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Good sleep hygiene is key to both physical and mental well-being, but your nighttime routine could be doing more harm than good, especially as you need to be mindful of certain habits. While many of us focus on setting the right sleep environment, are we paying enough attention to our hygiene habits AND how they could impact our sleep?
To find out, we at MattressNextDay, created the Bedtime Habits calculator, asking respondents 10 questions about their bedtime hygiene routine, including if they showered before bed and even changed their underwear. The results revealed some surprising trends…
You could risk sleeping with grime and faecal matter if you don’t change your underwear at night
We can reveal that over half of adults shower in the morning instead of at night, meaning they could be bringing the day’s built-up sweat, grime and bacteria to bed.
But, what’s worse is that 72% of those adults go commando at night, too, spreading genital germs, and potentially faecal matter from the rectum, with studies showing we store small amounts of faeces in the rectum. Not to mention, research has found when we pass gas, faecal matter is expelled, too. We pass gas 15-20 times a day, including in our sleep. So, if you’re not wearing underwear to sleep you could be spreading poo particles all over the bed and sleeping in it.
Sleeping in tight underwear, however, increases the chance of thrush
Surprisingly, more than half of respondents (51%) stated they’ve never thought of changing their underwear at night. Whilst we mentioned there are benefits to keeping undies on, especially if you haven’t showered, for women this can be particularly harmful to your genital health.
When we wear underwear all day, and then to bed, we are trapping heat and moisture in that area, creating an environment for bacterial and fungal growth. But, it’s just not women who could be affected by wearing underwear at night. Studies have found that men who wore tight underwear had a lower sperm count, which is believed to be caused by the increased temperatures. So, ditching the tight undies at night could boost your sperm count.
If you choose to wear underwear to bed, health experts recommend loose-fitting underwear that’s made out of breathable fabrics like cotton. There are even more benefits to sleeping naked, however, so you could consider ditching underwear in bed completely.
The great shower debate: Morning vs night
Just 18% shower every night, whereas almost three in five (58%), shower in the morning, with others alternating when they shower.
Interestingly, on the opposite ends of the age spectrum is where both age groups shower the most frequently at night. 37% of 18-27 year-olds stated they showered every night or sometimes, and 40% of 60-plus-year-olds said the same. So, can we learn from these age groups, should we be showering at night?
Experts reveal why you SHOULD be showering at night
When we shower at night we are removing all the dirt, bacteria, sweat and pollutants that have accumulated over the day. So, if you’re not showering before you sleep, you could be transferring all of this dirt to your bed sheets. This means you should be changing your bedsheets at least weekly.
Aside from hygiene, research has found that taking an evening shower or bath improves sleep quality, and helps you fall asleep faster. Experts believe that warm water raises our body temperature, stimulating blow flow, in turn dissipating heat and lowering our core temperature. When the body temperature lowers it’s a signal to your body that it’s time for sleep.
We also revealed the three reasons you should be showering at night, including better sleep, more time for self-care, and even releasing the day’s tension from your muscles and joints.
For more sleep hygiene tips, head over to the Health & Lifestyle section of our blog to understand what you can do to get the healthiest, most refreshing night's sleep, every night.
Methodology:
We analysed over 80 responses to our Bedtime Habits calculator to understand when people opted to shower and what they wore to sleep in.
