The Best Shower Temperature for Your Health

There are health benefits to taking very hot or very cold showers, depending on your health status and goals, but most experts recommend using lukewarm water between 96.8 and 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

1. When You’re Sick

When you’re sick, lukewarm to warm water showers or baths no hotter than 105.8 degrees F are ideal. The warm water helps you relax and get rest, which helps to fight the fever.

Many people take cold showers or baths to treat or help “break” a fever. While taking a cold shower or ice bath may seem like a natural way to cool down, it may not actually help. When you're cold, your body shivers as it works to warm you up, which can raise body temperature and stress the immune system.

2. With a Sunburn

Bathing or showering in cool water or applying cold compresses can help soothe a sunburn.

When you have a sunburn, the redness and stinging are caused by inflammation (an immune response) in light-damaged skin. Hot showers can worsen symptoms and irritate your skin as it heals.

3. For Healthy Skin

Hot water (above 106 degrees) can disrupt the skin's natural barrier, the oils that help preserve moisture. Hot showers or baths can dry out the skin and worsen conditions like eczema (atopic dermatitis).

Some studies suggest cold water doesn't impact the skin barrier in the same way. Cold water may decrease inflammation by constricting blood vessels. It may also temporarily close and tighten pores.

4. For Shiny Hair

Hair has a protective barrier that preserves moisture, just as the skin does. Some research shows that water at higher temperatures led to greater “water loss” from the skin and hair.

If you take very hot showers too often, your hair may become dry, frizzy, and lose its shine.

Experts recommend a cool-to-warm (but not hot) temperature range when washing your hair.   

5. To Ease Sore Muscles

There are several reasons that athletes soak in cold or ice water after competition. Benefits may include:

• To ease muscle soreness and stiffness

• To promote quicker recovery

• To reduce muscle damage

• To boost post-recovery performance

A review of 20 studies found that cold water immersion (CWI) lowered creatine kinase (an enzyme in muscle cells; increased levels of this enzyme in blood may indicate muscle damage) and lactic acid, a chemical produced in muscle cells when the body needs energy faster than oxygen can be supplied.

6. For a Headache

Anecdotal evidence suggests a warm shower can also help relieve headaches. Some headaches are related to muscle tension and can be triggered by stress.

Hot showers or baths promote relaxation. As part of a broader approach to headache treatment, they can help ease symptoms and prevent future headaches.

How to Tell If Your Water Is the Right Temperature

Signs It’s Too Hot

Very hot water can increase inflammation from certain skin conditions and irritate and dry out your skin. If you have certain health conditions, there can also be other physical symptoms of too much heat. Signs to look out for include:

• Discoloration: The main sign your shower or bath is too hot is a change in skin color.

• Itchiness: Hot water affects the skin barrier and may trigger skin cells to release histamines, which cause itching.

• Bumps, blisters, and peeling: Very hot water can scald skin and lead to skin texture changes, skin color changes, and pain

• Hives: Heat and hot water can also trigger hives, especially in those with chronic cases.

• Melasma: A skin condition in which the cells that make up the color of the skin are overproduced. This causes brown or blue-gray patches of skin. Hot showers may make melasma patches darker and more noticeable.

• Dizziness: A hot shower dilates (opens) your blood vessels, causing changes in blood pressure and increasing the amount of blood your heart pumps. This can cause dizziness if you have heart disease or blood circulation problems, and a sudden significant change in blood pressure in a person with underlying medical conditions may increase the risk of a stroke.

Signs It’s Too Cold

Very cold water can shock the system, leading to adverse effects if you let yourself cool down too much. Some signs you should turn up the heat include:

• Shivering: When you shiver, your body is working to heat itself back up after a significant drop in temperature.

• Breathing difficulties: The shock of sudden cold-water exposure can cause bouts of wheezing, gasping, and rapid breathing (hyperventilating).

• Blue skin or lips: Skin turning blue on the fingers, face, lips, or toes is a sign that the cold has impacted your blood circulation.

• Numbness: Losing sensation in hands and feet from changes in blood circulation is another sign that your shower or bath is too cold.

• Heart symptoms: Like hot water, cold water can raise blood pressure and heart rate, increasing the risk of stroke or other heart-related conditions, primarily in people with underlying medical conditions.

• Fatigue and weakness: Being in cold water for too long can also cause muscle weakness, fatigue, or drowsiness. Some lose body coordination.   

• Confusion: As body temperature drops, you can have difficulty thinking clearly, remembering, or speaking.

Key Takeaways

• Most healthcare providers recommend showering in lukewarm water between 96.8 and 105.8 degrees.

• Showering with both hot and cold water has pros and cons; what works best for you depends on your lifestyle, medical history, and health goals.