather can all trigger urinary incontinence symptoms.
Stress hormones can also increase bladder sensitivity, while changes in routine and diet may contribute to urgency or bladder control issues.
So what can women do about bladder control issues and holiday stress? Read on to understand how to manage incontinence despite cold weather and holiday stress.
Understanding Bladder Control Issues
The involuntary leakage of urine is known as urinary incontinence. If you’re suffering from incontinence, you’re not alone. It’s estimated that urine leaks affect up to 50% of adult women, increasing to 75% over the age of 65.(1)
There are different types of incontinence:
- Stress urinary incontinence, or SUI, is when you leak urine because your bladder is under pressure, like when you cough or laugh.
- Urge incontinence is when you have a sudden and urgent need to pee, and you leak urine because you can’t make it to the bathroom.
- A condition known as overactive bladder can cause those sudden urges to urinate, which can be hard to control and lead to leakage.(2)
- Mixed incontinence is when you have more than one type of leakage.
Incontinence can negatively impact your quality of life, including your physical, social, and psychological well-being.(1)
If you have any incontinence symptoms, see your doctor for a diagnosis, as incontinence can be treated. Use the Pelvic Awareness Project’s Physician Finder to find a doctor near you with expertise in women’s health.
Cold Weather and Your Bladder
Do you pee more often when it’s cold outside? Research says “yes.”
Here’s what happens when the weather turns cold:(3)
- The body reduces blood flow to the skin to preserve warmth around your internal organs.
- That increases your blood pressure because more blood pumps through your body.
- The kidneys filter waste out of the blood, so they produce more urine as they have more blood to filter.
- Cold weather means we sweat less, so we lose less fluid and therefore store more urine.
These changes all mean you have to pee more often in the winter. That in turn can make overactive bladder and incontinence problems worse.
Stress Incontinence and Holiday Stress
If you suffer from stress incontinence or other bladder control issues, you understand the anxiety caused by leaks. Research has established that urinary tract conditions like urinary urgency and incontinence cause stress and anxiety.
There’s also evidence that it’s a cycle, because chronic psychological stress can result in the development of symptoms such as urinary frequency, urgency, incontinence, and pelvic pain.(4)
There are also links between bladder incontinence and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, this relationship can go both ways: mental stress can cause incontinence, and incontinence can cause mental stress.(5)
The winter months also bring the start of the holiday season, and many feel added stress at that time of year. For instance, during the traditional U.S. holiday season, which runs from November through January, over 40% of people said their stress increased during this period compared with other times of the year.(6)
That can be bad news for those with bladder control issues.
How To Manage Stress Incontinence During the Holidays
For those with bladder control issues, there are some tactics to help with holiday stress and its impact on your incontinence. Here are some tips to manage incontinence.
Seek Medical Attention
See your doctor if you have anxiety, chronic stress, depression, or other mental health conditions. You should also see a doctor about your incontinence, as you may have an underlying condition that can be treated.
Keep Stress to a Minimum
During the holiday season, it’s easy to get stressed out. That means it’s important to maintain healthy habits that combat stress, such as exercise, healthy eating, meditation, and other stress-busting activities. Don’t be afraid to say no if you’re overwhelmed by too many events, by travel, or by shopping.
Watch Your Diet
Some foods and drinks can aggravate incontinence symptoms, like caffeine, alcohol, carbonated beverages, sugar, acidic foods like citrus fruit or tomatoes, and spicy foods, to name a few.(7) Smoking can also irritate the bladder and cause more frequent urination.(3) If you know what bothers you, indulge in moderation. And don’t skimp on water! Not drinking water can be worse for you, because dehydration leads to concentrated urine that can irritate the bladder and contribute to incontinence.8
Plan Ahead
Whether you’re traveling on a plane or attending a work reception, plan ahead. That means knowing where the restrooms are located, visiting the bathroom whenever possible, and even wearing incontinence undergarments to give you an added level of confidence.
Stay Active
Mental stress can affect your muscles, causing your neck or shoulders to feel tense. For some women, stress can result in weakened pelvic floor muscles, one of the main causes of urinary incontinence. If you already have bladder control issues, that can make them worse.(5) Adding pelvic floor muscle exercises to your daily routine can help treat or even prevent the weakened muscles that can lead to SUI and other pelvic conditions.
If you want to learn more about pelvic floor exercises, review this complete guide to Kegels —the name given to these vital exercises for women of all ages.
Enjoy the Holiday Season
Bladder control issues can be made worse by the stress brought on during the holiday season, as well as by changes to your diet, lack of exercise, and colder weather. By understanding urinary incontinence and planning accordingly, you can enjoy all the benefits of winter and the holidays with friends and family.
If your incontinence seems to be getting worse, help is available. The Pelvic Awareness Project connects women to trusted providers who specialize in pelvic health.
Find a pelvic health doctor near you who specializes in women's pelvic health with our Physician Finder Tool.
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2- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/overactive-bladder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355715
3- https://www.urologygroup.com/urology-shivers-cooler-temps-lead-to-certain-urinary-conditions/
4- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34132480
5- https://nafc.org/bhealth-blog/the-surprising-effects-of-stress-on-your-bladder
6- https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/11/holiday-season-stress
7- https://nafc.org/bhealth-blog/the-truth-about-sugar-and-incontinence/
8- https://myconfidentlife.com/blog/4-tips-to-survive-holiday-travel-with-incontinence
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