Showering before bed is a great way to wash the day away. Experts say that when done right, a shower in the evening can even help you relax and get ready for bed. But that doesn’t mean it can’t backfire. In fact, certain shower habits could actually keep you up at night. Are you someone who enjoys nighttime showers? Read on to make sure you’re avoiding this one practice that could be disrupting your sleep.
Never shower at extreme temperatures before bed
If you like taking showers at extreme ends of the temperature spectrum, you may want to rethink the habit. Rachel Salas, MD, a sleep neurologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep and Wellness, told The Washington Post that taking a really hot or really cold shower before bed could lead to sleep problems.
“If you take a shower close to bedtime and it’s a very hot or cold shower, that temperature can negatively affect your sleep,” Salas said. “What you’re doing is you’re making your body temperature so different from baseline.” Aim to take a more moderate temperature shower if you’re planning to head to bed soon after.
A warm shower a couple of hours before bed is best for your sleep
While a super steamy shower is bad news for getting rest, a warm shower will have the ideal effect. Phyllis Zee, PhD, chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern University, told The Washington Post that taking a warm shower one to two hours before bed can be beneficial. A warm shower will warm up your hands, feet, and head, which will cause the heat to leave more central body parts, such as your chest or abdomen. As the heat moves to your limbs, your body temperature decreases, which helps the body cool off, Zee explained. Since the body naturally cools down as you get closer to bedtime, this process could help you fall asleep faster.
“Your circadian rhythm, which is your sleep-wake cycle, is guided by your body temperature and light,” sleep specialist Whitney Roban, PhD, told Well and Good. “You want your body temperature to decrease in order for melatonin to increase. When you get out of a hot shower, your body temperature is going to drop, and … the production of your melatonin is going to increase. And that will help you feel sleepy.”
Showering in the morning is not superior to showering at night
It’s long been debated whether morning or night showers are better for you, but experts say it doesn’t matter. When you prefer to shower “is not a scientific decision,” Mona Gohara, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, told The Washington Post. “This is a personal decision.”
While experts say a warm shower at night can help you fall asleep, a morning shower can have the benefit of waking you up. And when it comes to your hygiene, the most important thing is not when you’re showering, but how. “The benefit of the skin really comes from what you’re using in the shower, what you do right after the shower,” Gohara said. “You could be showering in the morning, or you could be showering at night and using [bad] products and ruining your skin.”
And if you do prefer a hot shower, don’t stay in for too long
Once you get comfortable in the shower, it can be hard to step out. However, experts warn that staying in a hot shower for too long can be bad for your skin. Ivy Lee, MD, a Los Angeles-based dermatologist, told The Washington Post that hot showers dehydrate the skin because when “you’re opening up that skin barrier and creating that permeability, it really just decreases [the skin’s] ability to hold on to water.” Lee and other dermatologists told the newspaper that they recommend shorter showers—no more than 10 minutes—with room temperature water.
This reminder is especially important for people with skin conditions. “Any skin condition characterized by a defective skin barrier can be worsened by a hot shower,” dermatologist Shari Marchbein, MD, told Allure. It “strips the skin of sebum, the healthy fats, and oils necessary for skin health, and dehydrates the skin.” Marchbein said eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, and excessively dry skin can all be exacerbated by a long, hot shower
