Smartphones have become a normal part of everyday life. People use them almost everywhere, including while eating, walking, waiting in line, and even in the bathroom.
Many people scroll through social media, read news, or watch videos while sitting on the toilet. Although this habit may seem harmless, a new scientific study suggests it could be linked to a common and uncomfortable health problem: hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins located in the lower rectum or around the anus. They can cause pain, itching, swelling, and sometimes bleeding during bowel movements. Hemorrhoids are extremely common.
In the United States alone, they lead to nearly four million visits to doctors or emergency rooms every year. Treating the condition also creates a large financial burden, costing the healthcare system more than 800 million dollars annually.
Doctors have long suspected that certain bathroom habits may contribute to hemorrhoids. Spending too much time sitting on the toilet has often been mentioned as a possible risk factor. However, there has been little scientific research examining whether smartphone use in the bathroom might play a role in this problem.
Because smartphones often distract people and make them lose track of time, researchers wondered if using them on the toilet might lead to longer sitting times and increase pressure on the veins in that area.
To explore this question, researchers led by Chethan Ramprasad at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the United States carried out a study examining the bathroom habits of adults undergoing medical testing. The findings were published in the open-access scientific journal PLOS One.
The study involved 125 adults who were scheduled to receive screening colonoscopies, which are routine procedures used to examine the inside of the colon. Before their procedures, the participants completed an online survey about their lifestyle habits.
The survey included questions about whether they used smartphones while sitting on the toilet, how long they usually spent there, and what activities they performed on their phones during that time. Afterward, doctors conducting the colonoscopy checked whether the participants had hemorrhoids.
The results showed that smartphone use in the bathroom was very common. About two-thirds of the participants reported using their phones while sitting on the toilet. In general, these individuals tended to be younger than the people who said they did not bring their phones into the bathroom.
After analyzing the data, the researchers found a clear difference between the two groups. People who reported using smartphones while on the toilet were 46 percent more likely to have hemorrhoids compared with those who did not use their phones in the bathroom.
This difference remained even after the researchers accounted for other factors that might influence hemorrhoid risk, such as age, exercise habits, and how much fiber people consumed in their diet.
One possible explanation for the finding is that smartphone use may increase the amount of time people spend sitting on the toilet. The study showed that this was indeed the case.
About 37 percent of participants who used smartphones in the bathroom said they spent more than five minutes sitting on the toilet during a single visit. In contrast, only about 7 percent of participants who did not use their phones reported staying that long.
When asked what they were doing on their phones, most participants said they were reading news articles or scrolling through social media platforms. These activities can easily capture attention and make time pass quickly without people noticing.
Interestingly, the researchers did not find a strong link between straining during bowel movements and hemorrhoid risk in this study.
This finding differs from some earlier research that suggested straining is one of the main causes of hemorrhoids. Instead, the new study suggests that simply sitting on the toilet for extended periods may play an important role.
When people remain seated for longer than necessary, pressure may increase in the veins around the rectal area. Over time, this pressure could cause the veins to swell and form hemorrhoids. If smartphone use encourages people to stay seated longer than needed, it may indirectly contribute to the condition.
Trisha Pasricha, the senior author of the study, explained that modern technology may influence health in unexpected ways.
She noted that smartphone apps are designed to hold users’ attention. As people scroll through posts, watch videos, or read articles, they can easily lose track of time. In the bathroom, this distraction may lead people to sit longer than they normally would.
The findings suggest that simple changes in daily habits could help reduce hemorrhoid risk. Doctors may begin advising patients to avoid bringing smartphones into the bathroom and to keep bathroom visits brief. If a bowel movement takes longer than a few minutes, it may be worth considering whether the delay is due to medical problems or simply distraction.
Although the study provides interesting evidence, it also has limitations. The research involved only 125 participants, which is a relatively small sample size.
In addition, the study relied partly on self-reported information about bathroom habits, which may not always be perfectly accurate. Larger studies that follow people over longer periods will be needed to confirm the results.
Despite these limitations, the study raises an important point about how everyday behaviors can affect health. Smartphones have become deeply integrated into modern life, but their constant presence may influence habits in ways people do not realize. By paying attention to how and where smartphones are used, individuals may be able to reduce certain health risks.
Overall, the study suggests that a simple change—leaving the phone outside the bathroom—could help people spend less time sitting on the toilet and possibly lower their chances of developing hemorrhoids. The findings highlight how small lifestyle choices, even ones that seem trivial, can have meaningful effects on health.
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