on PinterestSome experts say that dark showering may help you fall asleep more easily.
on PinterestSome experts say that dark showering may help you fall asleep more easily. Image Credit: Ekaterina Goncharova/Getty Images
- Dark showering is a new sleep trend that involves showering with the lights dimmed or off completely.
- Advocates say it can help the mind relax, reduce stress, and make it easier to fall asleep.
- Experts suggest the ritual may support melatonin production and temperature regulation.
- Dark showering isn’t a cure-all for sleep problems, but it could be a simple addition to a calming nighttime routine alongside evidence-based strategies.
If you have trouble nodding off, you may have come across an unusual new sleep trend on social media.
Known as “dark showering,” the regimen involves showering with the lights dimmed or switched off completely, often as part of a nighttime wind-down routine.
Advocates across social media platforms claim that dark showering can help calm the mind, reduce stress, and even improve sleep quality.
Unlike a morning shower, which is often used to energize and awaken, a dark shower is about reducing light exposure, regulating body temperature, and facilitating relaxation to prepare the body for sleep.
So, does showering in the dark actually help you fall asleep faster or sleep more deeply, or is it simply a soothing ritual that feels good at the end of a long day? We asked the experts to find out.
Can dark showing improve sleep quality?
Chelsie Rohrscheib, PhD, a neuroscientist, sleep expert, and head of sleep research at Wesper, told Healthline that dark showing may prepare the brain and body for sleep, which improves sleep onset time and overall sleep quality.
“For the brain to initiate sleep, the body must undergo a slight drop in core body temperature (usually by one degree),” Rohrscheib said.
“Taking a warm shower quickly raises body temperature and then rapidly drops core temperature when you exit the shower. This mimics the natural process that occurs in our body before sleep, making it easier for the brain to transition into sleep,” she continued.
Meanwhile, showering in the dark limits light exposure in the evening, which can help support the body’s natural circadian rhythms and signal that it’s time to wind down.
“Melatonin is a circadian rhythm-regulating hormone created in our brains that signals when it’s time to be awake vs. asleep.
“Its production is regulated by light information entering our eyes, where consistent light exposure suppresses melatonin production and lower light levels increase melatonin production,” Rohrscheib said.
“Therefore, showering with the lights off promotes melatonin release, preparing the brain for sleep ahead of time.”
Does dark showering have any mental health benefits?
It’s not just improved sleep; dark showering may provide mental health benefits, too.
“It’s a good way to relax and de-stress before bed, moving our nervous system into the parasympathetic state, which is responsible for relaxation and sleepiness,” Rohrscheib noted.
“This has the added benefit of reducing circulating cortisol levels, which are normally very stimulating and wake-promoting.”
Patricia Read, sleep coach at Goldilocks Sleep Solutions, told Healthline that dark showering can become an act of mindfulness.
“In the dark, we create space for
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