Should you shower in the morning or at night?

Which has more benefits? Showering in the morning or at night? Photo / Getty Images.

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It's a conundrum that's as old as the shower itself: is it better to shower in the morning or in the evening? Luckily, Harvard University has finally discovered the answer.

Here are the findings:

Morning Shower

According to Shelley Carson, psychology lecturer at Harvard University, you should go for a morning shower when you're stressed from work or when there's pressure to be creative.

She explains that showering can spark creativity, because you're both relaxed and alert.

"If you were to come up with a problem that you wanted to solve creatively, and you were working and working on it and couldn't come up with a solution, then you could put it on the back burner of your mind and allow it to stew there while unconscious processes mull it over.

"Your cognitive processes relax, renew, and regenerate, and your ideas and solutions will effortlessly present themselves."

Evening Shower

The study suggests showering before bed can help people who find it hard to switch off, as it reduces stress-related cortisol levels.

Showering can regulate your body temperature, which can help with falling asleep.

Christopher Winter, MD at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine said: "That rapid cooling after you get out of the shower or out of the bath tends to be a natural sleep inducer. So it's a nice way to fool your body into thinking it's time to go to bed."

Dermatologists also suggest that taking a shower a night can help keep skin cleaner, as dirt and oil from pollutants accumulate throughout the day.

Mix it up

Switching up your shower routine to fit in with stress levels, work schedules and lifestyle can actually be a good thing, as it encourages deeper sleep overall.