It’s not an uncommon practice for those of us who own smartphones (which is most of us) to grab them for a distraction when we head off to the loo. It turns out that this could be damaging to your physical health. A new study suggests that scrolling through your phone while sitting on the toilet could increase your risk of hemorrhoids.
The researchers conducted a study of 125 colonoscopy patients aged 45 and older, in which they reviewed their colonoscopy results and asked questions about their smartphone habits while on the porcelain throne. More than two-thirds reported using their smartphone while on the toilet, stating that they spent more than five minutes there per visit, a much longer time than those who typically went smartphone-free. The study found that smartphone use on the toilet was associated with a 46 percent increased risk of hemorrhoids, even when controlled for other risk factors such as age, sex, exercise, fiber intake, and straining.
According to co-author Dr. Trisha Pasricha, this is likely because the kind of scrolling that people are doing on their phones, like reading the news or social media, makes them lose track of time. When you sit on the bowl for too long with no support for your pelvic floor, this can more quickly weaken the connective tissue around the veins, causing them to bulge and then become hemorrhoids. Pasricha recommends sticking to old-fashioned paper reading materials, or foregoing distractions altogether. “Leave your smartphone outside because when you go in you have just one job, and you should focus on that job,” she says.
