Using the bathroom seems like a very straightforward process that is very rarely talked about. However, what you do in the restroom can have a direct impact on your health, and new research suggests that many people are using the toilet in the wrong way. As odd as it sounds, the Western way of using toilets may actually be having a negative effect on overall health.
Sitting on the toilet for extended periods of time can be very bad for your health, since it leads to hemorrhoids, problems with the colon, and other issues. Many people do not realize this, so they just assume that it is normal for part of their daily routine to include several minutes spent sitting on the toilet each day. However, the human body is not actually formed in a way that would benefit from sitting in an upright position while going to the bathroom.
As microbiologist Giula Enders succinctly puts it, “We have been pooing all wrong.” Sitting on a toilet with your feet flat on the floor puts your knees at a 90 degree angle to your torso, but this is not the position that humans have naturally used for millennia. Instead, the most natural position to use the bathroom in is a squatting position that brings the knees up by the chest. It turns out that there is a scientific reason to keep using a squatting position even though bathrooms are no longer a hole in the ground.
When a person is sitting, this moves the intestines and anal canal into a position that is pinched and unable to freely pass bowel movements. It might seem counterintuitive, but drawing your knees upwards actually aligns everything into a straight position, making it easier to pass bowel movements without strain. Dr. Joseph Mercola explains that this happens because the squatting position “changes the spatial relationships of your intestinal organs and musculature, relaxing and straightening your rectum.”
Fortunately, one minor adjust to a modern toilet makes it easier to use the restroom. There are elaborately designed toilets that work in a squatting position, but all you really need is a stool that is about 8 inches in height. Getting a small stool and putting your feet on it while you sit draws your knees higher against your chest, and the body moves into a type of squatting position that makes it more efficient at passing bowel movements.
There are many health benefits to changing the way you use the bathroom. One study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information discovered that squatting may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer because the bowels are emptied more completely, so the colon and rectum do not spend as much time in contact with carcinogenic materials. Squatting while using the bathroom can also ease the symptoms of constipation, and it can eliminate both internal and external hemorrhoids. By getting into a more natural position before using the toilet, you can improve health and shorten the amount of time spent in the bathroom.