“Morning showers can be invigorating,” she says. “You can shower and set intentions for the day ahead, plan your meetings and have a little ‘me’ time before the business of the day ensues. If you want to pep yourself up even more, you could opt for some cold water therapy? This is as simple as ending your shower with 30 seconds to a minute of bracing chill. Anything under 15 degrees centigrade is considered cold water. If you are feeling brave you could have a cold shower throughout. As well as waking yourself up, it peps your immune, circulatory and digestive system. Even helping your body repair faster from injury or simply DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), which you may have after the gym.”

She adds that evening showers are also great for your health, but if you’re showering at this time, take it hot. “A long hot shower will raise your core temperature, as you cool, you will become sleepy so it’s best to have it 30-45 minutes before your sleep as a natural sedative.”

She concludes: “Morning or evening shower, the choice is yours. Just remember the temperature is as important as the time.”

Length of shower

In addition to the temperature of your shower, the length of your shower can also make a big difference. While some people like to take quick three-minute rinses in the shower, others find themselves luxuriating under the running water for half an hour or more. So, which is better?

As Melissa Wood, medical director at Skin Emporium, previously told us, the optimal length is actually 10 minutes or less.

“As nice as they are on a chilly day, long, hot showers can severely dry out the epidermis, stripping it of sebum and natural oils, which will leave your skin dehydrated,” she told us. “Dry skin can exacerbate common and irritating skin conditions such as eczema.”

Frequency

Of course, there’s also the question of how often we should be showering. There’s no specific answer to this one. While some may want or need to shower daily — maybe even twice daily if exercising — others might need to shower less frequently or get away with a quick spot wash.

“There’s no one answer to suit everyone,” founder of Illuminate Skin and Wellness Clinics, Dr Sophie Shotter, told us. “If you exercise a lot, naturally sweat more, or the weather is very hot, you might want to shower every day, but if not, every couple of days is enough, with washes in particular areas that require more attention to hygiene in between.”

The conclusion

Weighing the experts’ aforementioned benefits, it’s safe to say that evening showers are much more beneficial for the body. However, if you like to do both, then you do you. There’s definitely no harm in having two showers a day, so long as you restrict the length to 10 minutes or less and keep the temperature mild.