A good cold shower at night could be a soothing habit for most living in the tropics but it turns out that that it could be counterintuitive when it comes to beating stress and anxiety and having a good night’s sleep especially after a hard day’s work.
Studies have shown that when we sleep, heat escapes our bodies which is why our skin feels a little warmer at night, however, that change doesn’t happen ideally as we want it, disrupting our sleep instead. The solution? A hot shower before bed can help ease us in this transition by preventing us from losing heat too quickly. For solutions on how to sleep better, check out these 7 ways a night shower can help you!
1. Decrease Body Temperature
Ever felt drowsy in the car with the air conditioning blasting full force at you? This is due your metabolic functions such as breathing and heart rate slowing down because of the drop in body temperature. By using this theory, one can take advantage of a good soothing shower to lower your body temperature so that your body knows it’s being prepared for a good night’s sleep.
However, instead of taking a cold shower which is a common misconception on how to sleep better during a hot day, emerging from a hot shower into cold air would bring down body temperatures more drastically.
2. Relieves Tension and Anxiety
Tension headaches, a stiff neck and shoulder pains are the common woes we all suffer from being desk bound. A hot shower just before bed time can help dilate blood vessels and improve blood circulation enabling the body to relax and soothe muscles.
Having a panic attack for that conference presentation tomorrow? Warm water has also proven to help clear the mind of troubles and reduce anxiety significantly.
3. Moisturises Skin And Clears Excess Oil
One of the greatest pet peeves, if you would agree, is getting into bed with excessively oily skin. Sticky skin rubbing against clean silky bed sheets just won’t do for a good night’s sleep. Just simply having a short shower will do the trick to ensure a great shut eye.
If you are suffering from dry skin, the itch might keep you awake at night. Having a hot shower just before bed time can help open up pores for the introduction of a body lotion which can aid in better absorption.
4. Helps Get Rid Of Sinuses And Allergies
The spread of allergens become most rampant when flowers bloom during Spring and it doesn’t get easier when the sniffles get to you at night just before you go to bed.
Allergens can get attached to our skin and clothing and inhaling them can make one extremely uncomfortable and unable to sleep at night. By having a warm shower and changing into fresh clothing just before going to bed, we can wash these allergens away and open nasal passages soothing sinuses.
5. Clears Lungs
Narrow sinuses and accumulated mucous can cause clogged up nasal passages. By having a hot shower just before bedtime, it can also help clear our lungs of irritants and helps drain out mucous from the nose. By doing this, it can also help prevent us from coughing in the middle of the night which can disrupt sleep.
6. Helps Migraines
Throbbing headaches caused by migraines can be a huge contributor to disrupted sleep or worse, insomnia. There are many possible causes for migraines which range from being a hereditary disease to overactive nerve cells causing blood vessels to dilate and tighten which is the reason for pulsating pains.
For a quick fix, try running a hot shower over your head and your neck for 30 seconds as doing so, can help relax muscles and nerves.
7. Keeps your bed bug free
Dirty and flaky skin can lead to an infestation of dust mites as they feed off dead skin. With a shower and good moisturiser, you can keep the bed bugs at bay and even save time without having to change the bed sheets often.
However, it is always advisable to change your bed sheets at least once a week to kill any dust mites that could be bunking in with you. Dust mites are dangerous pests and can cause all sorts of itchy skin issues which can lead to disrupted sleep.
