We've all been there.
You're at your local bar and you've had a drink,
or three.
And it seems every five minutes
you're making a trip to the bathroom.
This commonly referred to as breaking the seal.
And urban myth that says when drinking alcohol
once you pee a seal is broken in your body,
which then leads to you using the bathroom constantly.
But does our body really have a seal?
To find out, we're talking to one of Australia's
most trusted scientists
to learn all about the science of peeing
while intoxicated.
(shimmering music)
(violin music)
- I'll give it to you in six words
separated by a comma,
In other words,
And this related to two factors.
,and you having a lot.
So let's look at the drugs part.
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- [Andrew] For thousands of years
fermented grain, fruit, juice and honey
have all been used to make alcohol.
- [Announcer] It has a pungent odor
and a burning sweet taste.
- [Andrew] The Babylonians praised the wine goddesses
as early 2700 BC.
And the Ancient Egyptians were paid in bread and beer,
to build pyramids.
Each worker would only receive about
four liters of beer per day,
so they wouldn't dehydrate on the job.
Alcohol impacts neurochemicals related to pleasure
motivation, inhibition,
and you guessed it, peeing.
That's why moderation is important.
Fun fact, on average the human body is 60% water.
All this water fills our organs tissues and muscles
to help regulate our temperature,
distribute oxygen through the body and flush out waste.
Mostly urine.
This is due to high levels of
A hormone stored and released from the pituitary gland
that helps the body stay hydrated
by maintaining the right balance of water
and mineral salts.
But when you drink alcohol your vasopressin levels
are impacted and suppressed.
Making you pee without much control.
Basically it's like removing the dam from your kidneys
and causing the drinks to run right through you.
And because your body isn't releasing more vasopressin
to end the cycle,
the more alcohol you drink,
Eventually, this leads to clear pee
and possibly dehydration.
- It's related to the fact that people
have got a certain bladder capacity.
Once you get to that sort of 500, 400 mls
you're thinking, mm probably gotta go soon
and you can make it go away.
And then 600 you can make it go away,
by 700, you've really gotta make it happen.
What's happening is that
How much urine do you usually generate?
But when you're drinking alcohol,
first you're having huge volumes
and then secondly for every 200 in 320's going out.
You've cranked it up from that one,
to about 1.6 or something.
- Experts say
When you have your first drink
there's already vasopressin in your system
so it takes some time and couple drinks
before the hormone level decreases
and urine production vamps up.
The more you drink, the worse it gets.
And if you're drinking champagne or anything with soda
that could be a double whammy.
The carbonation of drinks can cause gas and pressure
which can make it
There's an urban legend that you prevent
constant urination by balancing
your alcohol content with water.
Or, holding in your pee for as long as possible.
But this could be potentially dangerous since
And nobody wants that.
- If you drink more water
it is going to have to leave your body.
You're just adding molecules of H2O.
They're going into your body.
So your kidneys have been programmed,
reset, to throw out more.
And you're throwing in more
so you're just gonna have to pass out even more again.
- Now some of you may argue that constant urination
is not a big deal.
And it's not a bad price to pay for having a good time.
Fair enough.
But be aware, it could lead to dehydration and headaches.
So chances are if you're peeing a lot,
- Can you prevent the drinking the seal
or getting dehydrated?
No.
If you go out in a thunderstorm you'll get wet.
If you drop a pencil off a table it will fall down.
It's just part of daily living.
You're just gonna have live with it.
And the thing is that when you're drinking alcohol,
you don't really digest the foods
that you've eaten until the alcohol has been processed
by your liver.
So, really you wanna
Alcohol can be a good servant but a bad master.
- So there you go.
If you're peeing a lot, you're drinking a lot.
There's no magical seal in your body
just a lack of vasopressin.
If you wanna limit your trips to the bathroom
then you need to
Just remember, moderation is key.
But you can do whatever you want, it's your life.