The Best Position to Poop: What Squat Toilets Around the World Got Right

What is the best position to poop?

Here is the short version. When you stand or sit upright, a muscle called the puborectalis loops around the end of your bowel and holds it at an angle, a bit like a kink in a garden hose. That kink is useful: it is part of how you stay continent. When you squat, the muscle appears to relax and the angle straightens, which researchers think may let stool pass with less effort. If you want the full vocabulary, our gut health glossary explains every term.

Sitting on a modern toilet puts your hips at roughly a right angle, which keeps more of that kink in place. That does not mean sitting is wrong. What comes out, and how easily, also depends on things like stool consistency, how quickly food moves through you (your gut transit time) and even what shape your stool takes. Posture is one lever among several, but it is the one most of us have never touched.

What squat toilets around the world got right

Squat toilets remain common in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa, while many Western countries largely switched to sitting toilets. When one small study timed people in each position, the squat came out well ahead. Israeli physician Dov Sikirov asked 28 healthy volunteers to time how long it took to feel properly emptied in three positions. Squatting took an average of around 51 seconds, compared with roughly 130 seconds on a standard height toilet, and volunteers reported noticeably less straining when they squatted [1].

It is a small study, and self timed, so it is worth holding lightly. But it lines up with what many people report after a holiday: things just seem to work differently. Part of that is posture, and part of it may be routine, food and nerves, which is why your gut can feel like a stranger when you travel. If you are curious how your own rhythm compares, our honest guide to how often you should poo is a good place to start, and why bathroom habits change day to day explains why no two weeks look quite the same.

Does a toilet stool actually help?

For those of us with sitting toilets, a toilet stool (sometimes sold as a poop stool) is the workaround. You rest your feet on it so your knees sit above your hips, which mimics a squat without the thigh burn. In a 2019 study of 52 healthy participants at Ohio State University, people recorded their bowel movements for two weeks without a stool and two weeks with one, and most reported less straining, more complete emptying and shorter toilet visits when using it [2].

Again, the caveats matter: most participants were young and healthy, and people knew when they were using the stool, which may have shaped how they rated it. So think of a toilet stool as a low cost experiment rather than a fix. If straining is a regular thing for you, it is also worth looking at the bigger picture: fibre, hydration, movement and stress all play a part, which we cover in the midlife constipation factors nobody mentions and why your gut slows down when life gets stressful.

How long should you sit on the toilet?

Not long. A 2025 study of 125 adults from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that smartphone use on the toilet was associated with a 46% higher prevalence of haemorrhoids, after accounting for fibre, exercise and straining [3]. Time may be part of the story: 37% of phone users sat for more than five minutes per visit, compared with about 7% of non users [3]. The study was observational, so it shows a link rather than cause and effect, but the message is simple enough. If nothing is happening after a few minutes, get up and try again later.

Long, still days can also leave everything feeling sluggish, which we unpack in the sedentary gut problem. And if you find you simply cannot go anywhere other than home, you are far from alone: the bathroom anxiety nobody talks about is surprisingly common.

One important note. Posture tweaks are about comfort, not symptoms. If you notice blood on the paper or in the bowl, a lasting change in your usual pattern, or pain that does not settle, speak to your GP rather than troubleshooting at home. Our guide to blood in your poo and when to see a GP explains what to look out for.

How to poop comfortably, step by step

If you want to try the squat without rebuilding your bathroom, this is the simplest version:

1. Put your feet on a low stool or a stack of books so your knees sit higher than your hips.
2. Lean forward and rest your forearms on your thighs, keeping your back long rather than hunched.
3. Let your belly soften and breathe out slowly instead of holding your breath and pushing.
4. Leave the phone outside so a quick visit stays quick.
5. Go when you feel the urge. Many people notice it most in the morning, especially after a warm drink, which we explore in coffee and gut health and a simple morning hydration habit.

Movement is part of the routine too. Many people find a short walk after meals feels good, and our pieces on the workout and gut connection and how a walk and a run can feel different cover more.

Noticing what is normal for you

Posture is one small piece of a bigger picture, and the most useful thing you can know is your own baseline: what a normal week looks like for you, before you start changing anything. That is the idea behind building a gut health baseline and our guide to tracking your gut health at home. Gutsi is the gut health tracker that turns guesswork into a clearer picture of your usual pattern. It is plug and play, fits any standard toilet in minutes and tracks your digestive patterns (consistency, frequency and hydration) every day, so over time it helps you understand what is normal for you. If you want to compare the options, we have rounded up what to look for in a gut health tracker.

Gutsi provides lifestyle and wellness insights only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.