Is that me on the toilet? Here are the surprising reasons your bathroom habits may be causing hemorrhoids. Get ready for some learnin’.
Let’s be honest. Most of us aren’t just pooping when we’re sitting on the toilet anymore. We’re scrolling Instagram. Reading emails. Watching TikTok. Arguing with strangers on Facebook. Taking a little breather from the chaos that lurks outside the bathroom door. Sometimes we forget why we sat down in the first place.
And while it might seem harmless, spending too much time on the toilet can actually contribute to some very common anorectal problems.
So how long is too long? The answer is probably shorter than you think.
The Five-Minute Rule
As a colorectal surgeon, I generally recommend trying to keep toilet time to five minutes or less. I usually tell my patients, two to five minutes MAX.
This rule is based on physiology– it’s based on SCIENCE. One of the chapters in my book talks about how all mammals poop in 12 seconds. That’s right, the perfect “no-push, no-wipe” poop (- my friend Ellen) should slide out in twelve seconds. Mammals were designed that way. Pooping shouldn’t take longer than two minutes, so I’ll give you an extra three minutes to decompress and wipe. Because the longer you sit, the more pressure builds within the veins of the rectum and anus.
Think of the toilet seat as a hammock for your hemorrhoids. When you’re sitting upright, your buttocks are supported. When you’re sitting on a toilet seat, the tissues of the anus and rectum are suspended over an opening. Gravity pulls downward on those tissues, and blood can pool in the hemorrhoidal veins.
The longer you sit, the greater the pressure. (That’s why I don’t approve of those white plastic sitz tubs that go over your toilet seat, either. They can cause more harm than good.)
So, people with chronic constipation and prolonged toilet sitting are more likely to develop symptomatic hemorrhoids.
To be clear, sitting on the toilet is not the only cause of hemorrhoids. Genetics, pregnancy, chronic constipation, diarrhea, obesity, and aging all play a role. But reducing unnecessary toilet time is one of the easiest risk factors to modify.
Why Reading on the Toilet Is a Problem
Historically, people brought newspapers into the bathroom. An old saying from a proctologist was, “Leave your books out of the bathroom!”
Now, I have to say, “Leave your phones out of the bathroom!” Also, isn’t it a little gross? Our phones are already covered with fingerprints, food residue, and plenty of bacteria from everything we touch throughout the day; in some cases, they harbor more bacteria than some bathroom surfaces! The last thing they need is a trip to the bathroom. If you need another reason to leave your phone outside while you poop, think of it as good hygiene for both your hemorrhoids and your screen.
The Harvard Study That Made Headlines
I’ve had patients tell me they spend twenty or thirty minutes on the toilet every morning. By the time they stand up, their hemorrhoids are swollen, irritated, and sometimes prolapsing.
Studies have found that many people spend significantly more time on the toilet when using smartphones. In 2025, we got the modern data to support what we’ve been telling patients for years. The problem isn’t necessarily the phone itself—it’s that it keeps us sitting long after our bowel movement is complete, as senior author Dr. Trisha Pasricha explained.
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, studied 125 adults undergoing screening colonoscopy and examined whether smartphone use on the toilet was associated with hemorrhoids. The results were striking. Smartphone users had a 46% higher likelihood of having hemorrhoids than non-users, even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, physical activity, fiber intake, constipation, and straining. Although I argue that the study should have also included anoscopy (I’ll work on that next), the findings seem valid and show that constipation and straining alone did not explain the higher chance of hemorrhoids. Instead, the biggest difference was time spent on the toilet. About 37% of smartphone users spent more than five minutes per bathroom visit, compared with only 7% of non-users. Smartphone users were also approximately five times more likely to exceed the five-minute mark. The researchers theorized that scrolling may prolong toilet sitting without people realizing it. When we’re reading social media, news articles, or watching videos, we lose track of time. Meanwhile, we’re still sitting on a toilet seat that provides little support to the pelvic floor and allows increased pressure to accumulate within the hemorrhoidal cushions.
If you find yourself scrolling after you’ve already finished, that’s a sign it’s time to get up.
What About Constipation?
Many people stay on the toilet because they feel like there’s more stool to come. Unfortunately, forcing it usually doesn’t help.
If a bowel movement isn’t happening within a few minutes, continued straining often creates more pressure without producing results. Remember, all mammals poop in 12 seconds.
Instead, try standing up, walking around, drinking some water, or returning later when your body’s natural urge is stronger.
One of the Ten Bowel Commandments in Constipation Nation is simple:
Go when you have to go, and don’t go when you don’t.
Your colon works best when you cooperate with it, not when you wrestle with it.
What About Squatty Potties?
A footstool can help some people (only 15-20% of people) by improving the angle between the rectum and anus, making bowel movements easier and reducing straining.
The footstool is not a license for a 45-minute scrolling session. Even with a Squatty Potty, the goal is still the same:
Poop or get off the pot! (Check out this phrase on our PopSocket…ironically, for your phone.)
Signs You May Be Spending Too Long on the Toilet
You may be lingering too long if:
Your legs frequently fall asleep
You routinely spend more than 10–15 minutes in the bathroom
You find yourself scrolling long after you’ve finished
You notice worsening hemorrhoids or rectal pressure
You strain repeatedly without success
If any of those sound familiar, your bathroom habits may be contributing to your symptoms.
The Bottom Line
Your bathroom should be a pit stop, not a vacation destination. In the TikTok era, the biggest threat to your hemorrhoids may not be constipation—it may be doomscrolling. Most bowel movements should take only a few minutes. If you’re consistently spending ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes on the toilet, it’s worth asking whether the problem is constipation, pelvic floor dysfunction, or simply a habit that has gotten out of control.
So the next time you sit down to poop, leave your phone outside the bathroom.
Your hemorrhoids will thank you.
Until next time, that’s just the way the anus wrinkles.
