beauty

Is it better to shower in the morning or at night?

Image: iStock.

There are some conversation starters that never fail to divide a dinner table, despite being entirely trivial. Smooth or crunchy peanut butter? Should you sleep in a bra? And this, the most explosive question of them all… is it better to shower in the morning or at night?

Regardless of which showering side you’re on, you’re probably convinced you’re doing it right — and that everyone else is completely crazy for their bathing hour of choice.

RELATED: 3 reasons why cleansing your face in the shower isn’t the best idea.

We examined the evidence, and we think you’ll be surprised to learn about the benefits…

Benefits of morning showers.

1. It sets up your day in a positive way.

The ‘early bird’ washers of our office say the mere thought of facing the day without standing under a water stream is horrifying. A recent survey of 1000 women commissioned by Herbal Essences seems to corroborate this. It found that the majority of women felt showering in the morning “transformed” their entire day, making them feel more relaxed and prepared for what was to come.

2. It can help your skin.

Also, certain skin types can actually benefit from a morning shower.

“Showering in the morning… can be especially good for those with oily skin, since oil can build up during the night and showers are excellent at clearing the pores,” internist Dr Holly Phillips tells Yahoo HealthThis also applies to people to tend to sweat throughout the night.

RELATED: The 4 benefits of peeing in the shower. We’re going there.

3. It’s great for morning exercisers.

Also, if you work out in the morning, a shower beforehand can help to warm up your muscles and reduce any stiffness caused by sleep.

Morning agenda, item one: shower

Benefits of night showers.

Those of us in favour of after-hours showers are all about keeping bedding clean and washing off the debris of the day. There are some valid arguments here; especially when it comes to scoring that five to 10 minutes of extra sleep/Instagram scrolling time in the morning.

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1. It can help you catch some zzzzs.

Strengthening the case of Team Night Shower is the positive effect a warm shower before bed could have on your sleep if you time it right. According to sleep scientist Jessa Gamble, doing this can aid your body's natural 'powering down process' which involves a change in body temperature.

RELATED: Why some women are skipping the shower FOR DAYS.

Our body temperature naturally cools as we prepare to go to sleep. However, because we don't always go to bed as this change occurs, the temperature can drop a little too much and disrupt our ability to zonk out. (Post continues after gallery.)

A warm shower a couple of hours before bed (not right before it) can therefore prolong the process — plus, it has quite a relaxing effect, which doesn't hurt.

2. It rids your body of germs.

If you're someone who is particularly active through the day, or you work in an environment that's particularly germy, experts say a night shower is probably a wise option.

The verdict

To be honest, we were hoping to put this age-old debate to rest with some conclusive findings — but it seems the advantages are spread pretty evenly between morning and evening showers. Damn it.

So the somewhat boring conclusion is: when it comes to showering, you do you. (But come on: morning showers are better. We all know that, right?)

What's your favourite time to shower?