

There’s a biological reason why a warm bath before bedtime can improve sleep quality. Credit: iordani/Shutterstock.com



I am sleep researcher and in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas. In a recently published study in collaboration with the UT Health Science Center at Houston and the University of Southern California, colleagues and I showed that a warm bath or one to two hours before bedtime can significantly improve your sleep.

Warm bath, cool body



A woman taking a shower, which can also help to lower core body temperature. Credit: TORWAISTUDIO/Shutterstock.com


We also found that whether people reported feeling rested and like they had a great night's sleep improved by a warm bath or shower, in most of the studies.

Why does the warm bath or shower help? There is science behind it. Our body temperature is not constant during 24 hours. It is higher in the morning and evening, and it is lowest during nighttime sleep. The body temperature needs to drop to initiate good sleep. When we take a warm bath or shower, the body brings large amount of blood flow to the surface, especially hands and feet. This brings the heat from the core to the surface and rejects the heat to the environment and causes a drop in temperature. Therefore, if you take a warm bath/shower at the right biological time—one to two hours before bedtime—it will aid your natural circadian process and improve your sleep.


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Provided by The Conversation


Citation: Want better sleep? Try a warm bath or shower 1-2 hours before bedtime, study suggests (2019, August 13) retrieved 19 August 2019 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-08-shower-hours-bedtime.html

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