The Biggest Mistake You're Making Showering At Night

It can be a heated debate — is showering in the morning or at nighttime better? Luckily, it mostly depends on your personal preference, as long as you're cleansing your body from bacteria by practicing good hygiene. But there are some mistakes to avoid if you're a nighttime shower lover.

What could arguably be the biggest mistake you're making with your nighttime shower is the shower's timing. According to researchers, hot showers should be taken at least two hours before your bedtime to maximize your sleep quality (via Men's Health). If you take that hot shower right before hopping into bed, your body's natural sleep triggers and circadian rhythm may be affected by the sudden blasts in temperatures.

"Cooling down is a signal that tells us we're supposed to go to sleep," Center for Sleep Medicine's Dr. Dianne Augelli told TIME, adding that your body temperature naturally begins to fall in the late afternoon to start telling your body when it's time for sleep. That means a hot blast right before bed may make it more difficult to fall asleep.

But the potential affect on your sleep showering too close to bedtime isn't a reason to completely avoid hot nighttime showers. Studies have found that showering earlier in the evening and warming up your body, with enough time to cool down later, actually helps with sleep quality (via TIME).

There are also some other negatives to be aware of when showering at night. You may wake up with your skin and hair feeling oily if you go to bed with wet hair, so just be sure to allow some time in the morning to cleanse your face and style your hair from bedhead, if needed (via MindBodyGreen).

If you're not a morning person, a nighttime shower can let you get a few more zzz's, but you also forgo the "jolt" a cooler morning shower can bring to jumpstart your day.

Otherwise, a night shower with enough time to cool down can be a great way to unwind, leave you feeling relaxed, and get into bed feeling nice, clean and cozy.