What Is Considered a Healthy Bowel Movement?

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A normal bowel movement consists of well-formed, soft, brown stools that usually sink and are easy to pass. Healthy bowel movements occur anywhere from three times a week to three times a day. Variations in stool frequency and consistency can also be normal. However, there are some red flags for bowel habit changes to be aware of.

See a healthcare provider if you notice blood in your stool, black or tarry stools, pencil-thin stools, pale and foul-smelling stools, or persistent diarrhea or constipation. These changes, along with any other deviations from your normal bowel pattern, may indicate an underlying medical condition.

abnormal bowel movement signs
Illustration by Jessica Olah, Verywell

What Is Considered a Healthy Bowel Movement?

Healthy bowel movements occur between three times a week and three times a day. Healthy stool is soft, well-formed and easy to pass. It is light to dark brown with a mild odor, and it usually sinks to the bottom of the toilet bowl.

Use the following chart to compare normal vs. abnormal bowel movements based on the Bristol Stool Form Scale:

Stool Normal Abnormal
Frequency  Three times a day to three times a week  Less than three times a week or more than three times a day
Consistency  Soft but remains intact when flushed Hard, lumpy, loose, or watery 
Color Light to dark brown and sometimes green Red, black, or very pale
Length Between 4 and 8 inches long Extremely long or very short
Width About the width of a banana Pencil thin, ribbon-like, or excessively wide
Shape Sausage-shaped with a smooth or cracked surface Irregular, pebble-like, or fragmented
Ease Minimal straining, smooth passage Difficult to pass or causes straining
Odor Mildly unpleasant, not foul Foul or unusually strong

What Is the Normal Pattern of Bowel Movement?

Normal bowel movement patterns vary from one person to the next. It generally takes 14 to 58 hours for food to move through the digestive tract. On average, food takes 28 hours to fully digest and reach the anus, where it leaves the body.

Many factors can influence bowel movement patterns, including:

  • What you eat: Eating foods that are high in fiber ensures your bowel movements are regular and consistent. Eating foods that are processed, high in saturated fat, and low in fiber can lead to constipation.
  • Fluid intake: Drinking plenty of fluid, especially water, aids digestion and helps produce well-formed, easy-to-pass stools. Drinking too little fluid leads to hard, dry stools and constipation.
  • Physical activity: Physical movement supports a healthy gut microbiome and enhances digestion, leading to healthier, more regular bowel movements. A sedentary lifestyle can slow down these processes and lead to constipation.
  • Age: Gut motility often slows down with age, leading to slower, less efficient digestion. Research shows that up to 30% of people aged 60 and above have chronic constipation.
  • Medications: Certain medications can affect bowel movements. For example, antibiotic medications can lead to loose stools and more frequent bowel movements. Various other drugs, including opioids and some antidepressants, can cause constipation.
  • Stress: Traumatic or chronic stress can alter bowel movements, causing diarrhea and constipation.

How Long Should It Take to Poop?

If you feel the urge to go, it might take just a few seconds to a minute to pass a stool. However, some people need to sit and wait for the process to happen naturally, which is also perfectly normal. One study found that, on average, it takes between 4.7 and 6.1 minutes for a healthy woman aged 18 to 35 to pass a stool.

Red Flags for Changes in Bowel Habits

It's normal for your bowel movement patterns to change from time to time. While occasional changes are usually nothing to worry about, if you notice consistent or major shifts, it's a good idea to check in with a healthcare provider.

In particular, look out for these bowel habit red flags:

  • Persistent constipation: Constipation is considered chronic if it lasts for at least three months. It can be caused by conditions like pregnancy, irritable bowel syndrome, or colorectal cancer, and may lead to such complications as hemorrhoids, anal fissures, or rectal prolapse.
  • Persistent diarrhea: Diarrhea is defined as having loose, watery stools three or more times a day. It is considered chronic if it lasts over four weeks. It can be caused by conditions like food allergies, celiac disease, and colon cancer, and may lead to severe complications like dehydration, malnutrition, and organ failure.
  • Red stool: This can be the result of eating red-colored food like beets or strawberry gelatin. But it may also be due to blood in your stool caused by everything from include hemorrhoids to IBD and colon cancer.
  • Green stool: This can be caused by severe diarrhea, or from a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection of the gut. Iron supplements can sometimes cause green stools as can green-colored foods like lime gelatin or spinach.
  • Pale or clay-colored stool: This is a common sign of liver or gallbladder disease, including hepatitis. But, it may also be due to less serious causes like a recent barium enema.
  • Black or tarry stool: This may be caused by internal bleeding high in the digestive tract, which can happen as a result of colon cancer or peptic ulcer. It may be also due to taking iron supplements, using Pepto-Bismol (bismuth), or eating licorice candy.
  • Mucus in stool: Small amounts of mucus in the stool are normal as the intestines produce mucus to help lubricate passing stools. However, large amounts of mucus in stool may be a sign of a medical condition, such as celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, or colon cancer.
  • Thin stool: Pencil-thin stools can signal a narrowing of the intestine due to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or colon cancer. Chronic diarrhea or severe infections may also cause intestinal narrowing due to inflammation. In severe cases, this can lead to bowel obstruction.
  • Foul odor: Stools generally have an unpleasant odor. But there are also times when stool may emit an unusually putrid or sulfuric smell. This can be caused by malabsorption conditions like IBS or irritable bowel disease (IBD). It can also be the result of a food allergy, gastrointestinal (GI) infection, or the use of antibiotics.

Should Healthy Stools Float or Sink?

In the past, it was thought that stools only float if you eat too much fat or have a malabsorption problem that affects your ability to digest fat. While this could very well be the issue, scientists have recently found that stools can also float based on the amount of gas produced by the natural bacteria in your gut. These gases can penetrate stool and cause them to float even in perfectly healthy people.

When to See a Healthcare Provider

Most changes in bowel habits are temporary and not cause for concern. However, certain bowel symptoms should not be ignored.

See your healthcare provider if you experience:

  • Persistent changes in the shape, consistency, or color of stools
  • Constipation that lasts more than a week
  • Diarrhea lasting more than two days without improvement
  • Bleeding from your rectum
  • Unexplained or persistent abdominal pain
  • Excessive thirst with a dry mouth or skin
  • Little or no urination
  • Severe weakness
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Severe abdominal or rectal pain
  • Bloody or black stools
  • Incomplete bowel movements
  • A high fever
  • Excessive or unexplained weight loss

What Does Poop Look like With Colon Problems?

Narrow, pencil-thin and flat, ribbon-like stool is commonly associated with serious colon problems, such as colon cancer or colon blockage. Blood or significant mucus in stool, frequent diarrhea or constipation, and pale stool are also red flags of a colon problem.

Summary

Generally speaking, you should expect to pass stools between three times a day and three times a week. Anything greater than three times a day may be due to diarrhea, while anything less than three times a week may be due to constipation.

Stools should be brown, soft but well-formed, and look like a sausage. If your stool has an abnormal color, consistency, or smell, it may be due to something you ate or an underlying medical condition in need of investigation by a healthcare provider.

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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Additional Reading
Amber J. Tresca

By Amber J. Tresca
Tresca is a writer and speaker who covers digestive conditions, including IBD. She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at age 16.