According to a survey from SleepFoundation, only 25.3% of us shower just before going to bed. But should more of us be doing it? There’s evidence to show that taking a shower before bed could have many benefits.
This post explores these benefits in detail while also determining whether it’s better to take a hot shower or a cold shower.
Can Taking Showers Before Bed Impact your Sleep?
- A shower before bed can help to increase blood flow around the body, which can help to reduce inflammation and pain around the body.
- Our muscles relax when we have a shower, helping them to feel less tense and stiff.
- When we step out of the shower, our core body temperature drops, which can have a similar effect to the body temperature drop we experience as we fall asleep.
- On top of helping us drift off easier, a shower before bed could help regulate our circadian rhythms (our sleep-wake cycle), resulting in better sleep quality throughout the night.
It’s worth noting that many of these effects are impacted by water temperature. This is something that is discussed later on in greater detail. Improved sleep quality is also just one potential benefit of taking a shower before bed.
What are the Benefits of Showering Before Bed?
Adding a shower to your bedtime routine could have several positive effects. This includes better sleep - but also effects like stress relief, better hygiene, respiratory benefits, and time saved in the morning.
1. Better sleep
In a study by Sleep Health, 33% of Americans described their sleep quality as fair or poor. Could a shower before bed be the solution? Relaxing musicals reduce inflammation and cause a drop in body temperature, and taking a shower before bed could help promote better sleep.
2. Stress relief
Stress is a state of mental and physical alertness triggered by our cortisol hormones. When stressed, many of us experience high blood pressure and anxious thoughts, making it much harder to fall asleep.
Taking a shower before bed can help reduce cortisol levels around the body by relaxing our muscles and stimulating our nerve endings. It’s a simple way to de-stress before bed.
3. Hygiene boost
Our skin accumulates a lot of dirt and oils throughout the day. Showering before bed helps to remove all of this dirt and sweat so that we’re getting into bed feeling clean.
It may also help to combat skin conditions like acne - going to bed without a shower can allow bacteria in our skin’s pores to thrive.
4. Respiratory benefits
An overlooked benefit of taking a shower before bed is reduced nasal congestion. A shower can help clear the nasal passages so that we can breathe better at night.
This could lead to a more restful night’s sleep. It may also help to reduce snoring (which could mean a good night’s sleep for anyone that you share a room with, too!). There’s a chance that it could also help with conditions like sleep apnea.
5. Morning time-saver
The vast majority of us regularly take a shower in the morning rather than the evening. The average shower lasts 8 minutes, with many of us spending several minutes drying our body and hair afterward.
Taking nighttime showers instead of morning showers could help to save you 10 to 15 minutes every morning. That’s potentially more time to get to work or more time to sleep in.
Hot vs. Cold Showers: Which One Is Better for Sleep?
Shower temperature could be an important factor to consider. Hot and cold water both have different effects on our body: heat, skin, and hormones - which can all influence sleep quality.
Out of the two options, research suggests that hot showers may be better for sleep.
Effects of hot showers on sleep
Most of us prefer a warm shower. And thankfully, warm water showers might be more effective at helping us to sleep than cold showers. This is because hot showers dilate our blood vessels.
This is what helps increase our blood flow and is responsible for helping our muscles relax. A hot shower (or indeed a hot bath) is also more effective at stimulating that natural drop in our body’s temperature that we experience when falling asleep.
This is because a hot shower warms up our body first and then causes our core body temperature to drop slowly as we get out.
Effects of cold showers on sleep
Recent studies on the health benefits of cold water immersion have led to more people trying out cold showers. Cold showers are effective at fighting inflammation and can actually be better at reducing swelling when it comes to fresh injuries and muscle stiffness after exercise.
However, cold showers can also shock the body, which can cause it to be flooded with adrenaline. This adrenaline rush is not ideal before going to bed and may actually make you feel more awake.
Is it Better to Take a Cold Shower Before Bed or in the Morning?
A cold shower before bed may help to combat inflammation and pain. There is also some research suggesting that full-body cold exposure can promote a greater deep sleep.
However, cold showers can promote alertness and can energize us, which could make it harder to trigger sleep onset. Taking a cold shower in the morning may be more beneficial than a hot shower in the morning.
The cold water can be invigorating - it could make you feel more alert and ready to take on the day ahead. Of course, motivating yourself to get into a cold shower in the morning could be more difficult than waking up to a warm shower and may cause some people to want to stay in bed longer.
Is it Better to Take a Hot or Cold Shower Before Bed?
When choosing between a hot shower or cold shower before bed, it’s worth weighing up the benefits and drawbacks. Below are some of the main pros and cons compared:
The pros of a hot shower before bed
- A hot shower can improve blood circulation, helping to reduce muscle stiffness and muscle soreness.
- Hot water bathing and showers can help open up pores, help clean your skin, and prevent conditions like acne.
- A hot shower can help to reduce stress hormone levels before bed and make you more relaxed.
- Hot showers are effective at initiating the core temperature change we experience before we fall asleep.
- Excessively hot water can strip natural oils from the skin and damage skin cells, which may cause further irritation for those with dry skin.
- A cold shower is effective at relieving inflammation caused by injuries or an evening training session at the gym.
- Cold water immersion can quickly reduce the body temperature and may help promote a deeper sleep.
- Exposure to cold water can trigger the release of adrenaline, which could make you feel more awake.
While it is ultimately down to personal preference, a hot shower before bed does seem to have more benefits than a cold shower.
Can a Shower Head Filter Improve Your Bedtime Routine?
Water quality can vary by location and can have impacts on our health. High levels of chemicals like chlorine can cause some people to develop dry and itchy skin and, in some cases, respiratory issues.
Some local water is also not entirely clean and may contain bacteria. A shower head filter could reduce excess chlorine and harsh chemicals.
This can help to provide natural and clean water from your shower head, which can combat skin conditions and respiratory problems, potentially resulting in a better night’s sleep.
So, Should You Shower Before Bed?
Showering before bed could be a good habit to get into if you don’t already do it. You can find that it helps you fall asleep faster and improves your overall sleep quality.
You could also find that it helps you de-stress, improves your skin health, helps you breathe better at night, and saves you time in the morning. Some people may prefer to opt for a cold shower in the evening, but a hot shower may turn out to be better for helping you sleep and cleaning your skin.
Cold showers could be better embraced as a morning option because they can help wake you up. To help your evening shower be as relaxing and enjoyable as possible, make sure that you have a good quality shower in your bathroom.
Exploring some of AquaBliss shower filters could also help improve your water quality and help you sleep better at night.
