Do You Sit Too Long in the Bathroom?

It was Gut Week in the UK from August 24 to 30, and to celebrate Yakult, the manufacturers of a probiotic health drink, published the results of a survey they had conducted on how Brits use their ‘toilet time’. There were some surprises.

Texting, blogging, and surfing the Internet were reported by 3/4 of the 2,000 British respondents. Tweeting is relatively new, so only 1% admit to doing it sitting in the bathroom.

Men are more active lavatory multitaskers than women. 14% of men read souvenir football match programs, while 18% do a crossword or Sudoku puzzle. (I guess Ken-Ken hasn’t hit UK yet.) 6% report eating or drinking on the job.

From a regional point of view, Londoners are twice as likely to read recipe books on the toilet than the national average (10% vs. 5%). And Northern Irishers text more than any other region (46%).

All this can be harmful to their health. 18% have reported cramps or pins-and-needles from sitting too long. Sadly, 65% are unaware that sitting on the toilet too long can cause hemorrhoids; this should surely be an important disincentive to the habit, I think.

I’m sure it won’t be long before a similar survey is launched in the USA. As with all surveys, reliability of the results can be pretty suspect, but nevertheless, they can also bring surprises.