I realize after being a night showerer for maybe 10 years that I don’t think I’ve encountered anyone else that showers at night. Almost everyone associates showers with morning.

Since I end up explaining it so often, I thought I’d post about it. Here’s my philosophy; it’s really quite simple:

I accumulate dirt, sweat, and germs all day. I get the grime of the city on me; I have to use public bathrooms; I bump up against people in the metro; I may walk barefoot; i get sweaty from walking around, etc. Rather than marinate in all that as I slumber, I take a nice, hot, relaxing shower right before I go to bed. Then I’m clean from all the things that actually make me dirty, and I get into clean sheets - ones not soiled by the accumulated grossness clinging to me from the waking hours.

So I’m nice and fresh for bed. Then I sleep for 8 (or 10) hours and wake up. Guess what - still clean! I just rinse the sleep off my face, put on makeup, blow out my hair, and presto - I’m ready for the day in 20 minutes. Why do I want to go to bed dirty, then wake up dirty only to get clean right before I head out and get all grimed up again?

Most people’s argument is that showering wakes them up so they can start the day; many go so far as to say they can’t wake up without it. The only reason this is true is because you associate showering with mornings and waking up. It’s a Pavlovian response. I associate showering with relaxing before bed because it’s become my habit.

Showers, unless perhaps they are piercingly cold, do not have objective awakening properties. The act of preparing my morning tea tells me its time to wake up. Then drinking it aids in shaking the fog. Any old routine can replace the morning shower.

If anyone else is a night showerer, give me a shout-out. I seriously don’t know anyone. Maybe I should start a Facebook group.