A Night Time Shower Can Actually Improve Your Bedtime Sleep Quality
If you’re used to taking a piping hot shower first thing in the morning to wake yourself up, you may want to reconsider. Sure, it’s something to look forward to as soon as you stumble out of bed - but you might not be doing your health and well-being any favors.
A night time shower can actually improve your bedtime sleep quality and habits, too. Not only will you get the benefits of more restful sleep, but you’ll likely find that other aspects of your health - including your immune functioning, skin, and hair health - all improve, too.
There are all kinds of tricks you can implement to improve your nighttime sleep routine - and getting into a warm shower in the right window of time is just one of them. Here’s what you need to know.
Will a Bedtime Shower Help With Sleep?
Night Time Showers Good For You and Sleep?
Taking a shower right before bed is a great way to get some better shut-eye. The goal is to not start too late. You don’t want to get heated up right before you head to bed, as your body temperature plays a vital role in regulating your circadian rhythm (which will regulate when you feel alert and sleepy).
During the day, your body temperature will rise gradually. This will help keep you awake. In the late afternoon, your body temperature will begin to fall. That’s because cooling down tells us it’s time to go to sleep. Making yourself hot by taking a shower can interrupt this process.
If you shower a bit earlier in the evening - ideally about an hour and a half before you plan to go to bed - you’ll have a chance to cool off and you’ll even be able to invite sleep to come, too. Warming up your body by taking a hot shower or bath can induce sleep on your new natural latex mattress as long as you give yourself time to cool off.
Just 90 minutes is usually all you need to cool down. So consider hopping into a shower (either cool or warm) after you eat dinner. You can spend the rest of the night relaxing but you’ll likely find yourself ready to hit the sheets soon after you cool down and dry off from your shower.
Lowers Core Temp
Lowers Core Temp - Bedtime Showers
Our bodies are controlled by a 24-hour clock called a circadian rhythm. This rhythm tells us everything, from when it’s time to wake up to when it’s time for bed. Our circadian rhythms even tell us when it’s time to eat - and they are connected to other bodily cues, too, like our hormones.
When you take a warm shower or bath at night, you'll help your body regulate itself to the ideal temperature for sleep. You might get a temporary spike of energy while you’re in the shower, but your body will begin to cool as soon as you get out of the water and begin to dry off.
Relaxes Body and Mind
Taking a nighttime shower before bed is also a great way to unwind after a long day. It doesn’t matter whether you’re taking a cold shower or a hot shower - you’re sure to relax and just enjoy the stream of water on your body. Bonus points if you’re able to take a cold shower - you’ll be so focused on your chattering teeth that you won’t be thinking about any of the stressors in your life!
Cold or Hot Shower
Cold or Hot Bedtime Showering - Improve Sleep Quality
You might be wondering whether a cold shower is better than a hot shower at getting your body ready for bed on your vegan mattress. Taking a cold shower will speed up the process of cooling down, but they also have a stimulating effect.
Therefore, you might be better off saving the icy shower for the morning and enjoying a warm shower in the evening. Just make sure it’s not a piping hot bath or shower, either - that can produce the opposite of the desired effect.
If you plan on taking a shower before you go to bed and you have the specific goal of using it to help you all asleep, you’re going to want to pay close attention to the temperature. For best results, take a lukewarm shower about 90 minutes before you head to bed.
Otherwise, cold and hot showers have their own benefits and disadvantages.
The problem with taking a cold shower right before bed is that it will overly stipulate your body and mind. The rush of cold will activate the sympathetic nervous system of your body, sending it immediately into fight or flight mode. You’ll experience an energizing effect, but if you aren’t interested in waking up right before you head to bed, that might not be the right effect to shoot for.
However, a too-hot shower will energize your body, too. It will take you begin to cool down after you take a piping hot shower, too, which can make it tough to fall asleep.
Like Goldilocks, you need to shoot for a shower that falls right in the middle - a lukewarm shower will be “just right.” The steam in these who will open your nasal passages and make it easier for you to breathe. You will be less likely to snore and less likely to's fifer form symptoms of allergies and asthma, too.
Benefits of Cold Shower
Improve Sleep Quality Bedtime Showering
There are all kinds of benefits to taking a cold shower before bed. Even if cold showers aren’t your thing, you may want to consider dialing down the tap in order to receive a few of these benefits.
Cold showers can promote alertness - that effect might not come as a surprise. A quick jaunt in a cold shower can wake you up and give you the energy you need to get through those last items on your to-do list.
Cold showers can even help to fight depression. Cold showers activate the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in a natural, drug-free antidepressant effect.
Stimulates Immune System
For one, when you’re in cold water, your body is naturally going to try to warm itself. This speeds up your metabolism, which also activates your immune system. You’ll experience a spike in your white blood cell count, which is what your body uses to fend off viral and bacterial attacks.
Take a cold shower at night, and you’re going to be less likely to get sick from a wide variety of diseases.
Prevents Colds
Take a cold shower, and, ironically, you’re probably going to suffer from fewer colds. You will be more equipped to handle any kind of respiratory infection you already have, and you’ll be less likely to suffer from one in the future.
Reduces Hair Loss
Benefit From Cold Showers: Reduces Hair Loss
Taking a shower at night - particularly a cold one - is a great way to reduce hair loss. Cold showers lock in moisture and flatten out your cuticles. This can reduce the likelihood of breakage and will keep your hair looking fresh and shiny, too.
Cold showers are also good for your skin. Cold showers constrict blood vessels and tighten your pores. You’ll enjoy a noticeable reduction in redness and puffiness. Since you’ll have improved circulation, you’ll also enjoy a bright, radiant glow.
Benefits of Hot Shower
There are all kinds of benefits to taking a hot shower - regardless of the time of day you decide to hop in.
For one, it can reduce nasal congestion. Taking a hot shower will clear out your sinuses and make breathing ten times easier.
Relaxes Muscles
Bedtime Showering Helps Relaxes Muscles
A warm shower can reduce your body tension. It’s not uncommon to feel locked up and tight after a long day at the office. Getting into some warm water and steam will naturally reduce your tension and help you to relax at the end of the day.
If you tend to suffer from migraines, a warm shower at night may be just what the doctor ordered. A warm bath will relax you and improve your circulation. If you take any medication for the pain, taking a warm shower will loosen you and your muscles up and increase blood flow so that the medication can take effect faster.
Reduce Swelling
Have any swelling anywhere in your body? If so, spending just five minutes in hot water can reduce swelling and inflammation and also promote healing. Again, the circulatory benefits of hot water come into play here.
Improves Skin
Bedtime Showering Helps Improve Overall Skin Health
You can always toss face washing into your nighttime shower routine, too. Cleansing your skin at night will help to clear your skin and can prevent breakouts. It can also guard against wrinkles. When you shower at night, it will also help moisturizers and night creams work more effectively, too.
Showering at night is a great way to remove toxins from your skin. It will cleanse away impurities that you won't be able to get rid of with cold water alone. Taking a hot shower at night will also help open your pores so it’s easier to clean the dirt from the day away.
Reduce Anxiety
Just as your body’s tensions melt away while you’re enjoying a bedtime shower, so can your mental stressors. Take a hot shower at night, and you’ll likely find that you relieve a ton of anxiety about your day or about any problems you may have been having. You’ll be able to come up with solutions to challenges that before seemed insurmountable.
Reduce Anxiety with Bedtime Showering
In fact, if you suffer from insomnia, taking a warm shower before bed is one of the best ways to help alleviate your suffering. You’ll be better able to relax and prepare both your body and mind for bed. Consider adding a few lavender essential oils to the bath if you are having trouble falling asleep - this will boost the effects of the warm water.
Showers help you to relax, both mentally and physically. Don’t you always feel better after taking a hot shower? When you’re less stressed, it will be easier to sleep. Plus, showers help you get cleaned off. You won’t bring any dirt, allergens, or oils into bed for you - that’s great for your health, and great for your sheets, too.
Plus, a shower will help you disconnect. If you’re showering, you can’t be playing on your phone or watching television. Even if you only shower for a couple of minutes, you’ll give your mind a moment to unplug. Consider including a shower in your bedtime routine to help you transition from your on-the-go lifestyle to a restful night of sleep.
For an added boost, you may want to add some essential oils to your daytime or nighttime shower. Want to relax and unwind when you take a bedtime shower? Drop some sandalwood or lavender oil into the steam. If you’d rather be able to wake right up by taking a morning shower, you can add a scent that will energize you, like citrus.
Consider Bathing or Taking A Shower At Bedtime To Help Improve Your Sleep
There are all kinds of benefits to bathing or showering first thing in the morning. Maybe it helps to wake you up, or perhaps you want to be able to shower so your hair is clean and ready to shower.
However, for many people, the benefits of showering at bedtime far outweigh those of showering in the morning. Showering is something that pretty much everyone does daily, and switching your showering routine to the bedtime sleep hours is an easy way to improve your sleep.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide when to shower. Consider exactly what your body needs. If you are more concerned about not being able to wake up in the morning, you may want to take an icy cold bath or shower first thing in the morning.
However, if you struggle with winding down and getting to bed at a decent hour because your mind is racing, you may want to take a warm shower at night instead.
Of course, you could always try to get the best of both worlds by showering twice a day. Take a cool shower in the morning and a lukewarm one at night. This won’t help you to save on your water bill, of course, but it can provide you with both the energizing and relaxing effects you need.
Lisa Czachowski is a professional social blogger and has worked on several online publications including Citrus Sleep. Lisa is an experienced content writer and copyeditor. You will find many of her works throughout CitrusSleep.com that cover a wide array of subjects including sustainability, natural, sleep products, health, fashion and many more. She is passionate about what providing as much information as possible on products you bring in your home and what we wear.
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