People love to joke about not even being able to go to the toilet without bringing a phone with you these days, but it turns out your bathroom scrolling habit may be doing more harm than you think.
A new study in PLOS One suggests that spending bathroom breaks on your phone might increase the risk of hemorrhoids. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston surveyed 125 adults undergoing routine colonoscopies to learn more about their bathroom habits.
Two-thirds of participants admitted they regularly used their phones while on the toilet. And those who scrolled stayed put longer—37.3% spent more than five minutes on the toilet per bathroom visit, compared to just 7.1% of non-phone users. Roughly 35% of bathroom smart phone users acknowledged that using their phone contributed to that increased time.
When doctors looked at the colonoscopy results, they found that 43% of all participants had hemorrhoids. After adjusting for other known risk factors such as age, sex, BMI, exercise levels, fiber intake, and straining, they determined that phone use on the toilet was associated with a 46% greater risk of hemorrhoids.
What are hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the rectum or around the anus. They can cause itching, pain or discomfort, swelling, and sometimes bleeding, but they aren’t usually dangerous. They tend to show up when there’s extra pressure in the area, meaning they might make an appearance during pregnancy, after bouts of constipation, after regular lifting of heavy objects, or, as demonstrated by this study, from sitting too long.
Why phones make things worse
Experts have long warned that sitting too long on the toilet can strain rectal veins. Unlike sitting in a chair, where the pelvic floor has support, perching on an open toilet seat leaves that area under more pressure.
“It is possible that time spent on the toilet is a more accurate predictor of hemorrhoids than straining,” the study concluded. “Furthermore, we found that smartphone users on the toilet engaged in less exercise per week than non-smart phone users, which could signify a higher level of engagement with technology and a more sedentary lifestyle outside of the toileting environment.”
However, the study does have its limits. Researchers noted that participants were all adults aged 45 and older who were already undergoing a screening colonoscopy. They also pointed out that it didn’t take into account phone usage on toilets over a longer period of time, which could create bad habits and contribute to the increased risk of hemorrhoids beyond the scope of this particular study.
How to lower your risk
Still, the team behind the study hopes that this will pave the way for more research to be done into the possible connection between phone usage on the toilet and those pesky hemorrhoids. But there are plenty of things you can do now to decrease your personal risk.
Some of the advice here is familiar, as it already pertains to overall health—stay active, eat enough fiber, and avoid prolonged sitting in general. When you’re on the toilet, try to avoid straining and keep bathroom breaks short.
One way to accomplish that? You guessed it; pry yourself away from your phone for just a few short minutes when you’re headed for toilet time. You can go right back to doomscrolling as soon as you’re done.
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