Loard Eva
You wake up hours ago in the morning but still feeling sleepy. Take a shower and you’ll be completely awake and refreshed. But have you ever heard that a shower can also help you sleep? If you haven’t, then I am telling you it definitely does.
After a daylong stressful day, all you need is a sound sleep. A hot shower before that will help you relax better. Overly hot showers can do the opposite.
So, maintaining the time and temperature is also important. In this article, we’ll discuss everything about taking a hot shower before bedtime.
How Showering At Night Helps You Sleep
Lowers the Body Temperature
The natural cardiac rhythm of our body tells us when it’s time to sleep or wake up. When it’s time to sleep our body is supposed to cool down by a degree Fahrenheit.
When you take a hot shower or warm bath, you aid your body to obtain the ideal temperature. Though you’ll initially get a spike in the warm water, you will cool down gradually as you towel off your body.
Calms Down Your Body And Mind
A warm bath is a complete relaxation. Like a massaging, it improves the blood circulation as well as oxygen flow. It also relaxes the muscles and improves muscle soreness and joint pain.
Not only your body but also your mind is refreshed after a warm shower. It washes away all day stresses along with dirt and filth of the body. Thus, it helps you to get down to bed with a calm and fresh mind.
Relieves Your Anxiety
Maybe that’s why people come out with creative solutions to their problems after bathing. It’s because by reducing the anxiety in the head it helps you to think clearly and you come up with ideas to fix the challenge.
Relaxes the Muscles
A 96-150 degree F. temperature will be helpful for the stiffness and soreness of muscle. Especially neck and shoulder pain are much benefited by a hot shower.
Cleans Away Impurities
Hot water cleans your body better than cold water. The heat and the steam open up the pores of your skin. Thus it removes all the dirt from inside the pores. So after cleaning your body with warm water, you should rinse it off with cold water to close the pores.
Lessens Migraines
A warm bath can prevent the ongoing pressure building in your head that causes a migraine. If you have already taken any medicine, a hot shower will quicken its effect by increasing the blood flow.
Other Benefits of Showering before Bed
- People who can’t breathe properly due to sinus problem know the suffering. Both The steam and the heat helps to remove the nasal congestion.
- Let the stream flow over your body. Hit the area longest with the warm water jet where it feels tense.
- Spend five minutes in the hot shower and it’ll arouse healing.
When to Take Warm Shower before Bedtime
Taking a hot shower just before hitting the bed isn’t something we’re saying helpful to sleep. As I mentioned above, the natural change in body temperature will tell you when you should go to the bed.
During daytime, the body temperature continues rising up till late afternoon. After that, it begins to fall and the metabolic functions such as the heart rate get slower. And gradually you feel sleepy. So sudden interruption can do the opposite.
Therefore, showering in the evening when your body just started to cool down is ideal. There’s enough time to cool off the body afterward. If somehow you’re late you can take a 20 minutes shower before bedtime.
But you must wait for 1 -1 ½ hour to let your body cool down before you hit the bed. By that time your body will be dry and cool and ready for a sound sleep. Don’t use overly heated water.
Tips to Keep Your Shower Short and Warm
Now you’ve prepared a warm bath for you and enjoying a hot shower. But in the midst of that, you discover yourself in a cold shower instead. If it has ever happened to you, (pretty sure it has!) you’ll know how worse it feels.
If you tend to take a longer bath then it’s normal that you’ll find yourself in the midst of a cold shower. So you must keep your shower short. If there’s a water heater and it’s old enough, probably the reason of suddenly turning the water chilly lies in the unit.
Experts suggest a shower-duration between 5 to 15 minutes and a 104°F temperature. This combination is perfect for preventing the body temperature to rise too much.
So here are some tips on how you can keep the shower short and warm.
- Use a timer.
- Prepare a playlist to hear while showering that matches the duration of your bath time.
- Check the water heater whether it’s working properly or not. Do any plumbing if necessary.
Bottom Line
Showering is something you daily have to do. So why not make it work more effectively? Make it warm but not too much. Also don’t unnecessarily lengthen the bath time.
