We use our smartphones just about everywhere, even in the bathroom, though we may not want to talk about that part. A recent study of colonoscopy patients revealed that most used their phones on the toilet at least once a week — and that those phone-on-the-toilet users showed a 46% increased risk for hemorrhoids.
The cause and effect are clear. Caught up in news or games or social media, bathroom users stay seated on the throne longer, with research showing phone users tend to spend more than 5 minutes doing their business. The study says that hemorrhoids are associated with prolonged sitting on the toilet, as well as constipation and increased straining.
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The 125 colonoscopy patients at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Study who participated in the study answered questions about their bathroom phone habits, and endoscopists evaluated their hemorrhoids (just in case you think you have a bad job). Of all the respondents, 66% used smartphones while sitting on the toilet, and those participants tended to be younger than those who didn’t. More than one-third (37.3%) of smartphone users spent more than 5 minutes sitting on the toilet per visit, while only 7.1% of those without smartphones spent that long seated.
When the numbers were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, exercise activity and “straining and fiber intake,” results showed a 46% increased risk for hemorrhoids. Men were more likely than women to spend 6 minutes or more on the toilet, in case you wondered.
Those who used smartphones while on the toilet also admitted to getting less exercise than those who didn’t, which the researchers said “could signify a higher level of engagement with technology and a more sedentary lifestyle outside of the toileting environment.” (Yes, “toileting environment.” Otherwise known as just “the toilet.”)
The most common toilet phone activity was reading news, with 54.3% admitting to doing so, and 44.4% saying they were participating in social media while on the toilet.
The study didn’t directly connect constipation with time spent on the toilet, but Dr. Eamonn Quigley, chairman of gastroenterology at Houston Methodist, told The New York Times that it’s likely those who sit hunched over their phones while on the toilet might be more likely to experience constipation.
If you’re grossed out by the idea of your phone being in close connection with toilet time, you’re not alone. Doctors told the NYT the obvious: Fecal material can get on your hands while you’re wiping and be transferred to your phone, and flushing with the toilet lid open can also spray fecal matter onto your phone. Sure, you wash your hands, but now the stuff is on your phone, so it jumps right back on your hands after you dry them and start scrolling again.
In short, you’re probably going to scroll your phone while occupied in the bathroom. But this study notes that you should be aware that the phone’s fun distractions might make you sit there longer than you planned, and that could have painful consequences.
