Some doctors now believe you should be spending even LESS time in the shower than previously thought. Admittedly, I was already shocked when I found out a while back that the average shower should take only eight minutes. But upon reflection, it made sense. While hot showers can feel relaxing, we obviously need to be conscious of our resources, no matter where we live in the world.
But a recent piece by Pang-Chieh Ho called “You Could Be Showering Too Long,” published in Consumer Reports, claims that showers should really only be around five minutes, seven at the most. Just shaving off a couple of minutes can help tremendously with conservation. “For people in the U.S., the average shower lasts about 8 minutes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s 20 gallons for every average shower, given that the standard showerhead uses around 2.5 gallons of water per minute.”
Experts say your shower might be too long
A woman washing her hair in the shower. Photo credit: Canva
And it’s not just because of the environment. Our skin can dry out more quickly than some might think. Dermatologist Lisa Akintilo, MD, is cited as saying, “It’s true that long, hot showers may feel restorative, but they can dry and irritate the skin.”
An article in Time magazine, “How Much Do You Actually Need to Shower?” by Angela Haupt, reveals that some doctors say you can skip even the five-minute daily shower, though they admit, “there’s no one-size-fits-all equation.” Dermatologist at NYU Langone Health, Dr. Mary Stevenson, suggested, “Ideally, I think people should shower at least every other day. Most people, by day two or day three, are not clean. But it’s a little bit personal.” She later added, “In general, you really only need soap in your armpits, your groin, and your feet.”
“You probably don’t need to be in the shower as long as you are. You’re no cleaner—it’s just for your psychological health or for your routine.”
– Philadelphia dermatologist Dr. Jules Lipoff
Some people on Reddit disagree. In a thread called “On average, how long do you take to shower?” many admitted that long showers are a guilty pleasure. A few people answered 45 minutes to an hour. One even claimed they showered for “light years,” though someone quickly pointed out that “light year” was a measurement of distance, not time.
One noted that there are variables in play. “Depends on how many shower beers.”
Another measures the length of time in music. “Two Spotify songs,” they insisted.
People online still love their long showers
A bearded man singing in his shower with a microphone. Photo credit: Canva
One Reddit user got vulnerable about the mental benefits of a hot shower. “The mean and the median probably differ quite a lot for me. The vast majority of my showers do not exceed 20 minutes, but I’ve had some depression showers or anxiety showers or whatever you wanna call them where I stayed in for over an hour.” Another commenter put it less delicately: “Until I can no longer feel the pain of life.”
And lastly, this person didn’t mince words but mentioned the temperature variable. “If it’s a hot shower, no less than 30 minutes. If it’s a cold shower, I scrubba dubba the F out of there in less than three.”
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
Photo credit: zoranm/E+ via Getty Images – Studies have found small amounts of toxic heavy metals and other potentially harmful substances in some menstrual pads and tampons.
Unfortunately, studies have shown that many personal care products, including shampoo, lotion, nail polish and menstrual products, contain hazardous chemicals. Items used in or near the vagina are of particular concern because they are in contact with vaginal mucous membranes – the moist tissue lining the inside of the vagina that secretes mucus. These tissues can absorb some chemicals very efficiently.
People use menstrual products 24 hours a day for multiple days monthly, over the course of many years. Tampons, which are used internally, are surrounded by the permeable vaginal mucous membrane for up to eight hours at a time.
I am an environmental epidemiologist, and I study chemical exposure, its sources and its health effects. As a person who menstruates, I also must make my own decisions around menstrual products and manage the challenge of finding accurate information about women’s health risks, which receive less research attentionand funding than men’s health.
In 2024, I co-authored the first paper that detected metals in tampons, including toxic metals like lead and arsenic. My colleagues and I also wrote a review paper that surveyed the scientific literature and found about two dozen studies measuring chemicals in menstrual products.
The various chemicals that these studies detected were typically at concentrations low enough to make their health impact unclear. However, they included chemicals known to disrupt the endocrine system, which makes and controls hormones that are essential for bodies to function.
How contaminants get into menstrual products
The first modern tampon in the U.S. was patented in 1931. Nearly a century later, tampons still are made primarily from cotton, rayon or a blend of the two.
Research suggests that these chemicals are present in a large proportion of menstrual products – we found lead present in all 30 tampons we tested. What we don’t yet know is if these chemicals can get into people’s bodies in a high enough concentration to cause health effects in either the reproductive system or elsewhere in the body.
Limited federal regulations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates tampons, menstrual cups and scented menstrual pads as Class II medical devices, which carry moderate to medium risk. Unscented menstrual pads are Class I medical devices, which are considered low-risk. These categories are based on the risk the device may present to a consumer who uses it in the intended way.
FDA guidance for Class II devices offers only a few general guidelines with respect to chemicals. For menstrual tampons and pads, it recommends – but does not require – that products should not contain two specific dioxin products or “any pesticide and herbicide residues.” Dioxins are a chemical by-product of the bleaching process to whiten cotton, and they are associated with cancer and endocrine disruption. Using non-chlorine bleaching methods can reduce dioxin formation.
The most stringent regulation of tampons in the U.S. occurred after an illness called toxic shock syndrome became a public concern in the 1970s and 1980s. Menstrual toxic shock syndrome occurs when the bacteria Staphlococcus aureus grows in the vagina on inserted menstrual products and releases a toxin called TSST-1. This substance can be absorbed through the vaginal mucosa and cause a variety of symptoms, including fever, high blood pressure, shock and even death.
During this epidemic, in which at least 52 cases were recorded and seven people died over a period of eight months, tampons were associated with the syndrome – especially a highly absorbent tampon called Rely, which was pulled from the market.
In response, the FDA created a task force that recommended standardizing the tampon absorbencies and advised consumers to use the lowest absorbency for their flow. This is why tampons in the U.S. now come in a range of absorbencies, from light through regular to super and ultra, so that users can choose the level they need while minimizing risk of toxic shock.
Living in a ‘soup of chemicals’
Just because a chemical is present in a menstrual product doesn’t mean it can get into the body. However, chemicals like lead and arsenic are known threats to human health. So it’s important to study whether harmful chemicals present in menstrual products could contribute to health problems.
Nonetheless, science has shown that chemical exposure from at least one menstrual product – vaginal douches – does affect health. Vaginal douching is the process of washing or cleaning the inside of the vagina with water or other fluids.
Scientists are working now to determine what concentrations of metals and other chemicals can leach out of tampons and other menstrual products. One 2025 study estimated that volatile organic compounds, a group of chemicals that vaporize quickly, can be absorbed through the vaginal mucosa. Volatile organic compounds may be added to menstrual products as part of fragrances, adhesives or other product components.
My team and I are now shifting our focus to the relationship between menstrual product use, various chemicals, and menstrual pain and bleeding severity. We want to see whether some chemicals will be elevated in menstrual blood, whether these chemical levels are higher in people who use tampons, and whether the chemicals are associated with greater menstrual pain and bleeding.
California also enacted a law in October 2025 that requires manufacturers of disposable tampons and pads to measure concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead and zinc in their products, and to share those measurements with the state, which can publish them. More information like this will help support informed choices for millions of consumers who rely on menstrual products every month.
Seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), impacts millions of people during the winter. The dark, cold weather can easily lead to dark, cold moods from the “winter blahs” that leave people feeling lethargic and depressed. The sneaky thing about it is that you could be going through it without knowing it because it’s not as “dramatic” as regular depression while still being a significant emotional burden.
Doctors tend to recommend going outside, exercising, planning activities, etc. to tackle seasonal affective disorder. But if you’re in a mindset that causes getting out of bed or making a phone call to feel like an exhausting struggle, it can feel impossible to hit the gym or arrange an activity with a friend. Luckily, one doctor gets it.
Seasonal depression is real. The pull to disappear is real. If you notice the change in someone you care about, lead with gentleness and clarity. Clarity is kindness.
Psychologist Dr. Raquel Martin understands that the struggle with seasonal affective disorder is real. “It’s so crazy to me that this spells out ‘sad,’” she says in her video. Dr. Martin makes sure to point out that seasonal depression can appear in different forms (losing interest in things that usually bring joy, sleeping more, not sleeping, “feeling heavy,” etc.) to hammer home that seasonal depression can be different from one person to another, in varying degrees. The lack of daylight in late fall and winter can mess with a person’s serotonin and melatonin levels, influencing a person’s mood, sleep, and energy. So, depending on how a person’s body responds, seasonal depression could as benign as a person feeling sluggish or emotionally crippled like full-on depression.
She also mentions that the common recommendations to combat seasonal depression are good, but emphasizes that there doesn’t need to be dramatic change to effectively fight against it. Martin stresses that it’s not the intensity of the treatment but the consistency—doing it every day rather than worrying about doing it “right.” “Don’t go big with this, go realistic,” she says.
Most doctors like her recommend making it a point to expose yourself to daylight by going outside. But, she says, even as little as four minutes by the window with open blinds can help if you’re office-bound. Exercise is also a booster, but if you can’t or won’t go to the gym, going for a short walk, doing a quick dance to a song on your phone, or just shuffling your shoulders will do more than doing nothing at all.
Planning activities and hobbies is also commonly recommended, but Martin says to just make one “anchor activity” for each day rather than a routine. It can be as simple as making yourself a cup of coffee or shooting one text to a single person.
Martin’s peers reached out to GOOD to agree with this mindset, especially if an affected person has tasks or chores to do that add onto the stress and struggle.
“When you’re dealing with seasonal depression, the goal is micro-movement and tiny habits,” said therapist Lisa Chen. “The smallest shift in your body or environment can start to lift your mood within seconds.”
“Break down tasks into smaller parts,” suggests therapist Aaron Mostin. “Instead of ‘clean the kitchen,’ just put three things away, which is much less overwhelming.”
Martin also says that folks who notice their friends or family members getting impacted by seasonal depression can help without being overwhelming or overbearing.
“Instead of asking, ‘What can I do to help,’ offer to bring dinner over or stop to pick them up for a change of scenery,” added Mostin. “Try being a gentle presence. Ask, ‘Do you just want me to listen, or would like me to give you advice?’”
This allows you to not only help them with some tasks, but ensures that they’re taking care of themselves, too. If requested, you can do some other things to help like going on a walk with them or participating in other activities to get them out of the house if they feel comfortable.
While something as simple as the weather can greatly impact a person’s mood and physiology, it’s encouraging to know that there are methods that are just as simple that can help counter its impact.
Anxiety is hard, whether it’s a chronic issue or a reaction to a difficult spell in your life. People who suffer from it can feel negative about the future, further feeding into their anxiety which then makes them feel worse about what could be next. This creates a feedback loop of worry, but a recent study highlighted a daily technique that can reduce anxiety’s hold on a person.
A study on anxiety from York St John University in the United Kingdom had participants visualize their futures and “possible selves” with researchers finding that those with higher anxiety tended to report and write about more intense, negative possibilities than those who did not. This hypothesized a link between anxiety and low self-esteem. However, after having some participants do a daily “Best Possible Self” technique, a technique often recommended by therapists, the researchers found that the study participants who did the technique significantly reduced their anxiety and got a boost in self-worth.
“From a psychiatrist’s standpoint, the ‘Best Possible Self’ exercise is a well researched way to lift mood and motivation by training the brain to focus on a realistic, hopeful future,” psychiatrist Dr. Simon Faynboym tells GOOD. “Studies in students and adults show that writing about your best possible life can increase positive emotions and reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, frustration, and low mood. By imagining a future where things go right, you’re activating thinking about goals and minimizing the tendency to worry. It’s a useful tool that works best alongside therapy, social support, healthy habits, and medication.”
The “Best Possible Self” technique sounds simple to do on paper and only takes about 15 minutes of your time:
Sit down and imagine your best possible future, the one in which the goals you have are achieved, the worries you have are resolved, and the problems that constantly invade your mind are fixed. Write it all down and be as specific as possible. Doing this every day will create a combination of purging your worries by giving them focused attention, showing yourself that what you want is achievable, and centering your focus back onto achieving the goals you’ve set your mind on. As Dr. Faynboym said, there is research to back up this technique’s effectiveness.
Will it solve your problems or achieve your goals? No, and that’s not its purpose. The “Best Possible Self” is meant to help clear anxiety and low self-worth out of your mind so it can focus on looking for methods to get you closer to the goals you desire. Is that more work? You bet. But the work will be easier without anxiety and a low sense of self-esteem getting in your way and trapping you in a negative feedback hamster wheel to nowhere. It’s also important to note that you may trip up the first time or the first 80 times. The only failure is whether you give up on yourself.
If you are suffering from anxiety and depression, see if this technique helps in conjunction with your psychiatrist/therapist’s advice, prescriptions, and support. If you need to find a professional that can help you, the Anxiety & Depression Association of America can help you find a therapist in your area. Whether the “Best Possible Self” technique works for you or not, a better future is still possible.
