Medical commentary: Swipe right to stop using your cellphones while on the toilet

A new study may change how you think about bathroom scrolling on your smartphone.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess surveyed 125 adults undergoing colonoscopy, and two-thirds admitted to using smartphones on the toilet. And the results revealed that phone users while sitting on the toilet lingered far longer; 37% stayed more than five minutes per trip, compared to just 7% of non-users.

Even after adjusting for age, diet, exercise, smartphone users still faced a 46% higher risk of hemorrhoids. That’s not just uncomfortable; it’s costly. Hemorrhoids send nearly 4 million Americans to the doctor every year and rack up more than $800 million in health care costs.

The most popular bathroom activities? Reading the news — which is ironic if you’re hearing this right now. And social media was number two (pun intended). Yet only about a third of those in the study admitted that using their phones kept them on the toilet longer. Talk about denial.

The science is simple: unlike sitting in a chair, toilets don’t support your pelvic floor. Prolonged sitting increases pressure on hemorrhoidal cushions. Add the time warp of smartphone engagement, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for painful hemorrhoids.

And let’s be honest — it’s also downright gross. Every trip your smartphone makes with you to the bathroom, not only are you exposing your phone to bathroom bacteria, then touching your face, your food and even sharing it with others, you are also picking up everyone’s else’s germs.

So, here’s my prescription: Treat your bathroom break like a bathroom break, not a social media break. Your backside, your productivity, and your hygiene will thank you.