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People have a habit of taking their phones into the bathroom. A three-minute trip to the bathroom can easily turn into 15 minutes of reading, browsing and posting.
It might seem like a harmless way to pass the time when you’re somewhere else.
But experts warn that what they call prolonged sitting on the toilet can harm your health. It’s even been linked to an increased risk of hemorrhoids and weakened pelvic muscles, said Lai Xue, an American colorectal surgeon at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
“When patients come to me with complaints, one of the main areas we have to dive deep into is spending a lot of time on the toilet,” Xue said.
Here’s what happens when you go over your toilet time.
Potty problems due to sitting for too long
People should spend an average of five to 10 minutes on the toilet, says Farah Monzur, assistant professor of medicine and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Stony Brook Medicine in Long Island, New York.
Why is it a problem if you stay longer? First, here’s a quick physics lesson. Gravity keeps us grounded on Earth, but that same gravity also makes the body work harder to pump blood back to the heart, Xue said.
An open oval-shaped toilet seat squeezes the buttocks, keeping the rectum in a lower position than if you were sitting on the couch. With gravity pulling the lower half of your body down, the increased pressure affects your blood circulation.
“It becomes a one-way value where the blood goes in, but the blood can’t really go back,” Xue said.
As a result, the veins and blood vessels surrounding the anus and the lower part of the rectum become enlarged and filled with blood, increasing the risk of hemorrhoids.
Forceful straining can also increase pressure and allow hemorrhoids to form. People scrolling through their phones on the toilet tend to lose track of time, Monzur said, sitting up and straining his muscles to defecate.
And guess what? Your doctors can tell. “Today, we see an increase in people spending more time on the toilet, which is very unhealthy for the anorectal organs and the pelvic floor,” added Xue.
In addition to weakened anal muscles and forced straining, Monzur said sitting on the toilet bowl for too long can also increase the risk of rectal prolapse. Rectal prolapse is when the rectum, part of the large intestine, slides down and protrudes from the anus.
Pelvic floor muscles are another type of muscle weakened by prolonged sitting on the toilet. Xue explained that the pelvic floor muscles coordinate a significant amount of bowel movement and work with the rest of the body to ensure the smooth passage of stool. Gravitational pressure on the pelvic floor strains the muscles during prolonged sitting.
Take more care of the time in the bathroom
To avoid spending too much time on the porcelain throne, Lance Uradomo, an interventional gastroenterologist at City of Hope Orange County in Irvine, California, advised keeping phones, magazines and books out of the bathroom.
“You don’t want to go in thinking you’re going to be there for a long time. Because then you’ll want to bring something to occupy your mind,” Monzur said. “Make sitting on the toilet bowl as uninteresting as possible.”
If you have trouble defecating, Xue advises stopping after 10 minutes. Instead, take a short walk around – as movement can stimulate the bowel muscles to produce stool. Xue also recommended staying hydrated and eating high-fiber foods such as oats and beans to achieve regular bowel movements and avoid straining.
Need to know how much? The US National Academy of Medicine recommends 2.7 to 3.7 liters of water per day. Additionally, the USDA recommends 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories of food. Xue said the fiber and water soften the stool and make it easier to pass.
Long time in the bathroom and colon cancer
However, there are situations where people have to spend an unusually long time on the toilet. Constant difficulty or discomfort when passing stool can be a symptom of gastrointestinal problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.
Worsening constipation or the need to sit on the toilet for a long time can also be a sign of cancer. “If a growth inside the colon grows large enough, it can block the flow of your stool, which can cause constipation and bleeding,” Uradomo said.
The American Cancer Society recently reported an increase in colon cancer rates among people under 55 since the mid-1990s, and the nonprofit estimates there will be 106,590 new cases of colon cancer and 46,220 new cases of rectal cancer this year.
In Uradomo’s career, he recalled several young people who talked to him about hemorrhoids and constipation, and were later diagnosed with rectal cancer.
If you’ve had these symptoms of constipation or have been sitting on the toilet for more than three weeks, Monzur said it may be time to bring your concerns to your doctor.
Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your primary care physician may refer you to a gastroenterologist or colorectal surgeon for a more detailed examination.
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