In modern life, our defecation posture is wrong

In modern life, our defecation posture is wrong because in ancient times, nature designed us to squat when we defecate.

Is it good to defecate using a toilet? Let's see what the experiment says. A doctor conducted an experiment. He recruited 28 volunteers and asked them to defecate in three different postures, including squatting, sitting on the toilet, and squatting on the toilet. Then, he used a stopwatch to time them. The results showed that squatting was the fastest posture, taking an average of 50 seconds, while sitting on the toilet took an average of 130 seconds.

There is a muscle at the back of each person's intestine. When we stand or sit, this muscle is in a contracted state, which pulls our intestine backwards, thus forming a wrinkle. This wrinkle can reduce the pressure of the sphincter and allow us to better control the contents of the intestine. However, when we squat, this muscle relaxes, the intestine will be more unobstructed, and it is easier to defecate.

Nowadays, many people defecate while sitting on the toilet, but the intestinal tract is not fully opened. This state is like watering flowers with a hose in the garden, but the hose is slightly bent and the water flow is not very smooth. If this state lasts for a long time, it will cause a series of health problems, such as the most common constipation and hemorrhoids.

Many people ask, if there is a toilet at home, how should this problem be solved? It is recommended to put a small stool in front of the toilet, and then when sitting on the toilet, you can put your feet on the stool and lean forward slightly. In this way, you can relax the muscles behind the intestinal tract, keep the intestines unobstructed, facilitate defecation, and reduce the occurrence of diseases such as constipation and hemorrhoids.

Shao Saidan, deputy director and deputy chief nurse of Wenzhou Physical Examination Center

Sphincter

The anus is made up of special muscles, which we call the anal sphincter. The anal sphincter is divided into the internal sphincter and the external sphincter. These two layers of muscles are slightly different, mainly due to different nerve innervations.

The internal sphincter is not controlled by our subjective consciousness, but by the autonomic nervous system. When excrement reaches the internal sphincter, it stimulates the nerve endings to send instructions to the brain. At this time, no matter what occasion you are in, you will have a strong urge to defecate. Fortunately, our human body also has an external sphincter. It is controlled by our subjective consciousness. When we feel the defecation signal, we will carefully analyze whether the surrounding environment is suitable. If we are in a meeting or doing something else, the brain will command the external sphincter to control it tightly and not defecate casually, and then wait until the right time, such as going to the bathroom, to defecate. So, this is the magical part, which allows us to cooperate inside and outside to form the defecation process.

Although we can control defecation through our subjective consciousness, if we always hold it back for a long time, it will cause your internal sphincter to stop working. Over time, you will become insensitive to the feeling of defecation. So it is recommended that if you have the urge to defecate, try not to hold it back for a long time, and go to defecate when it is time.