CB asks: “Is dark showering New Age?”While there is nothing overtly New Age or occult about the practice of showering in the dark, it does mimic Ayurvedic rituals and has become one of the hottest new trends in the New Age wellness industry.
For those who have never heard of it, dark showering is exactly that – showering in a dimly lit bathroom for the purpose of triggering melatonin production and easing cortisol-related stress to improve sleep. With roots in an Ayurvedic ritual used to wash away mental stress along with physical dirt, it’s also linked to other ancient wellness traditions.
As this article explains, “In India, twilight baths illuminated by gentle lamplight have long been used to cleanse away the energy of the day and prepare the body for rest or intimacy. In Japan, dimly lit bathhouses have provided a sanctuary for relaxation and mindfulness for centuries. Even ancient Greek and Roman bathhouses favored low-lit, steamy spaces where bathing was as much about renewal as cleanliness.”
But what does the science say?
According to Timothy Hearn, Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, there is little science behind today’s dark showering trend, but there is plenty of science behind some of its components. For example, In this article appearing on The Conversation, he points to two factors that impact how well we sleep – light and heat.
First, “Bright light in the evening signals to the brain’s internal body clock that it is still daytime. This delays the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and is often described as the body’s ‘darkness signal.’”
One study of 116 adults found that exposure to typical room light between dusk and bedtime shortened the duration of melatonin release by about 70 percent compared to very dim lighting. Some of the brightest lighting in the house is typically found in the bathroom.
“Overhead lighting and illuminated mirrors are designed for precision tasks that are useful in the morning but less helpful late at night. Turning these lights off, or dimming them, removes a strong signal that it is still daytime,” Hearn explains.
The second factor to consider in the usefulness of dark showering is another powerful sleep aid that can help increase melatonin production at the end of the day – heat.
“Research on passive body heating, which means warming the body without exercise, has shown that a warm shower or bath taken at the right time can help people fall asleep more quickly,” Hearn writes.
He cites a 2019 meta analysis of 13 trials which concluded that “about ten minutes in warm water one to two hours before bedtime shortened the time it took to fall asleep by roughly nine minutes and improved sleep efficiency, the proportion of time in bed actually spent asleep. Warm water widens blood vessels in the hands and feet, helping core body temperature drop afterwards, a key signal for drowsiness.”
Another factor Hearn includes in his article is the sound of running water such as rainfall or flowing streams which has been found to “lower cortisol, a stress hormone, and stabilize heart rate more effectively than silence. Heat, darkness and soft background noise may therefore combine to signal that it is safe to relax.”
There may be reasons why dark showering actually helps people relax before bedtime, but there has not yet been any large trials conducted that compare dark showers with bright light showers while measuring sleep outcomes.
In other words, if dark showers help people fall asleep faster, it has nothing to do with the New Age or ancient Ayurvedic rituals – it’s all science.
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