The longstanding debate of whether you should shower in the morning or at night has gone on for a while now. Some shower at night to be able to remain in bed a few minutes longer the day after, whilst others prefer to wash in the morning as a traditional way of how it’s usually set to be. 

It is certain that a person’s lifestyle and personal experiences will usually impact the time of day they shower, but now an expert has weighed in. And a microbiologist told The Conversation there is a “clear answer” to the shower debate. Showering, a ritual valuable to our health and mental wellbeing, alongside our cleansiness, should be done in the morning, as it’s better for our bodies and overall hygiene, the expert said.

This is because, throughout the day, your clothes collect a lot of pollutants that attach to your skin and then transfer into your bed.

Not everyone washes their bedsheets frequently and that can mean there is a lot of bacteria that is building up in the bed and staying on your skin. So even if you are showering at night, you would still be exposing freshly cleaned skin to a bed of varied bacterias from previous nights. 

Dr Primrose Freestone, a senior lecturer in clinical microbiology, noted that you sweat throughout the night, and these skin cells can become food for bed mites and trigger allergies. 

“As a microbiologist, I am a day-shower advocate,” she said. “A morning shower suggests your body will be cleaner of night-acquired skin microbes when putting on fresh clothes.” 

While morning showers may technically be more hygienic, showing remains essential for good hygiene routine, no matter when you can or prefer doing it. 

It’s not always possible to shower in the mornings but other areas of improving our hygiene routine can go a long way.  

“You should launder your sheets and pillow cases at least weekly to remove all the sweat, bacteria, dead skin cells, and sebaceous oils that have built up on your sheets,” Dr Freestone added.

Doing so will help eliminate fungal spores in your bedding and decrease the chances of odour-producing microbes. 

Interestingly, some dermatologists also advise against using soap when showering, as it can disrupt skin barriers and be unsuitable for the skin.

Skin experts also suggest that people should opt for gentle skin cleansers instead of a bar of soap.