Researchers advise limiting smartphone use to 5 minutes while on the toilet to reduce likelihood of developing the hemorrhoids
Using your smartphone while you're on the toilet might seem like multitasking -- or a distraction -- but it could be increasing your chance of developing hemorrhoids.
Those who used smartphones on the toilet were 46% more likely to have hemorrhoids, according to a study in PLOS one. "We propose that sitting on a standard toilet seat, without any support to the pelvic floor," such as by a seat or chair, the study authors wrote, "disproportionately increases pressure in the hemorrhoidal cushions. As this pressure persists over time, these cushions may become engorged and thereby develop into appreciable hemorrhoids."
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins inside of your rectum or outside of your anus, the Cleveland Clinic explains. They can be painful or itchy, and sometimes bleed.
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"When you're sitting on an open toilet bowl, you have no pelvic floor support," Dr. Trisha Pasricha, the study's senior author, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital told CNN. Those who scrolled while sitting were most likely to be reading "news" (54.3%), closely followed by "social media" (44.4%).
Although previous guidance suggested that hemorrhoids were caused by straining while constipated, Dr. Pasricha told CNN "[Those who used smartphones] didn't actually strain harder to have a bowel movement than the ones who didn't. My hypothesis is that it's passive smartphone use that causes these hemorrhoidal cushions to become engorged and bulge, and that's what leads to hemorrhoids."
The study advises that instead of sitting and scrolling -- "restrict smartphone use while on the toilet to under 5 minutes."
"The entire business model of these social media apps is to distract us, make us lose track of time and addict us to the algorithm," Pasricha told CNN. "We're just now understanding how much smartphones impact lots of other factors in our lives."