The short answer: clench your external anal sphincter, stay still, and wait it out. Your body actually absorbs most intestinal gas back into your bloodstream on its own, so holding one in temporarily is both doable and unlikely to cause harm. Here’s how it works and what to know.
The Muscles That Give You Control
Your anal canal is controlled by two rings of muscle. The internal sphincter handles about 85% of resting muscle tone and operates entirely on autopilot. You can’t consciously control it. The external sphincter contributes the remaining 15% and is fully voluntary. That’s the muscle you’re engaging when you actively hold gas in.
A second muscle called the puborectalis works alongside the external sphincter. When you squeeze both together, they close the anal canal tightly enough to prevent gas (or anything else) from escaping. This is the same squeeze you’d use if you were trying to stop urinating midstream, just directed at the back instead of the front.
How to Actually Hold It In
When you feel pressure building, tighten your external sphincter by squeezing as if you’re trying to stop yourself from going to the bathroom. A few practical tips make this easier:
- Stay still. Movement, especially walking or bending, shifts pressure in your abdomen and makes it harder to keep the sphincter closed. If you’re seated, stay seated.
- Avoid clenching your abs. Tightening your stomach muscles increases pressure on your intestines, which works against you. Focus the squeeze low and behind, not in your midsection.
- Don’t cross your legs tightly. This can increase abdominal pressure. Sitting upright with both feet on the floor gives you more control.
- Breathe slowly. Deep, steady breathing keeps your diaphragm from pushing down on your intestines. Shallow, tense breathing does the opposite.
The urge typically passes within 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. That’s partly because the gas shifts position in your colon, and partly because your body starts reabsorbing it.
Where the Gas Goes If You Don’t Release It
About 80% of the gas produced in your colon never exits as flatulence in the first place. It gets absorbed through the intestinal lining, enters your bloodstream, travels to your lungs, and leaves your body when you exhale. Only about 20 to 25% of intestinal gas is actually expelled as a fart. When you hold one in, you’re essentially giving your body more time to handle it through that absorption route. The gas doesn’t just sit there building up indefinitely.
That said, some of it will migrate back up through your intestines, which can cause temporary bloating, mild cramping, or that gurgling stomach noise that’s almost as embarrassing as the alternative.
Is Holding It In Bad for You?
In the short term, the main consequences are discomfort: bloating, abdominal pain, indigestion, and sometimes heartburn as trapped gas puts pressure on your digestive tract. These resolve once you finally release the gas or your body absorbs it.
The long-term question is less clear. Research from the 1970s suggested that habitually holding in gas could be associated with diverticulitis, a condition where small pouches in the intestinal wall become inflamed or infected. But that link hasn’t been confirmed by more recent studies, and most gastroenterologists don’t consider occasional suppression a real risk. The key word is “occasional.” If you’re clenching through every meeting, every car ride, and every elevator, you’re putting chronic strain on muscles and chronic pressure on your intestinal walls in a way that probably isn’t ideal.
Why You Can’t Hold It In During Sleep
If you’ve ever wondered why mornings feel particularly gassy, it’s because your external sphincter relaxes when you fall asleep. You lose voluntary control, and any gas that’s built up overnight escapes on its own. Lying down also slows your digestive system, giving gut bacteria more time to produce gas. By the time you’re in deep sleep, there’s more gas and less muscle resistance. This is completely normal and not something you can train away.
Reducing Gas Before It Becomes a Problem
The average healthy adult passes gas 14 to 23 times per day. If you’re frequently in situations where you need to hold it in, the more sustainable approach is producing less gas in the first place.
The biggest gas producers are foods that your small intestine can’t fully break down, leaving them for bacteria in your colon to ferment. Beans, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower), onions, and whole grains are common culprits. Carbonated drinks add gas directly. Chewing gum and eating quickly cause you to swallow extra air, which has to go somewhere.
Eating smaller meals, chewing slowly, and avoiding carbonation before social situations where you’d rather stay quiet can make a noticeable difference. A short walk after eating speeds up digestion and helps gas pass before it accumulates. Going for a walk 20 to 30 minutes after a meal is one of the simplest ways to avoid the problem entirely.
If you’re consistently passing gas more than 23 times a day, or if it comes with pain, changes in your stool, or unintentional weight loss, that pattern can point to food intolerances, bacterial overgrowth, or other digestive conditions worth investigating.