Is Having a Bath Over a Shower Before Bed Better For Sleep?

Many of us struggle to fall asleep, and can even find staying asleep throughout the night difficult, meaning we wake up for work feeling groggy, tired and like we haven’t had a goodnight's rest. One of the ways that we can help improve our sleep quality and make the process of falling asleep easier is by adding a hot bath or shower to our evening practices; helping us to relax, de-stress and get our brains and body ready for sleep. 

Most of us tend to jump in the shower or bath before bed, but which is better? Well, research has shown that having a hot bath 1-2 hours before bed can be extremely beneficial in helping to send us off for a peaceful slumber; by lowering our body temperature, raising our Melatonin levels, helping us to relax, and easing sore muscles. We want to discuss why having a bath before bed can help you sleep better, and have a more restful and relaxing night's sleep. 

Getting our Body and Brain Ready For Sleep 

To get a good night’s sleep, our body temperature needs to drop by several degrees in the time leading up to us going to sleep. You might think that a bath is actually counter intuitive to this, but baths before bed actually help to lower our body temperature and get us ready for bed. 

When we have a warm bath, our body gets immersed in heat which makes us warmer and brings blood to the surface of our bodies. Then when we get out of the bath, this excess heat is released which results in cooling us down and dropping our body temperature. This gives a cue to our circadian rhythm (our internal body clock which controls our sleep and wake cycles) that its time to snooze. 

Warm baths in the time leading up to bed also send signals to our Pineal Gland which produces Melatonin - our sleep hormone - which makes us feel sleepy and aids in having a smoother sleep pattern. Our bodies naturally start to produce Melatonin and lower our body temperature levels towards the end of the day, but a hot bath can help to speed up the process and ensure that we have a deep and restful sleep. 

Helping us to Relax and Unwind 

A lot of us find that as soon as we get into bed at the end of our day, our minds start to race and we can’t seem to turn off. We start thinking about how our day went, what went wrong, what we could have done differently and over analysing everything that happened. This can make it really hard to fall asleep, and make us feel stressed and anxious. This is where a hot bath can help, encouraging our minds and bodies to relax and de-stress. 

Studies have actually shown that baths can help to calm our anxiety, by activating our parasympathetic nervous system which is the part of our body that is responsible for relaxation. This can lower our levels of stress and anxiety, and help our nervous system to calm down. Baths are the perfect way to relax at the end of a long day, and you can make them even more dreamy by adding candles, bath salts, or essential oils. They also help us to set a relaxing tone for the rest of the evening, and get us into the mindset of sleep and unwinding. 

Easing Aches and Pains

Baths also help to ease any aches and pains that we might be experiencing, whether that be from running, going to the gym, lifting at work, or from our back hurting from sitting at a desk all day. Hot baths encourage the circulation of blood around our body, which helps to reduce inflammation, loosen up muscles, and relieve any pain that we might have. They allow our muscles and joints to relax and release tension, which all help to aid recovery.

You can encourage your body to recover better even more if you opt for adding some essential oils to your bath - especially those involving Lavender, Eucalyptus, Chamomile and Rosemary as they all encourage muscle relaxing and circulatory effects. After you step out of a hot bath, your body will feel relaxed and stretched meaning that you will simply melt into your bed and be able to fall asleep easier (and feel better the next day).

Rest, Recover and Sleep Deeper with Our Natural Sleep Aids

We stock a selection of carefully formulated natural sleep aids here at anatomē, to help you rest, recover and sleep deeper. 

We have a number of essential oils that you can use topically or even add to a hot bath to enjoy their benefits, such as Lavender Essential Oil, German Chamomile Essential Oil, or Japanese Seaweed Essential Oil. 

Our Relax & Sleep Himalayan Bath Salts, can be incorporated into your pre-sleep bath to help ease your aches and pains and sleep even better. The Magnesium Supplement helps to aid sleep, Lavender Pillow Spray has your pillow smelling dreamy before bed, Recovery + Sleep Reed Diffuser gets your room smelling beautiful - along with many other natural sleep aids.

Sleep Better with anatomē 

If you’d like to make sure that your sleep is the best it can be in 2023 - then why not take a look at our natural sleep aids here at anatomē? 

We recognise the important role that sleep plays in our overall health and well-being, and we have a wide range of products to help you sleep better and feel rested every day. All of our natural sleep aids are filled with ingredients that have been selected to help you sleep better - such as Lavender, Sage, Chamomile, Peppermint, and Frankincense so you can drift away into your dreams.