Many people enjoy leisurely sitting on the toilet with a newspaper or even a book while they do their business.
But one doctor has warned that you shouldn’t spend more than 10 minutes on the toilet unless you want a nasty surprise.
Posting to TikTok, Dr Karan Rajan revealed what you should never do – especially if you want to avoid haemorrhoid surgery.
He explained: “Number one, straining. Fun fact, everyone has anal cushions. These are there to stop us pooing ourselves and they also contain blood vessels.
“But if you keep straining on the toilet these blood vessels could swell up and cause haemorrhoids.”
His second tip was that you shouldn’t ‘spend your life on the toilet’.
“Try not to spend on average more than ten minutes on the toilet. Gravity is not your friend.
“The longer you spend on the toilet the longer the blood can pool in these rectal veins causing haemorrhoids.”
Haemorrhoids are lumps inside or around your bottom and can be extremely painful.
They usually get better on their own in a few days and it’s recommended that to prevent piles you exercise regularly, keep your bottom clean and dry and cut down on booze and caffeine.
The NHS also recommends that you drink lots of fluid and eat plenty of fibre to keep your poo soft.
Dr Karan’s third tip was to not skip fibre.
The NHS says that most of us need to eat more fibre and that we should at least be consuming 30g a day.
Fibre comes in the form of wholewheat or wholemeal products like bread and cereals.
Dr Karan added: “Unless you have a specific medical condition you should be aiming for 20 to 30g of fibre a day.
“So you don’t always have to cut the crusts off your bread and keep the skin on your fruit and veg.”
We need fibre in our diet as it is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.