showering

When we think of life's big questions, we usually think about things like the meaning of life and whether or not God exists. We probably don't think about which way a toilet paper roll should hang or how often we should wash our bed sheets, but interestingly enough, those practical daily life questions often lead to more heated debates than the mystical existential ones.

Case in point: A viral X thread in which people discuss whether it's best to shower in the morning or at night. It appears that people have surprisingly strong feelings about the subject that they vehemently defend. Is what time of day to clean your body a world-changing debate? No. Is it a life-changing one on an individual level? Maybe.

The debate started when someone posted about normalizing showering and wearing deodorant to school, and a person responded that night showering was becoming less normalized. "We need to talk about it," they wrote, and talk about it people did.

The morning shower people chimed in with their thoughts and reasoning:

"Good, morning showers is the way to go. Don't tell me you get out of your bed and just start the day all crusty And why would you shower just before sleeping like."

"I shower in the morning because helps me wake up. That’s why I don’t shower at night."

"I like feeling clean in the morning before school, simple as."

"In the morning u wake up for the day and also its easier to fix ur hair if it dries weirdly while u sleep."

"That’s because you sweat more in your sleep (yes, even if you’re cold) so you wake up sweatier and greasier than you went to bed. Showering in the morning makes the most sense to me, I’d rather not go out sweaty and stanky."

"Think about it. You shower at 9 pm and wake up at 7 am. That's already 10 hours, no shower. Then you have a full day doing jacksht. Do you really think your body won't start to smell throughout the day? This is mind-boggling to me."

Some people prefer to wake up and shower.Photo credit: Canva

But the night shower people made their own cases as well:

"People assuming people stink being a night shower person when really we should be assuming these people don't wash their sheets cause how are you gonna stink that fast just by sleeping on a presumably clean bed."

"Morning showering makes no sense, you’re showering before you get dirty, you then come home, sleep in your bed dirty, then wake up and shower."

"I shower at night so I sleep and wake up clean. I feel nasty as hell if I go to bed without a shower."

"Night showers make the most sense to me. You wake up clean, go about your day and get dirty, wash the dirt off before you go to bed, get in bed clean, wake up clean, etc."

"Why would anyone go to sleep dirty???? to sit in your filth for 8hrs?? build up all that bacteria on ur sheets?? so gross. u dont get dirty sleeping in a clean bed. so shower at night, wear deodorant to bed if u sweat, and wash ur face in the morning. that should be the norm."

Some people insist that showering at night is the only way to go.Photo credit: CanvaPhoto credit: Canva

As always, there were some centrists on the matter, explaining that everyone has different needs and preferences and lifestyles that might lend themselves to one or the other:

"Depends on the day tbh, if I’m working out and running errands outside then definitely a night shower, if I stay in all day and laze around then my usual morning shower is all I do, so sometimes two times a day sometimes one!"

"When I worked in an office and needed to greet people all day I was a morning showerer. Now I do manual (and quite filthy) labor, I cannot imagine even stepping foot into my bedroom with the yuck of the day still on me."

"Controversial take but imagine everyone is different and everyone's body behaves different and either is absolutely fine as long as u use deodorant."

Some people insist on showering at night and in the morning.Photo credit: Canva

And then there were the double judgers, who were appalled that everyone isn't showering in the morning and at night:

"The amount of people in the comments not taking a shower both before bed and in the morning is disappointing."

"Tbh, especially if you work or are on your feet for multiple hours of the day it’s at minimum 2 showers a day."

"Night shower so you clean off the dirtiness from outside and get into a clean bed morning rinse so you rinse off the sweat from the night and get a good morning freshener."

Some people insist on showering at night and in the morning.Photo credit: Canva

The sweat and stink factors seem to be the crux of the debate divide, with some assumptions being made all around. For instance, the morning showers assume the night showerers aren't putting on deodorant after their shower. Some even point to the idea that putting on antiperspirant before bed isn't healthy, as your armpits "need to breathe." Many night showerers assume it's a given that they'd deodorize after their shower. Some people sweat more at night than others, making nighttime showering seem more or less icky to different people.

So what do the experts say about showering in the morning or at night?

In short, it doesn't really matter all that much.

“There’s no definitive answer for the global population on whether to take an evening vs. morning shower,” dermatologist Alok Vij, MD told the Cleveland Clinic. “But for each individual, there tends to be a right answer. And it’s all based on preference.”

But what about the sheets staying clean? Eh, it's not quite that simple.

Microbiologist Primrose Freestone wrote in The Conversation that she personally prefers day showering and asserts that night showering doesn't prevent your sheets from getting icky. "Even if you’ve freshly showered before bed, you will still sweat during the night—whatever the temperature is," she wrote. "Your skin microbes will then eat the nutrients in that sweat. This means that by the morning, you’ll have both deposited microbes onto your bed sheets and you’ll probably also wake up with some BO."

In fact, she added, “A morning shower suggests your body will be cleaner of night-acquired skin microbes when putting on fresh clothes. You’ll also start the day with less sweat for odor-producing bacteria to feed on—which will probably help you smell fresher for longer during the day compared to someone who showered at night."

Morning showers might have a slight benefit over nighttime ones.Giphy

The most important behavior in this discussion is washing your sheets regularly—at least weekly—no matter when you shower, according to both Freestone and Vij.

“It’s a wash,” Dr. Vij said in response to the sheets question. “Regardless of when you shower, you should wash your sheets on a regular basis. You’re still going to deposit a lot of dead skin cells, accumulated overnight sweat, bacteria and oils. Fungus is going to live there. There’s all sorts of contaminants and pollutants in your bed whether you take a shower beforehand or not.”

The only people who might actually be "wrong" in the debate are the folks who are judging those who aren't showering twice a day. Dermatologists don't recommend showering more than once per day so as not to upset the balance of natural oils and good bacteria that live on your skin. In fact, several times a week is sufficient for most people (barring those who do extremely dirty or sweaty work, of course).

Bottom line is, shower when you want to, morning or night. But do shower, and make sure to wash your sheets regularly.