Night showers are superior to morning showers. About 75% of you will agree with this and the other 25% will not. When it comes to this highly debated topic, a lot of factors come into play.

Do you have trouble sleeping or waking? Do you tend to have oily skin (morning shower is best) or dry skin (night shower is best)? Do you get dirty during the day or sweat at night? The science isn’t as simple as the Buzzfeed quiz makes you think.

I feel that part of the debate has a strong correlation to personality type. Personality tests always answer the same questions.

“Do you prefer to sit in the front of the room,” “Do you initiate conversation easily,” “Do you respond to emails immediately,” are types of questions all trying to get at the most pronounced personality trait: introvert or extrovert?
But one question never makes the cut: do you prefer morning or evening showers?

The other night I was deep in thought when it struck me how type-A I can be. Every evening, like clockwork, I begin my nighttime routine. This consists of eating dinner which is promptly followed by making a salad, tomorrow’s lunch. A few steps later and I’m onto breakfast. Yes, I prepare my breakfast at night, which, according to common custom, is eaten in the morning.

Why is this important? Because somewhere between these evening rituals, I take my shower. Essentially, I get a big chunk of my day done between the hours of 4 pm and 10 pm.

I feel like I can achieve more in the later hours of my day. I’m more focused and more in control, whereas, at school, teachers are in control of me and I’m focused on my next meal or assignment.

In the morning, there’s always a sense of passive aggression in my home. No one here wakes up too chipper and there’s a feeling of rushed panic that possesses us all (oftentimes, I receive a text from my mom asking, “Everything okay?” in regards to the presumed disastrous morning).

However, the evening is my time to plan, which brings me back to personality type. Perhaps those who feel they have more time at night are more skilled at planning, organizing, and multitasking. Maybe these people lack those skills but succeed in creative thinking, have minimal stress, and tend to be easy going.

On the other hand, you can just as easily argue the opposite. If you’re type-B, you scramble to do everything at night, because you forget in the morning. And type-A most likely prefers the morning because they feel that they are ahead of everyone in some way (that personality tends to be competitive).

So, the two contradict each other, but that’s okay. I’m not a research analyst, psychologist, or scientist who is adept enough to decipher the differences between the two. I do, nonetheless, believe you can tell a lot about a person from whether they shower in the morning or evening.

Next time you’re engaging in unpleasant small talk with a stranger, ask them when they shower, (you know, without being too invasive). This powerful question could lead to much more insight.