It's happened to everyone. You're on the phone with a friend when suddenly you realize: they're
using the bathroom!
Well, there's a reason it's happened to everyone, because according to a poll from Verizon Wireless,
up to 90 percent of people use their phones in the bathroom.
So other than potential embarrassment, what's the big deal? Well, it turns out there are
some pretty good reasons you should stop using your phone in the bathroom — and maybe the
biggest of all is hemorrhoids.
No, we're not kidding. It turns out your phone can actually give you hemorrhoids.
"There's two reasons why you don't want to take your cell phone into the bathroom. It's
hygiene and hemorrhoids."
But this isn't some weird conspiracy theory involving phone radiation. It has to do with
the fact that reading your phone on the toilet encourages you to sit there longer. And Dr.
Partha Nandi told Thrillist that's bad.
"You're putting unnecessary pressure on the rectum, [which] can cause hemorrhoids, and
definitely make any pre-existing hemorrhoids way worse."
Not only that, but that prolonged pressure can also cause or exacerbate gastrointestinal
issues, which is why he recommends you get the deed over with as quickly as possible
— and save your phone time for later.
Of course, there's another good reason not to use your phone in the bathroom: germs.
And there may be even more than you thought. In fact, according to a study from the Hygiene
Council, your average toilet seat has 295 bacteria per square inch, a bathroom faucet
handle has 6,267, and the toilet bowl has a terrifyingly disgusting 3.2 million!
So it's easy to see how exposing your phone to this environment could make it pretty grimy.
Some of that bacteria comes from airborne fecal matter. And since you're likely handling
your phone before you wash your hands, guess what's on that phone surface now?
Emily Martin, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public
Health told Time
"Because people are always carrying their cell phones, even in situations where they
would normally wash their hands before doing anything, cell phones tend to get pretty gross."
Ron Cutler, director of biomedical science degrees at Queen Mary's University London,
ageed, teling Fox News:
"Basically, you just shouldn't [take your phone into the toilet] if you are at all concerned
about the transfer of viruses and fecal contamination."
We know what you're thinking: if you don't bring your phone in the bathroom, you won't
be able to put a heart emoji on every new Facebook post, and someone might think you're
mad at them.
"Someone?"
"Get off the high road, Summer. We all got pinkeye because you won't stop texting on
the toilet."
But we get it. According to the Pew Research Center, up to 70 percent of Americans use
social media daily, so the thought of putting your phone down could lead to social media
withdrawal.
Setting down that phone isn't just good for your bathroom hygiene, though it's also good
for your mind. A new study in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that
participants who limited their social media use experienced better mental health. Even
cutting back just a little bit — like you might if, say, you stopped bringing your phone
into the bathroom — was enough to make a difference no matter how much social media
you were consuming to begin with.
Jordyn Young, a co-author of the paper and a senior at the University of Pennsylvania,
told Healthline
"What we found overall is that if you use less social media, you are actually less depressed
and less lonely, meaning that the decreased social media use is what causes that qualitative
shift in your well-being."
And there's more! It turns out that bringing your phone into the bathroom before bed is
actually messing up your sleep!
That's because the blue light emitted by your phone can mess up your circadian rhythms — the
internal body clock that regulates your sleep patterns. According to Harvard researchers,
people who used their phones before bedtime took an average of 10 minutes longer to fall
asleep. Plus, it suppressed their levels of the sleep hormone melatonin and minimized
their amount of REM sleep, which is the deep, restorative kind needed to help you feel alert
the next morning. Their conclusion? Just putting away your phone and other electronics an hour
or two before bed can help you get the rest you need to tackle your day.
So next time you think about using the toilet, do yourself a favor and leave your phone behind.
Your mind and body will thank you for it.
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