Showering in the morning or evening: Which is better for your hygiene and health?

While some people choose to shower in the morning to start their day energized, others prefer to shower at night to relax after a long day.

However, recent scientific research indicates that the timing of your shower may have a direct impact on personal hygiene, sleep quality, and even overall health. This raises the question: When is showering more beneficial—morning or evening?

Primrose Freestone, a lecturer in clinical microbiology at the University of Leicester, says that the timing of your shower has an important biological effect, and morning showering is best from a hygiene and health perspective.

In an article published on The Conversation, Freestone explains that showering in the morning helps remove dead skin cells, sweat, and bacteria that accumulate during sleep, reducing unpleasant odor and keeping the body clean at the start of the day.

Although an evening shower removes dirt and pollutants that have accumulated on the skin during the day, sweating during sleep re-produces oils and feeds skin microbes, leading to their proliferation and accumulation on bed sheets.

This, in turn, fosters a favorable environment for dust mites, which feed on dead skin cells and can cause allergies or exacerbate asthma, especially when bed sheets are not washed regularly.

Friston says that showering in the morning gives the body a clean start and reduces the chances of bacteria and odor spreading throughout the day, especially if combined with clean clothes.

However, she emphasizes that even more important than the timing of your shower is regularly washing your bed sheets at least once a week. This helps remove sweat, bacteria, skin cells, oils, and fungal spores that feed on these elements.

Bathing offers numerous physical and psychological benefits, but the practice can also come with some risks when it comes to how you do it.

What is the ideal bathing time?

There seems to be a clear link between long baths and skin irritation. Dermatologist Emma Amoafo-Mensah explains: "Showering for long periods in water that is too hot can strip the skin of its natural oils. Without these, water evaporates more quickly in a process known as transepidermal water loss (TEWL), which can lead to tightness and dryness."

According to Emma, ​​it's all about timing your bathing.

She told Metro: "Many people spend too much time in the shower, and the ideal time to do so should be no more than ten minutes. Spending longer than this increases the likelihood of your skin feeling dry and irritated, especially if the water is very hot and you're prone to dry skin."

Emma also emphasizes the importance of moisturizing, saying: "When the skin isn't properly moisturized, it becomes irritated and can start to itch. To stop irritation, you need to treat the dryness with a product that can replenish and maintain the skin's moisture."

Experts don't recommend daily showers, as they don't improve health and can cause skin or other health problems.

Although there's no ideal frequency, experts suggest that showering several times a week is too much for most people.

Source: Daily Mail - https://ar.rt.com/zwsj - Published on 20.05.2025