New study: Smartphone use on the toilet linked to 46 percent higher haemorrhoid risk

Reading while you’re on the loo is a habit for plenty of people, but smartphones can be so absorbing that we may end up perched on the ceramic throne for longer than is good for us.

Study links smartphone use on the toilet to haemorrhoids

A new study suggests that using a phone on the toilet is associated with a 46 percent higher risk of haemorrhoids - swollen veins in the lower rectum that are thought to develop when there is too much pressure.

In this research, the participants’ age, sex, body mass, exercise habits, and fibre intake did not change the overall findings.

"We're still uncovering the many ways smartphones and our modern way of life impact our health," says senior author and gastroenterologist Trisha Satya Pasricha of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

"It's possible that how and where we use them – such as while in the bathroom – can have unintended consequences."

What the US colonoscopy survey found

Pasricha and colleagues in the United States questioned 125 people who were undergoing a colonoscopy. Over 40 percent were found to have a haemorrhoid, and 93 percent reported using their phone on the toilet at least once a week.

Among those phone users, roughly half said they read the news while on the toilet. Around 44 percent said they used social media there, and about 30 percent said they were emailing or texting.

Several respondents said they spent more than 6 minutes on the toilet per visit, and many felt they were staying there longer specifically because they were on their smartphones.

"This study adds to a growing body of research showing how smartphones have infiltrated even the most private corners of our lives and bodies," says digital well-being scientist Alex Beattie from Victoria University of Wellington in NZ, who was not involved in the research.

"We already know that screen time before bed can disrupt sleep, and that phones at the dinner table can interfere with family connection. Now, it seems, our bathroom habits aren't safe either."

Why longer time on the loo might matter

A survey of this size can only point to correlations and potential risk factors. More evidence is still needed to determine whether reading on the toilet actually makes someone more likely to develop haemorrhoids.

In the United States, haemorrhoids account for nearly 4 million doctor and emergency department visits each year, but the condition remains poorly understood and inconsistently tracked. For now, researchers have only hypotheses about how it develops.

Notably, the only national US survey on haemorrhoids dates back to 1989, with no newer nationwide data at the same level.

Haemorrhoids are made up of clusters of blood vessels, smooth muscle, and connective tissue in and around the lower rectum. Everyone has these cushions - thought to help make bowel movements easier - but when the tissue swells or bleeds, the condition is commonly referred to as haemorrhoids.

Although multiple factors are likely involved, scientists generally suspect haemorrhoids are linked to overstraining, spending a long time trying to pass stool, or having frequent bowel movements.

Some research has also pointed to prolonged sitting as a possible contributor, perhaps because sitting on the toilet can weaken and dilate blood vessels in and around the anus and rectum.

Time limits, ‘toilet scrolling’, and practical advice

Because of these concerns, some doctors suggest spending no more than 10 minutes on the loo, while other experts recommend limiting it to 3 minutes.

That stricter limit draws on a study of 100 patients with confirmed haemorrhoids, who spent more time reading on the toilet than people of the same age and sex who did not have haemorrhoids.

Reading in the bathroom isn’t a new idea. In colonial times, people are said to have wiped with newspapers simply because that was what they had to hand.

Smartphones, however, can capture attention on a different level, and it’s possible that using them on the toilet distracts us from what we’re there to do.

Given this potential risk, some health experts have warned that ‘toilet scrolling’ could be interfering with our ‘toilet hygiene’.

"We need to study this further," Pasricha says, "but it's a safe suggestion to leave the smartphone outside the bathroom when you need to have a bowel movement."

Until more is known, the practical message is straightforward: keep toilet time short. Having a poo should be the priority - not scrolling on your phone.

Publication

The study has been published in PLOS One.

This article has been updated from an earlier version published in May 2025.