If you’re struggling to have a bowel movement, the fastest options are changing your body position, drinking coffee, or trying an over-the-counter laxative. For longer-term relief, adjusting your fiber intake, staying active, and building consistent habits can keep things moving. Here’s what actually works, starting with what you can do right now.
Change Your Sitting Position
The way you sit on the toilet matters more than most people realize. When you sit upright on a standard toilet, the muscle that wraps around your rectum only partially relaxes, keeping the passage at an 80- to 90-degree angle. That bend means you have to push harder to get stool out.
Raising your knees above your hips straightens that angle to about 100 to 110 degrees, which lets the rectum open more fully. The simplest way to do this is placing a footstool or a stack of books under your feet. In one study, using a footstool cut the average time to finish from about 113 seconds down to 56 seconds and nearly halved the amount of straining participants reported. You don’t need a branded product. Anything sturdy that raises your feet 6 to 9 inches off the floor works. Lean forward slightly, rest your elbows on your knees, and let gravity help.
Drink Coffee
Coffee stimulates the muscles in your colon surprisingly fast. Colonic activity increases as quickly as four minutes after drinking it, with the strongest effects happening within 30 minutes. This isn’t just a caffeine effect. Decaf coffee triggers the same response, likely because coffee prompts your body to release gut hormones that speed up motility. If you’re looking for something to get things moving in the next half hour, a warm cup of coffee is one of the most reliable options.
Try Prunes or Prune Juice
Prunes contain sorbitol, a natural sugar alcohol that draws water into the intestines and softens stool. They also have fiber and plant compounds that support gut motility. In a clinical trial, participants who drank about 54 grams of prune juice daily (roughly a quarter cup) saw improvements in stool consistency and frequency over several weeks. For a quicker effect, eating 4 to 6 whole prunes or drinking a small glass of warm prune juice can often produce a bowel movement within a few hours.
Massage Your Abdomen
Abdominal massage mimics the natural wave-like contractions your intestines use to move stool along. You can do it yourself: lie on your back with your knees bent, place your hands on the lower right side of your abdomen, and use firm but gentle circular pressure moving up the right side, across the top of your belly, and down the left side. This follows the path of your colon.
The research behind this is surprisingly strong. In one study of people with slow-transit constipation, 15-minute massage sessions twice a day for two weeks cut colon transit time nearly in half. Multiple trials in older adults found that regular abdominal massage improved stool frequency, consistency, and bloating while reducing straining. Even 10 to 15 minutes of self-massage can be worth trying when you feel backed up.
Use an Over-the-Counter Laxative
When home remedies aren’t enough, three main types of laxatives are available without a prescription, and they work differently.
- Osmotic laxatives (like polyethylene glycol, sold as MiraLAX) pull water into your intestines to soften stool and make it easier to pass. These are gentle and are the type most recommended by gastroenterology guidelines as a first-line option. They typically take 1 to 3 days to work.
- Stimulant laxatives (like bisacodyl or senna) trigger your intestinal muscles to contract more forcefully while also reducing water absorption. These tend to work faster, often within 6 to 12 hours, and are useful for more stubborn constipation. They’re not ideal for daily long-term use.
- Stool softeners (like docusate) lower the surface tension of stool so water and fats can penetrate it. They’re the mildest option and work best as a preventive measure rather than a rescue remedy.
Joint guidelines from the American Gastroenterological Association and American College of Gastroenterology recommend starting with fiber supplements, then moving to an osmotic laxative if fiber alone isn’t enough.
Increase Your Fiber Gradually
Fiber is the single most consistently recommended long-term fix for constipation. It adds bulk to stool and helps it retain water, making it softer and easier to move through your system. The recommended target is 30 grams per day, and most people fall well short of that.
Good sources include beans, lentils, oats, whole grain bread, berries, broccoli, and pears. If you’re not used to eating much fiber, increase your intake slowly over a week or two. Jumping from 10 grams to 30 grams overnight can cause bloating and gas that makes you feel worse before you feel better. A fiber supplement like psyllium husk is another option if getting enough through food alone is difficult.
Move Your Body
Physical activity speeds up the time it takes for food to travel through your colon. In a 12-week study, participants who did 40 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week reduced their total colon transit time from about 54 hours to 30 hours. The control group saw no change. Even a 20-minute walk can stimulate the muscles in your intestines. If you’re feeling stuck right now, a brisk walk around the block may be enough to get things going.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration makes stool harder and more difficult to pass. Epidemiological studies consistently show an association between low fluid intake and constipation, though simply drinking extra water on top of an already adequate intake won’t necessarily make you more regular. The practical takeaway: if you’re not drinking enough fluids throughout the day, increasing your water intake can help, especially when you’re also eating more fiber. Fiber works by absorbing water, so the two go hand in hand.
Build a Consistent Routine
Your colon is most active in the morning, particularly after eating. Sitting on the toilet for 5 to 10 minutes after breakfast, even if you don’t feel an immediate urge, takes advantage of this natural rhythm. Over time, this trains your body to expect a bowel movement at that time. Ignoring the urge to go when it does hit, whether because you’re busy or in an uncomfortable setting, can dull the signals your body sends and contribute to constipation over time.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Occasional constipation is extremely common and usually responds to the strategies above. But certain patterns warrant a conversation with your doctor: unexplained weight loss, blood in your stool, significant abdominal pain, or constipation that starts suddenly without an obvious cause like a medication change or dietary shift. These can be signs that something beyond simple constipation needs evaluation, particularly if you’re over 45 and haven’t had a colonoscopy.