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Need to sleep ASAP, hot or cold shower?

I have seen conflicting opinions, which is better for getting sleep??

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Real men start off with the shower steamy then end up ice cold.
Shower tomorrow morning.*
Original post by Elliwhi
Shower tomorrow morning.*


I cant sleep without a shower for some reason
Go for warm shower. I read somewhere that the temperature drop from warm water to the open air is supposed to induce sleepy hormones.
Not showering at all would be a fairly good start, otherwise you've got to go through a whole thing of cleaning yourself, drying yourself, drying your hair, and before you know it it's 10pm because you've been organising your hairbands according to which shade of blue they most closely resemble.
Reply 6
Have a bubble bath
Hot showers usually work better for getting to sleep.
Cold showers usually wake you up so id go for a hot one
Original post by Drunk Punx
Not showering at all would be a fairly good start, otherwise you've got to go through a whole thing of cleaning yourself, drying yourself, drying your hair, and before you know it it's 10pm because you've been organising your hairbands according to which shade of blue they most closely resemble.


I have short hair so all I use is a towel
Original post by FireFreezer77
Hot showers usually work better for getting to sleep.
Cold showers usually wake you up so id go for a hot one


On the contrary, a vital part of our sleep cycle is the lowering of one's body temperature - a hot shower inhibits that process by raising your temperature, whilst a cold shower aids the process.
Reply 10
Original post by WoodyMKC
On the contrary, a vital part of our sleep cycle is the lowering of one's body temperature - a hot shower inhibits that process by raising your temperature, whilst a cold shower aids the process.


Yes the body's temperature would be lowered after raising it with a warm shower
I cold shower would lead to your body warming up to norm
Original post by WoodyMKC
On the contrary, a vital part of our sleep cycle is the lowering of one's body temperature - a hot shower inhibits that process by raising your temperature, whilst a cold shower aids the process.


Hmm fair enough.
I guess it's just the feeling we get then? Cold showers seem to make me feel more awake personally.
But your answer seems to be rather accurate so ill go with that.
Reply 12
Original post by FireFreezer77
Hmm fair enough.
I guess it's just the feeling we get then? Cold showers seem to make me feel more awake personally.
But your answer seems to be rather accurate so ill go with that.


cold showers are going to inhibit the loweirng of body temperature
Original post by hateme
cold showers are going to inhibit the loweirng of body temperature


Well I dont know much about biology so I was just going by how I felt after a cold shower compared to a hot one. I feel more awake after a cold one.
Reply 14
Original post by FireFreezer77
Well I dont know much about biology so I was just going by how I felt after a cold shower compared to a hot one. I feel more awake after a cold one.


exactly so if u need to sleep u would take a hot shower
Original post by hateme
Yes the body's temperature would be lowered after raising it with a warm shower
I cold shower would lead to your body warming up to norm


Under normal conditions, yes, the body temperature would then change after you've finished showering to counteract the change and normalise itself. However, our circadian rhythm causes our body temperature to lower when it's nearly bed time and helps us sleep - if you raise your temperature via a hot shower, your body will then have to lower it again and this can keep you awake longer. However, having a cold shower helps your body reach a lowered temp, which by that time it'd have been working towards anyway, that doesn't change just because you had a shower.
Reply 16
Original post by WoodyMKC
Under normal conditions, yes, the body temperature would then change after you've finished showering to counteract the change and normalise itself. However, our circadian rhythm causes our body temperature to lower when it's nearly bed time and helps us sleep - if you raise your temperature via a hot shower, your body will then have to lower it again and this can keep you awake longer. However, having a cold shower helps your body reach a lowered temp, which by that time it'd have been working towards anyway, that doesn't change just because you had a shower.


Most articles I've read recommend hot showers, I myslef hot showers help me sleep while cold ones wake you up
Have you got any articles or papers which show cold showers are better
Reply 17
Have a warm relaxing bath always helps me to sleep lool
Original post by FireFreezer77
Well I dont know much about biology so I was just going by how I felt after a cold shower compared to a hot one. I feel more awake after a cold one.


It can make you feel more awake in the morning because it's a bit of a shock to the system that can help you shake off the cobwebs and adjust to the day, but it's not going to ruin your sleep cycle. Think of it like this - if you're a bit groggy in the morning and you give yourself a few slaps round the face, it'll help wake you up and feel more alert. Try it at night though if you're trying to stay awake - doesn't work, does it? The difference between the two examples is that you're at the end of your sleep cycle in the first example, whereas in the second instance it's just starting.
Original post by hateme
Most articles I've read recommend hot showers, I myslef hot showers help me sleep while cold ones wake you up
Have you got any articles or papers which show cold showers are better


Articles suggesting hot showers are working off the logic that cold showers = energising, hot showers = relaxing. However, logic and science aren't always in corroboration with each other. You don't have to be bereft of energy to sleep, you need the conditions of your surroundings and conditions of your body to be optimal. So while pro hot shower articles work off logic, most pro cold shower articles (google btw
https://www.google.co.uk/?client=firefox-b-ab#q=why+cold+showers+help+you+sleep&gfe_rd=cr) will work off of science.

As for the science, again, the body doesn't overcompensate for temperature change caused by a shower - it will simply work to return itself to its desired temp, which at that time of night just happens to be a low temperature. Making something cold that's already cold is a hell of a lot easier than making it hot and then trying to make it cold again. Think of it like having air con in your car, and the air con is set to a low temperature, but the air con is currently working to get it to that temperature (this is pretty much what's happening to your body near your bed time). What's going to help the car get to 15 degrees quicker - going into a pretty hot warehouse and causing to the car temperature to rise, or going into a cold warehouse where the temperature is lower?

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