Understanding Healthy Bathroom Habits

We built Throne to make gut health and hydration tracking as easy, seamless, and stigma-free as tracking your steps or sleep. Every time we use the bathroom, we can learn about our gut health and what we need, whether that’s more fiber, more water, less screen time on the toilet, or something else. 

To help give people more of an overall picture of gut efficiency and stool session regularity, we’ve developed a new feature: the Bathroom Habits Score. The score draws from several key metrics that are hard to consistently measure without smart tech. Backed by medical research, it empowers you to optimize your habits in the bathroom for better digestive wellness.

Key metrics that make up the Bathroom Habits Score

The Bathroom Habits Score evaluates stool sessions. It focuses on efficiency, healthy habits, and minimal strain to promote colon health and wellness as well as providing information that relates to common issues like constipation or hemorrhoids. Here's a breakdown of what goes into the score:

• Total Session Time tracks overall time on the toilet. Prolonged sitting (more than 10 minutes) increases pressure on rectal veins, raising the risk of hemorrhoids by up to 46%, according to studies on smartphone use during toilet time. Extended toilet sessions contribute to blood pooling in vascular cushions, exacerbating this risk. 
• Time to First Evacuation measures how long it takes for poo to first enter the toilet. It’s healthy for that to occur in under two minutes. Delays beyond five minutes may signal constipation and is often linked to harder stools and increased straining.
• Total Number of Evacuations counts the events per session, with 1-2 being optimal. More than five could indicate incomplete emptying or pelvic floor issues, often tied to dyssynergic defecation where muscles don't coordinate properly.
• Active Evacuation Time focuses on cumulative straining, best kept under two minutes. Excessive straining is a key factor in complications like anal fissures and long-term colon damage.
• Wrap-Up Time monitors post-evacuation activities like wiping. This should ideally take less than one minute — longer times might reflect hygiene or hydration needs, indirectly affecting bowel consistency.
• Toilet Paper Count measures how many pieces of toilet paper were used and is a proxy for wiping effort. It can reflect stool’s consistency and give insight into gut health. 

Using this data for personal wellness

Tracking bathroom habits isn't just about numbers; it's about empowerment. We’re already hearing great feedback from Throne’s beta members about how the Bathroom Habits Score — and seeing a visual representation of their habits — is motivating them to make adjustments. One individual realized her sessions were often around 15 minutes, due to mindless phone scrolling. For another person, Throne recommended adding more fiber and water to their diet because Time to First Evacuation was more than 5 minutes. He now eats more veggies and drinks more water, resulting in quicker, easier bowel movements. 

Previously unmeasured metrics like these provide a window into gut efficiency, helping identify subtle issues before they escalate. For instance, consistent "Poor" scores might reveal dehydration or dietary gaps, leading to targeted changes that reduce straining and improve comfort. Through the Throne app, members get personalized tips, such as "increase fiber for better transit," fostering proactive habits that have numerous benefits to health and wellness.

Research shows that monitoring bowel patterns can enhance cognitive function and microbiome health, as irregular habits correlate with broader wellness risks. On a daily level, it encourages mindfulness, swapping endless scrolling for efficient routines, potentially adding years of comfort to your life.

Advancing Our Knowledge of Gut Health

What makes the Bathroom Habits Score truly exciting is that, to our knowledge, Throne is the first consumer product to conveniently and consistently capture these detailed, at-home measurements. Previously these were only possible in clinical settings or through burdensome self-reporting resulting in sparse data sets.

We're thrilled not just about the positive changes this will bring to individual users, such as quicker, easier, and more comfortable sessions through better habits, but also about the hidden patterns and insights that will emerge as more people track and optimize these everyday moments. From day one, Throne is grounded in science and built to push gut health understanding forward.

Ready to take control? Join Throne and start scoring your sessions today. Your gut will thank you!