{"id":15194238,"date":"2026-07-04T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/the-ideal-amount-of-time-you-should-spend-having-a-poo-according-to-experts\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T08:33:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T12:33:37","slug":"the-ideal-amount-of-time-you-should-spend-having-a-poo-according-to-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/the-ideal-amount-of-time-you-should-spend-having-a-poo-according-to-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ideal Amount Of Time You Should Spend Having A Poo, According To Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement(‘iframe’);t.display=’none’,t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement(‘script’);c.src=’\/\/cd.connatix.com\/connatix.player.js’,c.setAttribute(‘async’,’1′),c.setAttribute(‘type’,’text\/javascript’),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = ‘https:\/\/capi.connatix.com\/tr\/si?token=8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22’;cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({“playerId”:”8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22″,”mediaId”:”95a22ce3-0af5-4eae-9bd5-2b410699de9a”}).render(“6a468aafe4b001e08fc2e1b8”);});<\/p>\n

\n

How long do you spend going for a poo? Two minutes? Seven minutes? 20 minutes? Well, it turns out there is a line between spending too long in the bathroom and having a quick and healthy bowel movement.<\/p>\n

Spending too much time pooping<\/a> can lead to health problems and can even be a sign that there\u2019s something larger going on in your gastrointestinal tract.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what gastrointestinal doctors want you to know.<\/p>\n

It should take no more than 5 minutes to have a bowel movement \u2013 and maybe even a little less.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Spending more than several moments on the toilet when you poop is too long, doctors say.\u00a0Exactly how long is too long depends, but around five minutes (or a little less) is a good goal.<\/p>\n

Dr. Melissa Hershman<\/a>, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Oregon Health and Sciences University, said \u201can appropriate time to spend on the toilet is no more than three minutes at a time\u201d.<\/p>\n

Leslie Waid<\/a>, a nurse practitioner in gastroenterology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, was a little more lenient with the time, but not by much. According to Waid, it shouldn\u2019t take more than five to 10 minutes to have a bowel movement.<\/p>\n

Dr. Valentine Millien<\/a>, a gastroenterologist at Houston Methodist Hospital, said closer to five minutes is best.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should sit down, you should easily pass a bowel movement, feel empty, you get cleaned up and you leave,\u201d Waid said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere shouldn\u2019t be any straining or spending time sitting there waiting for stools to pass,\u201d Waid noted.<\/p>\n

Straining and excessive pushing motions can \u201ccreate pelvic trauma, injury,\u201d added Hershman.<\/p>\n

For example, straining can cause hemorrhoids, Waid said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other things that can happen with straining, including anal fissures, and those are tears in the lining of the anal canal, and they can be very painful,\u201d Waid said.<\/p>\n

Straining on the toilet can also cause pelvic floor damage and weaken the pelvic floor muscles, Waid added.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, after five minutes, and nothing is happening, we usually tell patients to leave and then wait again to get the urge, and then come back to the bathroom,\u201d Millien noted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hopefully, when you return, you\u2019ll be able to evacuate your bowels in just a couple of minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"OneOne way to spend less time in the bathroom? Stop bringing your phone in with you.<\/div>\n
\n

If you spend more than 5 or 10 minutes in the bathroom, there are things you can do to improve your bowel health<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If straining and spending 5 or 10 minutes on the toilet is your norm, there are a few things you can do to reduce the time it takes you to poop.<\/p>\n

First, positioning is important, said Waid, so stools like Squatty Potty<\/a> can be helpful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Millien agreed,\u00a0\u201ca lot of Asian countries and a lot of African countries, their toilet is actually, even if it\u2019s a ceramic toilet, it\u2019s usually lower to the ground, so that forces you to squat.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you squat, \u201cyou\u2019re removing some of that pressure of the rectum, and actually allowing gravity to help you evacuate,\u201d Millien said.<\/p>\n

And, while it\u2019s common to bring your smartphone everywhere (including in the bathroom), it\u2019s a good idea not to. Research shows <\/a>that people who bring their phone into the bathroom spend more time in the bathroom and have a higher risk of hemorrhoids, Millien said.<\/p>\n

Tried-and-true lifestyle habits are also important for bowel regularity, such as drinking plenty of fluids and exercising, said Waid.<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise is an excellent way to promote bowel motility. I often tell patients that your gut doesn\u2019t move if you don\u2019t,\u201d said Hershman.<\/p>\n

Your diet choices also impact your bowel movements. \u201cIt\u2019s important to have adequate dietary fibre,\u201d Waid noted. This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, certain cereals, oatmeal, chia seeds, beans, and more.<\/p>\n

Fibre helps add bulk to stools and makes bowel movements easier to pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf patients feel like they\u2019re not eating enough fibre, or just need a little bit something more for regularity, they can add in a fibre supplement,\u201d Waid said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really want to target at least 25 grams of fibre per day,\u201d said Hershman. For reference, one apple has about 4.5 grams of fibre,<\/a> one cup of quinoa has 5 grams and one cup of lentils has 15.5 grams of fibre.<\/p>\n

In some cases, bowel movement issues can be a sign of colorectal cancer<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rates of colorectal cancer are rising in younger adults<\/a>, and the signs of colorectal cancer can overlap with some of the problems that come from straining while pooping, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlood in the toilet \u2013 the assumption used to be that this was all hemorrhoids, but it\u2019s also important to talk to your physician,\u201d said Millien.<\/p>\n

More, if you notice a change in your bowels, like if you used to have regular bowel movements but are now having frequent constipation or diarrhea, you should also mention that to your doctor, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it could be a sign of inflammation in the colon, or it can be a sign of an obstruction in the colon,\u201d added Millien.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s any concern in your bowel habits, if anything has changed in your bowel habits, any blood, don\u2019t just minimise [it],\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of young patients with colon cancer now are actually asymptomatic, other than just intermittent rectal bleeding,\u201d Millien noted.<\/p>\n

If you notice anything suspicious about how long it takes you to have a bowel movement, blood in the toilet or any concerning changes, talk to your physician, she stressed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Related…<\/h3>\n