A viral video that has been viewed more than 70million times has sparked intrigue as to mens’ mysterious toilet habits.
A comedy clip, posted to Instagram by influencer Hannah Stocking, pokes fun at the length of time her male partner spends on the toilet.
The video, liked more than a million times, shows her ‘preparing’ her bathroom for her male partner — adding candles, video games and books, before embracing him goodbye.
He emerges from the toilet a long while later having grown a beard, and the pair share a loving reunion.
Influencer Hannah Stocking has set social media alight with a comedic clip about men spending long periods of time in the bathroom.
The influencer joked that her partner Answar spends ‘four days’ in the loo.
Scores of viewers have commented on the video, sharing details of their male partners’ equally lengthy toilet sessions.
‘This is so true. Why men spend 60% of their life in the bathroom?’ wrote one Instagram user.
Another said: ‘Watching this from the couch, while my man is watching his NRL [Australian National Rugby League] highlights in the bathroom with full sound on.’
Meanwhile, one woman said she’s made peace with her partner’s toilet time ‘after 25 years’. ‘I just [get] him a duvet and tell him good night, good bye [sic]’.
But men have responded to the accusations, offering insightful explanations for the behaviour.
‘The bathroom is the escape for men,’ wrote one male commentor. ‘Where we can be alone for a bit.’ While another said: ‘It a way of settling our memory cos [sic] when you with her she want all the attention at all time…when we are in there no one is disturbing [us] until we get out.’
Now, experts have weighed in on the discussion, confirming Hannah Stocking’s suspicions.
‘It is true that men do spend longer in the toilet or on the toilet than women do,’ Dr Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist based in Massachusetts in the US told Yahoo Life.
‘But in reality are much less likely to have bowel issues and chronic constipation than women are.’
Rates of gut problems such as irritable bowel syndrome are between one and three times more common in women than they are in men, according to charity The IBS Network.
This is thought to be due to a range of factors including fluctuating hormones during the menstrual cycle that affect womens’ gut and the fact that the female colon is, on average, 10cm longer than a mans’.
Studies suggest that mens’ increased toilet time may be due to other activities. One 2017 study from the University of Oxford and the University of Canberra men are six per cent more likely to scroll through their phones on the loo, The Huffington Post tells.
Studies show that women are up to three times more likely to suffer bowel problems than men, but men spend more time in the toilet.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author, told LiveScience that the toilet can be a ‘hideout’ and some ‘me time’, because ‘no one ever asks what you’re doing in there, even if you take a long time. It can truly be a safe place’.
This speaks to the findings of one 2018 poll by bathroom company Pebble Grey which found a third of UK men spend more than seven hours a year on the toilet to ‘enjoy respite’ and ‘avoid stress’.
A 2021 survey of 38 men aged 19-55 conducted by VICE media revealed further interesting insight into the psyche of men who spend long periods of time on the loo.
Some 84 per cent of the men interviewed said they spend the time scrolling through social meda, while 62 per cent said they read the news.
Half of those polled said they use the time to catch up on emails and texts.
Smaller numbers said they read a book (14 per cent) or make calls (eight per cent).
Tellingly, 63 percent of men who responded to the survey said they purposely took longer in the bathroom when they felt frustrated at work or at home.
Psychotherapist Benjamin Jackson summed up the phenomenon telling VICE: ‘I call it cave time.’
‘I always ask the men I work with where they get this time to themselves. If they live in small flats or big house shares, that place can often be the toilet.’
