By Gierra Cottingham | Reporter
As a little girl, showering before bed was monitored to ensure my nighttime cleanliness was reached. Without a doubt, my mom engrained the act as a rule to be taken seriously, because her mother did so. For generations, we’ve all believed that not showering before bed builds up bedtime friends: a day’s worth of germs.
To be clear, nothing nor no one within my household was to question taking a shower before bed. Whether it was 10 p.m. or 1 a.m., I knew a shower came before lying down. On days when I stayed home all day but wanted Whataburger, she’d drive me, but I’d have to consider if chicken bites with honey butter sauce were worth another shower — even though they are.
As if it were a crime to not shower before bed, my mom considered it a joke whenever I pushed that I was “too tired to shower” or showed aggravation if I already “felt clean.”
Nineteen years of this specific piece of unusual parental authority, and my position stands forever thankful, because it turns out not showering before bed is actually gross. Today, showering before bed comes easy and instinctive, but since I’m not perfect, the floor has proven just as cozy to avoid a dirty bed.
In order to maintain the cleanliness of your sheets, pillowcases and comforter, your showering cycle must be intact. Whether it’s being present in three classes or going for a walk, collected germs are being transferred to your sleeping space when nighttime showers are avoided.
Yes, showering in the morning is a refreshing energy booster; as a matter of fact, I love them, but no one ever said you couldn’t do both. This method just ensures a better smell of fumes and a more peaceful snooze. Nonetheless, you save vital morning routine time showering at night.
Replacing a nighttime shower for a morning one breaks a valid sanitation cycle. If you were to shower one night and not the previous, you’re technically voluntarily deciding to sleep in sheets contaminated from the previous day that might’ve been filled with a multitude of activities and a buildup of sweat. Just because it’s your own dirt and grime, doesn’t make it sanitary.
It’s as if there’s no downside to implementing showering in your night routine, and I assure you it’ll become a habit. I sleep cleaner, more relaxed and better in almost every way. I wake up clean. And waking up feeling clean in even cleaner bedding than if you were to not shower at night has shown to produce multiple benefits.
