While normal bathroom habits can be different from person to person, there is a hard rule about how long to spend on the toilet — and when you should give up.
A healthy bowel movement should only take a few minutes, experts say. And if it’s regularly taking you longer than that to do your business, that’s worth addressing.
Expert Tip of the Day: Don’t Spend Too Long Trying to Poop
A healthy bowel movement should happen relatively quickly — within five minutes, experts agree.
“If the magic is not happening within five minutes, it’s not going to happen,” Dr. Trisha Pasricha, director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Institute for Gut-Brain Research, told NBC News.
“Take a breather and try again later,” Pasricha added.
Why It Matters
It shouldn’t take more than five minutes for you to poop. But many people spend much longer than that trying to go.
And spending too long on the toilet isn’t just uncomfortable, it can put you at risk for conditions like hemorrhoids, Dr. Ekta Gupta, associate professor of medicine in the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at Johns Hopkins University, told TODAY.com previously.
While hemorrhoids aren’t dangerous, they can be painful and itchy, and cause bleeding that can be alarming.
Plus, if you feel like you frequently need to strain or spend a long time trying to poop, that can be a sign of other issues, including a diet too low in fiber or even pelvic floor problems.
Noticing how long you spend in the bathroom, and if there are any sudden changes to that, can be a window into your overall health.
Habits to Support Healthy Bowel Movements
If you want to set yourself up for success first thing in the morning, start by leaving your phone or tablet outside the bathroom.
That will make it less tempting to spend a long time in there, Gupta says. But it also keeps your devices from being exposed to microscopic urine and fecal particles that get sent into the air when you flush.
To encourage healthy bowel habits, Gupta recommends a morning routine that promotes overall gut health. That includes:
Waking up at about the same time every day.
Drinking a warm beverage, such as coffee, tea or water with lemon.
Engaging in light physical activity, like a short walk or stretching.
Eating a breakfast that’s rich in fiber.
Relaxing with diaphragmatic breathing.
And, finally, experts recommend not rushing in the bathroom, but not spending too long in there either.
Keep in mind that, if you’ve noticed a sudden change in bowel movements that doesn’t resolve with lifestyle adjustments like these, it’s worth talking to your doctor. Persistent, sudden changes in bathroom habits can be a sign of serious underlying conditions, the experts say.