Doctor warns you should never sit on the toilet for longer than 10 minutes
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Lucy Lambriex/Svitlana Hulko
For a lot of people, heading to the toilet to do their business is the only part of the day where they can have a bit of time to themselves.
As a result, they will spend ten minutes or even longer scrolling through social media on their phone or even reading a magazine while on the toilet.
Doing such an activity while going for a poo is certainly not uncommon, though you may want to think twice before you watch endless TikTok videos the next time you are on the toilet.
In a NordVPN study, 65 percent of 9,800 adults surveyed said that they take their phone with them when they need the toilet.
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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.
These stats are certainly more alarming than you may think though, as too much time on the toilet can 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 the next time we fall into the TikTok bubble on the toilet.