Doctor answers how long you should be spending on the toilet with your phone
Topics: Health, Technology
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Tom Wang / Alamy Stock Photo Andriy Popov / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: Health, Technology
A lot of us are guilty of using mobile phones on the toilet, but what many might not expect is that this may actually cause problems.
Having something to keep yourself occupied while on the toilet is nothing new, having a paper or a magazine close by in the bathroom is a tradition that has gone back many years.
But in recent years - as technology has improved - those footy mags have been switched to YouTube videos on our phone and gaming on the Nintendo Switch.
Surveys seem to back up that a lot of us do have a look on our phones while sitting on the toilet, with one conducted earlier this year.
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In a NordVPN study, 65 percent of 9,800 adults surveyed said that they take their phone with them when they need the loo.
In all the countries surveyed, 26-41-year-olds take their phone to the toilet the most, with the Gen-Z generation (18-25) coming in second place.
If you are in Spain, you are more likely to use your phone on the toilet, as almost 80 percent of those surveyed in the country said they use their mobile to keep themselves occupied.
But you should be wary on how long you sit on the toilet with your phone, as too much time could lead to some unexpected health problems.
A gastroenterologist - someone who specialises in the digestive system - told the website Launcher the ideal time.
Dr. Roshini Raj, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone, said: "You generally don’t want to spend more than about on average about 10 minutes."
The doctor added that if you do sit for prolonged periods on the toilet, it can lead to hemorrhoids, and sometimes even swollen veins that can be painful in the anal area.
But the doctor did warn this could also be down to the design of the toilet.
She said: "So the actual anorectal area is hanging a little bit lower than the part that’s supported — your thighs.
"Just by that position, gravity is causing everything to hang a bit, and that is causing pressure on the veins.
"So even if you’re not straining, if you’re just sitting there thinking of something else, doing something else, there is some pressure being applied to those veins."
Dr. Raj added: "I see a lot of people who get food poisoning or catch different things by not having good hygiene practices in the bathroom.
"I just think generally speaking, if you’re on the toilet having a bowel movement or trying to have a movement, you shouldn’t be using your fingers on anything else."
We'll certainly be thinking twice next time we're scrolling through Twitter on the toilet.