Half of Americans hide out in bathroom for alone time — even if they don’t have to go!

NEW YORK — Need some alone time? It turns out most people go sit on their toilet – whether they have to go or not! Half of all Americans (51%) hide out in their bathroom when they want some much-needed peace and quiet, a recent survey of 2,000 respondents says.

The more people there are in the house, the more frequently it happens, apparently. Parents with kids still living in the house are three times as likely to seek refuge in the bathroom than childless, single respondents (62% vs. 23%). Not surprisingly, children between ages three and 12 stood out as the loudest members of the household (61%) – twice as loud as teenagers (36%) and three times as loud as adults (23%).

The survey, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Masonite, also suggests that the average respondent needs between four and five hours of private time per day to feel their best. Seventy-seven percent still need that private time even when they’re hosting family or friends in their house, and almost 81 percent think it’s important that they create quiet or private spaces within their own home.

Alone time is necessary to avoid chaos in the house

However, two in three (63%) claim that sound travels relatively easy through their home – enough that half (50%) frequently hear noises in other parts of the house when on a phone or video call, including TVs and sound systems (70%), appliances (64%), and other members of the household talking or moving around (63%).

“When families are working, resting, learning and playing together at home, it can be chaotic,” says Jennifer Renaud, Chief Marketing Officer of Masonite, in a statement. “It is important to create quiet spaces that provide the sense of peace and privacy that everyone craves.”

With that in mind, it makes sense that the bathroom serves as a convenient escape – which may be why 26 percent always close the bathroom door behind them no matter what they’re doing. However, a whopping nine in 10 (90%) still worry about concealing the sounds they make in the bathroom – most notably showering or bathing (50%), using the toilet (46%), and “singing in the shower” (43%). When they overhear something embarrassing themselves, almost one in three (29%) just pretend it never happened, and almost twice as many (43%) turn on music to drown out the sound.

“Closing a door – or adding one, such as a sliding barn door – can help keep sound where it belongs, but it will be most effective if it is a hinged door with a solid core,” says Renaud. “Sound travels more easily through a hollow core door, so choose a solid core door which is designed with more sound-dampening material.”

Survey methodology:

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was commissioned by Masonite between November 1 and November 2, 2022. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).