Your daily shower routine may have more effect on your health than you’d think.
While some people are adamant about showering multiple times a day, others are content with a splash every other day. This topic often sparks heated discussions, with many arguing for their regimen as the correct one, branding different habits as unclean. But actually, it boils down to what suits each individual the best.
One contentious point is the ideal time for a shower – the morning to kickstart the day or at night to ensure cleanliness before bed. Weighing into this debate, dermatologist Dr Dray has clarified things in a TikTok video. She states showering in the evening trumps the morning ritual for the sake of both your health and a cleaner bed.
According to Dr Dray, those who suffer from pollen or dust allergies must consider an evening shower essential. Showering at night can rid the skin of allergens accumulated throughout the day.
She advises: “There are definite perks for your skin and allergy symptoms to showering at night. Seriously consider, if you’re not already, showering at night. Especially if you get seasonal allergies because pollen and things of that sort settle on your skin and in your hair, and that can contribute to allergy flare-ups.
“One of the perks of bathing that people don’t appreciate is that it’s essentially a form of light exfoliation. It kicks off all these clumps of dead cells that need to be shed. If you don’t shower at night, you end up shedding that into your bed linen. And guess who loves that? Dust mites. Which again are another problem for those of you with allergies.”
The time of day you shower doesn’t really make too much of a difference, and if you’d rather rinse in the morning, that’s also fine – but you should consider changing your bedsheets more often to prevent dust mites. However, if you’re an allergy sufferer, then showering at night might stop your symptoms from getting worse when you go to bed.
And if you really want to, you could shower both at night and in the morning – although you should be cautious of how much water this uses and the energy cost of heating it.
Commenters on the post were still split over the dermatologist’s advice. Some said they won’t stop showering in the morning as they want to feel “clean” when they go outside and meet people, while others claimed switching to night showers has been a “game-changer” for them.
One person said: “I started showering before bed because it’s relaxing. I no longer dread getting up in the morning because this chore has already been done.”
Another argued: “Showering in the morning is the only thing that actually wakes me up.”