Why a warm shower 1–2 hours before bed can help you fall asleep faster

A warm shower in the evening isn’t just relaxing—it may be the secret to falling asleep faster and sleeping more soundly. (Image: Pexels)

No one would deny that a shower can help you start the day with fresh energy, but have you ever considered the possibility that the ritual can help you sleep better, too? It may sound counterintuitive, but showering or bathing an hour or two before sleep can possibly help you fall asleep faster and wake up in the morning feeling more refreshed.

Researchers at the University of Texas reviewed a set of papers and found that taking a warm shower or a bath hours before sleep can actually speed up the process of falling asleep, help sleep better, and wake up the next morning feeling fresh instead of groggy.

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What Does That Happen?

Scientists have termed it as water-based passive body heating. When taking a warm shower, the body becomes encased in a warm chamber, and the body temperature rises slightly; thus, more blood is sent into the skin, warm blood layers are formed in the dermis and the epidermis.

After showering, the warm body is cooled, the warm blood escapes the dermis and the body's core, and the body’s core temperature is reduced. This cooling, which imitates the body’s pre-sleep cooling cycle, provides a gentle signal to the mind that it’s time to rest.

The Science Behind It

Taking a shower with warm water, around 40 - 42.5 degrees Celsius, helps with thermoregulation. This is a process managed by the hypothalamus and involves maintaining a balance of the amount of heat gained and the amount of heat lost in order to stabilise the organism.

Thermoreceptors in the skin relay information to the brain’s temperature control sensors. In turn, there is a redistribution of blood flow away from the core to the peripheries, such as the hands and feet, with a warm shower.

What Does the Study Say?

A study published in Sleep Medicine Reviews explains why the difference in temperatures helps to shed heat from the body more effectively and efficiently. Along with this, it explains why the body subconsciously prepares itself to go to sleep as the temperature in the core drops.

A warm shower before bed is a major benefit as well, since it can help with sleep onset latency– the amount of time it takes to fall asleep after lying down in the dark. Most people take 10 – 20 minutes to fall asleep, which is also the average time it takes to fall asleep. However, there are people within this range who take a longer time and for them, warm water exposure at night can reduce sleep latency by 10 minutes and also increase the overall sleep efficiency, which is the amount of time one spends sleeping instead of staring at the ceiling.

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Moreover, a study conducted at Kyushu University by Professor Juyong Lee found that individuals whose hands and feet are naturally cooler show greater difficulties falling asleep. Unlike most sleep research, this study did not constrain participants to a laboratory or sleep clinic. The study monitored people in their own homes rather than in hospitals, tested the effects of short showers, brief baths, and longer baths taken 90 minutes to 2 hours before bedtime. They noted that a long bath lasting about 30 minutes showed the best improvements in sleep quality and speed of falling asleep.

So, if you’re someone who tosses and turns before drifting off, a warm shower or a soothing bath) might be the simplest science-backed ritual to help you fall asleep faster.