Showers: More Than Just Hygiene, Says Study

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

20 May 2009 05:18 PM

Is a shower part of your daily ritual? Maybe you like one first thing in the morning, to get your brain going. Maybe you like one before bed, so the warm water can help you relax.

A new study has shown that showering during the workday can actually help increase productivity!

Four businesses took part in an eight week study sponsored by Mira Showers, a shower designer in the United Kingdom. (They're owned by kitchen and bath powerhouse Kohler, in case you're curious.) The study included ad executives, restaurant industry workers, architects, and more.

Study participants were asked to record how they felt throughout the workday during a four week control period, where they went about work as usual. During the next four weeks, participants were asked to take a shower break during the workday (in addition to their usual daily shower) and report back. Questionnaires asked about mood, mental state, creativity, and more.

The end result? Businesses saw productivity increase 42% and creativity increase 33%.

Some benefits mentioned by study participants and business managers include:

• A chance for some quiet time away from ringing phones and chatting coworkers.
• A chance to rest and cool off during a hectic shift made workers more effective. The restaurant owner was especially impressed with the attitudes and energy levels of staff post-shower, as they work in a hot, high-tension, fast paced environment.
• The shower helped revitalize and inspire workers who were tired or feeling stuck on a problem.
• General company morale was up during the shower phase of the study -- 16% felt like their work was of higher quality and 23% just felt like they were in a better mood.

I do tend to be a middle of the day showerer, myself -- on mornings when I work at the cats-only boarding facility, I get home between 11am and noon. First I walk the dogs, then I eat lunch, and then I shower. It helps break my day up into a physical portion (cat work) and mental portion (writing work). But that's more a coincidence of timing than anything else. It seems to me that you don't HAVE to jump in the shower to give your brain a break in order to increase productivity. A walk around the block or a little light stretching might work just as well!

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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