How to set up a morning routine that supports regularity

Your colon keeps a schedule, even when your mornings don't. It's relatively quiet overnight, then becomes much more active soon after you wake up and again after you eat. A morning routine that works with that rhythm won't guarantee a perfect bathroom visit every day, but it gives your body a better chance.

Here's a step-by-step routine based on what studies of the colon's daily rhythm have measured.

First, what "regular" really means

Regular doesn't have to mean once a day. In a study of nearly 1,900 adults in Bristol, England, once a day was the single most common pattern, but only 33% of women had a regular 24-hour bowel cycle, and a third of women went less often than daily. Most bowel movements happened in the early morning (Heaton et al., 1992).

So the goal isn't a daily streak. It's comfortable, complete bowel movements without straining, at a rhythm that's normal for you.

Step 1: Wake up at a consistent time

In a University of Iowa study, researchers recorded pressure activity inside the colon of 25 healthy adults over 24 hours as they moved around and ate normal meals. Activity was lowest at night. Waking up triggered a threefold increase in colon activity, and meals a twofold increase. Strong, propagating contractions, the kind that move contents along, happened mostly after waking, after meals or with a bowel movement (Rao et al., 2001).

A consistent wake-up time means that morning surge happens at a predictable point in your day, rather than during your commute one morning and a meeting the next.

Step 2: Have a warm drink, and consider coffee

For some people, coffee is a dependable trigger. In a UK survey of 99 young adults, 29% said coffee brought on the urge to have a bowel movement. In eight of those people, both regular and decaf coffee increased activity in the lower colon within four minutes, and the effect lasted at least 30 minutes. A drink of hot water didn't have that effect (Brown et al., 1990).

In another Iowa study of 12 healthy adults, caffeinated coffee stimulated the colon about as strongly as a 1,000-calorie meal. It was 60% stronger than water and 23% stronger than decaf (Rao et al., 1998).

If coffee works for you and your stomach tolerates it, make it part of the routine. If you don't drink coffee, there's no need to start. A warm drink can still be a pleasant signal to slow down, even though hot water alone didn't stimulate the colon in the study above.

Step 3: Eat breakfast

Meals were the other major trigger for colon activity in the Iowa study, so skipping breakfast removes one of your morning signals. Breakfast doesn't need to be large.

Fruit is worth considering if you lean toward constipation. In a US trial of 79 adults with chronic constipation, 87% of them women, eating two green kiwifruit a day for four weeks increased complete bowel movements. Kiwifruit did about as well as prunes or psyllium on the main measure, with the fewest side effects of the three (Chey et al., 2021).

Step 4: Protect a 10-minute bathroom window

This is the step most people skip. Plan about 10 unhurried minutes, roughly 15 to 30 minutes after breakfast, when you can sit on the toilet without watching the clock.

• If you feel the urge earlier or later, go then rather than postponing.
• Try resting your feet on a small stool and leaning forward with your forearms on your thighs.
• Breathe slowly and don't strain. If nothing happens after about five minutes, get up and try again later.
• Leave your phone in another room so a quick visit doesn't become a long sit.

Step 5: Add a little movement

A short walk, a few stretches or simply moving around while you get ready keeps you upright and active during the part of the day when your colon is most active. If your schedule allows it, a 10-minute walk after breakfast is an easy addition.

Putting it together

1. Wake at about the same time each day, including most weekends.
2. Have a warm drink, and coffee if it suits you.
3. Eat breakfast, ideally with some fruit or a fiber you tolerate.
4. Sit for up to 10 relaxed minutes after breakfast.
5. Move a little before the day takes over.

Give the routine two to three weeks before judging it, and track how many days you have a comfortable bowel movement. If you take a daily probiotic such as Daily Biotic, keeping the bottle next to your coffee maker is an easy way to fold it into the same routine.

When to see a doctor. Talk to your doctor about constipation that is new or getting worse, or a change in your bowel habits that lasts more than a few weeks. See a doctor promptly for blood in your stool, black stools, unexplained weight loss, anemia or severe abdominal pain.

Sources

1. Heaton KW, Radvan J, Cripps H, Mountford RA, Braddon FE, Hughes AO. Defecation frequency and timing, and stool form in the general population: a prospective study. Gut. 1992;33(6):818-24. PMID 1624166
2. Rao SS, Sadeghi P, Beaty J, Kavlock R, Ackerson K. Ambulatory 24-h colonic manometry in healthy humans. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2001;280(4):G629-39. PMID 11254489
3. Brown SR, Cann PA, Read NW. Effect of coffee on distal colon function. Gut. 1990;31(4):450-3. PMID 2338272
4. Rao SS, Welcher K, Zimmerman B, Stumbo P. Is coffee a colonic stimulant? Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 1998;10(2):113-8. PMID 9581985
5. Chey SW, Chey WD, Jackson K, Eswaran S. Exploratory comparative effectiveness trial of green kiwifruit, psyllium, or prunes in US patients with chronic constipation. Am J Gastroenterol. 2021;116(6):1304-1312. PMID 34074830

This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. Talk to your healthcare provider about constipation or bowel changes that are new, persistent or worrying, and before starting a supplement.