A long shower is generally considered anything over 10-15 minutes, with dermatologists recommending 5-10 minutes to avoid skin dryness, while averages often hover around 8-13 minutes; exceeding 15 minutes uses more water and energy, and can strip skin oils, especially with hot water, making anything 20+ minutes quite long and potentially excessive for health and environmental reasons.
Most dermatologists say that your shower should last between five and 10 minutes to cleanse and hydrate your skin, but no longer than 15 minutes to avoid drying it out. You can still benefit from the shower length you prefer, whether long and luxurious, quick and efficient or somewhere in the middle.
5--10 minutes is sufficient for routine cleansing for most people; 15--20 minutes is reasonable if you include shaving, conditioning, or relaxation. Long showers are not inherently unhygienic, but diminishing returns apply: longer does not equal cleaner after a point.
Dermatologists recommend keeping your showers between 5 and 10 minutes. This time period gives you enough time to properly clean your body without overdoing it. If you have certain skin conditions, staying in the shower too long could have negative effects.
National surveys show the average shower lasts about 13–16.1 minutes, while dermatologists usually suggest staying under 10–15 minutes. If you've ever wondered “How long should a shower take?”, “Is my 20-minute shower too long?”, or “How much water does a 5 minute shower use?”, this guide is for you.
Signs You're Showering Too Much or Too Little
If you're experiencing dry or itchy skin, redness, irritation or excessive oiliness, it may mean that you're showering too often. Signs that you're not showering enough, may include: Body odor.
The majority of respondents have fewer than 8 showers per week - perhaps one per day is the norm? Anecdotal evidence suggests this is because sport and the gym are very important to this age group. The average Gen Z is taking between 4 and 8 minutes in the shower.
The length of your shower also contributes to how it affects your skin, according to Campbell. It's best to keep showers short to reduce drying out the skin. Then, if you don't put on lotion or moisturizer after taking a shower, you may be making the damage even worse.
These issues relate to executive function—the brain running the 'home office' of the kid's life. Poor executive function is why it takes kids with ADHD an hour to shower.
The longer we shower, the longer we keep sweating as the body tries to cool itself down. All the sweating in the shower causes the body to lose considerable amounts of water. So, instead of hydrating us, a long shower can actually dehydrate us. This is why we often feel very thirsty after a long shower.
LIMIT SHOWERS TO 10 MINUTES
A shower uses about 6 gallons of water per minute. A 10-minute shower will limit the water consumption to about 60 gallons per wash.
Yes, showers do help with anxiety! Water therapy has been used for centuries to improve emotional well-being. A shower can: Activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation.
The cuticle layer of your hair can start to lift after too much exposure to heat and water. This is because your hair expands more under hot water, which makes it more prone to breakage and frizz. Not only that, but overly hot showers can also dry out your scalp and make it more vulnerable.
A: Yes, over-showering is real and can compromise your skin barrier. Showering more than once a day or taking very long or hot showers can strip the skin of natural oils, leading to dryness, irritation and even eczema flares.
“The ideal showering technique for the skin is five minutes or less with lukewarm water,” she explains, adding that it's the case whether you're prioritizing skin health or the environment . “It's best for your skin, period, because longer showers strip the skin of natural oils and can lead to dry areas.”
How to Create the Perfect Shower Routine
The ADHD "30% Rule" is a guideline suggesting that executive functions (like self-regulation, planning, and emotional control) in people with ADHD develop about 30% slower than in neurotypical individuals, meaning a 10-year-old might function more like a 7-year-old in these areas, requiring adjusted expectations for maturity, task management, and behavior. It's a tool for caregivers and adults with ADHD to set realistic goals, not a strict scientific law, helping to reduce frustration by matching demands to the person's actual developmental level (executive age) rather than just their chronological age.
A shower should ideally last 5-15 minutes. In-Depth Explanation: The optimal shower duration varies, but generally, 5-15 minutes is sufficient. Longer showers can lead to water waste and strip your skin of its natural oils, potentially causing dryness, particularly if your shower temperature is hot.
The ADHD "2-Minute Rule" suggests doing any task taking under two minutes immediately to build momentum, but it often backfires by derailing focus due to weak working memory, time blindness, and transition difficulties in people with ADHD. A better approach is to write down these quick tasks on a separate "catch-all" list instead of interrupting your main work, then schedule specific times to review and tackle them, or use a slightly longer timeframe like a 5-minute rule to prevent getting lost down "rabbit holes".
A quick daily rinse is not the same as a marathon hour-long shower or soak in the tub. The more time you spend in the water, the worse the effects can be on your hair and skin. Shoot for 3 to 5 minutes and concentrate on the important body parts: armpits, groin, and face.
One of the biggest downsides of hot showers is dry skin. Hot bathing water strips the sebum layer, leaving the skin vulnerable and flaky. Without enough moisture, the outer layer of your skin loses elasticity, which may contribute to premature aging and itchy skin.
"There really is no difference in regards to skin benefits whether you shower in the morning or the evening," Castilla says. "The difference may be if you are too rushed to apply a moisturizer after your shower in the morning or too tired to do so at night—skipping this step for some can lead to dry, itchy skin.
It is common in Britain to shower once or sometimes twice a day, the report states. For many, this has "become such a normal routine that it is socially and physically uncomfortable to wash any less often".
The latest global comparison of bathing habits reveals striking differences between countries, with Brazil topping the list at an average of 14 baths per week.
But for the elderly, having a shower once or twice a week is sufficient to keep skin conditions and infections at bay.