For many men, going to the bathroom is a time-out - a long one. The amount of time that men spend in the bathroom to fulfill their duty has been maddening to women, who don't understand what should be done in there for so long, since time began.

In recent years, the concept has even become a running meme on social media. You can laugh as much as you like, but it turns out that the tendency of the male sex to sit on the toilet for a long time also explains why men generally have a more normal activity of the intestines than women.

"Any man or any woman who lives with a man knows that it is true that men spend more time in the bathroom than women in general, but in reality, they are much less likely to suffer from bowel problems and chronic constipation than women," gastroenterologist Kyle Steller told Yahoo! Life.

What's the reason for extra male time spent in the bathroom?

Gastrointestinal psychologist Madison Simmons of the Cleveland Clinic said the explanation might be biological. For starters, the body needs to be relaxed to get things moving, apparently. Men, it turns out, tend to feel more relaxed while on the toilet than women, Simmons explained. This is because they have a "binary switch" that helps them suddenly jump into "fight or flight" responses (part of an evolutionary survival mechanism that prepares a person to physically deal with an immediate threat or danger).
The main function of the autonomic nervous system is to maintain the body's health, balance the activity of the body's systems, and conserve energy over time (the parasympathetic nervous system) and, on the other hand, prepare it for short-term survival activity (the sympathetic nervous system). In order for digestion to pass properly, the body must be in a relaxed (parasympathetic) state.
Drank toilet bowl water for six months - that's what happened (credit: INGIMAGE)
Drank toilet bowl water for six months - that's what happened (credit: INGIMAGE)
Making the transition from daily stress to relaxing on the toilet encourages what Simon calls the "rest and digest function." When the body is in a state of relaxation, and the day-to-day for most adults is relatively stressful, is it any wonder that they are not in a hurry to get up and go? Men, Simmons said, can simply "enjoy spending time in this state of relaxation before returning to their stressful lives again."

"You will not be asked to prepare food for the children or solve a problem at work if you are sitting on the toilet," she said.

Previous research also found that men are more likely to read on the toilet, which takes them longer than the average five minutes it takes most people to do #2, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Another study from the University of Oxford found that men typically scroll more on their phones than women while in the bathroom (which is dangerous in itself).

After all, Simmons said, bathroom time is a great way to rest, recharge, and focus. "There's a sense of security that comes with that — you're fully aware in this present moment that there's only one job you've come here to do, and no one can get in your way."