Should you shower before or after studying? | Brain Hacker Expert (2023)

You have had a long day filled with activities. From attending classes to departmental meetings and a few other extracurricular activities, you get back to your room and you literally “drop” on the bed from exhaustion.

Then you remember that you have not yet had dinner, and you need to study. You quickly prepare a quick dinner and relax a little bit. Then you begin to feel drowsy but you know that you have to study. Now, you feel like a shower will make you stay awake enough to study, but you normally shower just before going to bed. And maybe that’s when it hit you; “Is it better to shower before or after studying?”

There are cognitive benefits of taking a shower especially when you are tired and there are equal benefits of taking either a hot or cold shower due to the increase of blood circulation and stimulation of hormones like serotonin.

For some other people, it is a question that has become a part of their routine, because they have noticed a flaw in one and an inconvenience in another. But this post will attempt a careful analysis of both options and arrive at a practical answer whether or not you should shower before studying.

Does taking a shower improve mental performance?

Have you noticed that after you take a shower, you feel energized? I have friends who tell me that showers have the same effect that tea or coffee has on them. This could directly mean that taking a shower has some health benefits, including mentally. Research has shown that taking hot baths (up to a temperature of 40°C) has soothing effects on the body, alters moods and prevents depression. Hot baths also influence the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel good.

Cold showers, on the other hand, also has benefits on the overall health of an individual especially mental health. If you are having a long day, you most likely would be stressed (with increased cortisol levels in the blood) and tired. At this point, all the brain is concerned about is how to reduce stress. And as stress leads to fatigue, you will most likely feel physically tired as well. Another thing is that stress produces anxiety. All of these can be reduced with a cold shower.

Research has shown that cortisol levels in the blood and saliva significantly reduce during a cold shower, thereby easing stress and anxiety. Although there has not been any significant direct link between showers (both hot and cold) on mental performance, there are a number of studies that show that taking showers frequently have a positive effect on physical and mental health. Parameters that were used to measure this effect include pain, fatigue, skin condition, stress and self-reported health. All of these parameters where shown to have significant impact on the participants’ health.

Another way cold showers improve mental performance can be seen in the use of glucose. The brain uses glucose for its major cognitive and mental functions. When the body is stressed, its temperature increases. This increase in temperature breaks down glucose, thus reducing the amount of glucose the brain needs for mental performance. However, a cold shower can help reduce body temperature, helping the brain function at an optimal pace. This is why a cold shower makes you feel energized, with a clearer mind.

Again, studies have shown that hot showers stimulate the production of a protein called Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF improves the neuroplasticity of the brain, helping the brain in memory as well as processing of information, mood and behaviors, etc. BDNF makes it easier for the brain to process and store information and improve mental performance. However, to stimulate this adequately it would be better to use a sauna.

Should you take a hot or cold shower?

Before you can answer this question, you will need to understand the benefits of both hot and cold showers as well as their differences. First, I need to point out that hot shower temperatures are typically between 96F-104F (36°-40°C) while cold shower temperatures are usually between 57F-60F (14°-16°C) or less.

Benefits of hot showers include;

Improves Sleep

Hot showers ease tension in the muscles of the body, making you relax. This can also make you feel tired, thus helping you sleep better.

Nasal and respiratory relief

Remember how you are sometimes advised to carry out steam inhalation to clear stuffy nose? The effect is the same when you have a hot shower. The steam basically clears the nasal passage. The temperature from the shower also helps the chest cavity as you bath, helping you breathe easier.

Blood Circulation

Hot showers stimulate the blood and improve its circulation all over the body. This has a lot of other benefits as nerve endings are also stimulated which helps reduce pain in certain areas of the body like the joint.

Skin

Hot showers also help you have a clear skin because it unclogs pores and removes dirt from the skin. This improves the overall health of the skin.

Benefits of cold showers;

Energy

Cold showers make you alert and keep you energized. How does this happen? When cold water touches your skin, the difference in temperature sends a shock stimulus through your body to the brain. This increases your heart rate and uptake of oxygen, making you feel “pumped”.

Blood circulation

Due to the increase in heart rate caused by cold showers, blood is pumped throughout the body at a faster rate as well in order to reduce the body temperature to match the temperature of the shower and create a homeostatic balance.

Muscle relaxation

Cold showers ease pain in sore muscles, making them relax. Also, the blood that is circulated throughout the body during a cold shower helps to prevent pain and inflammation of the muscles.

Weight Loss

Cold showers have been shown to cause weight loss. Cold showers stimulate cells in the adipose tissues that break down fat to produce heat. This fat breakdown leads to weight loss.

Skin and Hair

Cold showers help your skin and hair retain its oils by closing the pores during a cold shower. Another way cold showers help the skin is that they help in preventing itches caused by certain skin conditions.

There are also disadvantages of hot and cold showers. For instance, hot showers can strip your skin and hair of its natural oils, making it dry out easily. This can cause an increase in certain skin diseases like eczema. Hot showers also increase blood pressure, which can be detrimental to those who have high blood pressure. Cold showers, on the other hand, can affect your immune system. If you have a cold and you take a cold shower, you will most likely feel worse than better.

However, the decision on whether to take a cold or hot shower depends on you as well as external conditions like weather. For example, it would be highly detrimental to your health if you take a cold shower in winter. However, cold showers would be ideal if you just finished a workout or during summer. Also, it is not advisable to take hot showers if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure.

Will a shower help keep you awake?

Yes, a shower will help keep you awake. This is due to a number of reasons. First, the temperature of the water (whether hot or cold) is different from your body temperature and this will send a shock stimulus (especially with cold showers) to the nerve endings located on the skin.

This stimulus jolts your body into a wakeful state. Cold showers also help bring your body temperature to normal, sending a signal to your body to start its metabolism processes. This will also keep you awake.

Another way a shower will help you stay awake is with the power of sights and sounds. Many times, the bright lights and colorful tiles on the walls of your bathroom can help in keeping you awake. If that does not work, then the sound of rushing water and the frequency at which it pours will also make you open your eyes faster! This is why it is a good idea to take a shower whenever you feel sleepy.

Scottish Shower Technique / Sports recovery shower technique

This technique is also infamous among training athletes as it helps flush out toxins and lactic acid in your muscles and aids in recovery. This is because of the constant change in temperatures forces the blood to constrict and relax.

If all of these mentioned above do not work, then the Scottish Shower technique will help in keeping you awake. The Scottish Shower is a shower technique that involves alternating the temperature of the water for 30 seconds as you bath. It usually involves starting with a hot shower, and ending with a cold shower. This altering of temperature during the shower harnesses all the advantages of both showers; and it will definitely keep you awake.

Why you should create an after-school routine

You might think that having a routine might bore your brain and make you feel old; but this is not true. In fact, creating a routine makes the brain function better. This is because the brain has already been programmed into carrying out certain functions, so breaking that routine might create a “freeze” which can muddle up your thoughts. If the break in routine is sudden, this effect is worse as the brain produces adrenaline in a “fight or flight” mode which can unsettle the system for a while.

Another advantage to creating an after-school routine is that your brain becomes unconsciously good at activities that have been ingrained. Let me give an example. If you sleep at a certain time (say, 10pm) for a number of weeks; it would be difficult for you to sleep earlier than that time unless you are ill. This is why it is important to create an after-school routine.

As important as it is to create an after-school routine, also ensure that you incorporate healthy habits into your routine. For example, ensure that you eat healthy, exercise and rest after school activities. Another good habit to incorporate into your after-school routine is study. Ensure that you study for at least one hour each day. Soon, you will automatically want to study at a certain time.

Bottom Line…

In conclusion, you can either shower before or after studying. As both can provide benefits.

You can shower before studying if you feel sleepy; if not, you can shower after studying, in readiness for bed.

Best thing to do would for you to trial a hot shower before studying and see how you go, if you don’t feel any more focused try a cold one. But if you find that taking a shower before studying leaves you less focused and sleepier you should aim for a hot or cold shower after studying and then having a relaxing nights rest to help recover your brain

Weigh the pros and cons, and choose which one is most suitable for you.