BBC随身英语｜早上洗澡VS晚上洗澡：哪个更好？

Morning shower or evening shower: Which is best?

Do you need an energising blast of water in the morning to wake you up for the day? Or do you prefer a relaxing, warm shower in the evening to help you wind down as part of your nighttime routine? Maybe you just shower whenever you feel like it. For something so many of us do, this topic is bound to divide opinion and stir up passion from both sides. But is one really better than the other?

After a long day in the outside world, picking up pollutants and allergens on your skin and in your hair such as dust and pollen, a reasonable instinct would be to wash it all off before getting into bed. That's what the evening shower enthusiasts would say.

But, says microbiologist Primrose Freestone, no matter the air temperature, you will continue to sweat during the night. Bacteria on your skin then eat the nutrients in your sweat which is what causes BO. Showering at night also doesn't stop you shedding dead skin cells. All this means you may not wake up feeling as fresh as you had hoped.

Showering in the morning, on the other hand, can help to remove dead skin cells, sweat or any bacteria you've picked up from your bed sheets. "As a microbiologist, I am a day shower advocate," she says.

But it's not all about cleanliness. Nancy Rothstein, who calls herself The Sleep Ambassador, is concerned with sleep quality. In her view, showering in the evening is an essential part of the 'preparing for bed' routine. "Call it an opportunity to shower yourself with mindfulness," she says. And research backs this up. A systematic review of research published in Sleep Medicine Reviews in 2019 found nightly warm showering or bathing one to two hours before bedtime can improve sleep.

What it all boils down to is when you would like to feel freshest. If you're someone who can't fully relax in bed until you've showered, you're likely an evening shower person. Whereas, if you can't stand the idea of putting on fresh, clean clothes in the morning when you haven't showered, then a morning rinse is probably more your style.

Whenever you choose to shower, Primrose Freestone says it's important to clean your bed sheets regularly to remove all the sweat, bacteria and dead skin cells that build up and can negatively affect the effectiveness of your showers.

词汇表
a blast of water [blɑːst] 一股强劲的水流
wind down [waɪnd] 放松下来，平静下来
be bound to [baʊnd] 注定会，必然会
stir up [stɜː(r)] 激起，引起，煽动
pick up 沾上，染上（疾病，污染物等）
pollutant [pəˈluːtənt] 污染物
allergen [ˈælədʒən] 过敏原
pollen [ˈpɒlən] 花粉
enthusiast [ɪnˈθjuːziæst] 热烈支持者，爱好者
microbiologist [ˌmaɪkrəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒɪst] 微生物学家
sweat [swet] 出汗，流汗；汗水
bacteria [bækˈtɪəriə] 细菌（bacterium [bækˈtɪəriəm] 的复数）
nutrient [ˈnjuːtriənt] 营养物，养分
BO (Body Odor) [biː ˈəʊ] 体臭，体味
shed [ʃed] 脱落，掉落，摆脱
dead skin cell [sel] 死皮细胞
bed sheet [ʃiːt] 床单
advocate [ˈædvəkeɪt] 倡导者，拥护者；提倡
cleanliness [ˈkliːnlɪnəs] 清洁，干净
mindfulness [ˈmaɪndflnəs] 正念，专注
boil down to [bɔɪl] 归结为，简化为
rinse [rɪns] （用清水）冲洗，漂洗

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