For as long as I can remember cartoons, TV shows and movies have shown us characters sitting on the toilet reading newspapers.
That’s what Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) spent a lot of his time doing on the TV show All in The Family. It’s what Danny Glover’s character in Lethal Weapon 2 was doing – right before he discovered the bomb in his toilet.
Images like these make it seem like sitting around on the toilet for an extended stay is a “normal thing.”
It’s not. Or at least, it shouldn’t be.
In fact, reading for 10 or 15 minutes while sitting on the toilet is actually a really bad idea. (Not as bad as a bomb in the toilet… but not good, either!)
Shit or Get Off the Pot!
In the words of my well-loved and respected Aunt Molly, “Don’t sit on the toilet so long when you make a bowel movement. You’ll get hemorrhoids!”
That was 65 years ago. We knew it back then, and it’s still true today.
In modern terms, it means that you either have to allow yourself a big poop, or get off of the toilet before you make things even worse by promoting hemorrhoid activity.
The thing about hemorrhoids is that we all have them. We are all born with them. And when everything is working properly, they generally don’t cause any discomfort.
But when your body is acting abnormally, hemorrhoids can be an absolute pain in the butt! (Pun intended.)
What’s abnormal?
Sitting on the toilet too long while reading the newspaper or – more commonly these days – swiping through your phone and engaging in whatever online news or events that catch your attention.
You see, your body actually KNOWS when it needs to poop. Something called the “peristalsis wave” sweeps through your bowels. It produces a steady swell of contractions that guide stool matter to the end of your rectum so it can be released.
That is what we are all aiming for, and it works extremely well.
But what happens when you start reading, scrolling, texting, and are otherwise engaged?
Your body forgets what it is doing! It’s sort of like an attention deficit disorder that you don’t even know you have.
You suddenly have a case of “reverse peristalsis.” Your body completely overlooks the fact that it was just getting ready for a great big poop. Instead, all of that nasty stool backs up in your colon and makes you constipated.
So it’s no wonder that news from the National Board of Examination – Journal of Medical Sciences in May of 2024 found that “toilet scrolling” is directly linked with the formation of hemorrhoids.
Other studies agree that the longer time you spend on the toilet reading or scrolling, the more likely you are to develop hemorrhoids.
To top it off, this is something that contributes to constipation, which is also associated with the type of straining that produces hemorrhoids.
And it is a very REAL phenomenon.
Top Hacks to Avoid Painful Hemorrhoid Activation
Keep reading materials, social media, browsing and news alerts out of the bathroom. Instead, focus on your body’s natural urge to evacuate.
Never sit on the toilet for more than 10 minutes. All that does is allow blood to pool in the rectal veins and cause hemorrhoids.
Don’t strain or push when nothing is coming out. This can lead to anal fissures, and they can be MUCH more painful than hemorrhoids. Walk away and try again later.
Drink plenty of water!
Gradually increase the amount of fiber rich beans, sweet potatoes, apricots, berries, greens and other plant-based foods into your diet.
I also recommend investing in something called a “Squatty Potty.”
It’s a stool that you place in front of the toilet to prop your feet on. And it places you in an extremely natural position to poop. (The same way your ancestors did when they squatted outdoors for elimination!)
It straightens out your colon in a way that reduces strain and more fully empties your bowels.
They’re not very expensive. You can pick one up for as little as $24.99 at SquattyPotty.com.
SOURCES:
Bhattacharya K, Bhattacharya N, Battacharya S, Yangnik VD, Garg P. Toilet scrolling – A predisposing factor for hemorrhoids?. NBEJMS. 2024;2(5).
Giuliani A, Romano L, Lazzarin G, Maffione F, Valiyeva S, Schietroma M, Carlei F. Relationship between haemorrhoidal grade and toilet habits. Ann Ital Chir. 2020;91:192-195.
