You've heard from health professionals for years that good hygiene is important for your day-to-day health because it helps remove unwanted germs from your body. On the other hand, scientists are now thinking we should rethink our hygiene altogether.
University of Oregon scientists studied a number of hygiene-based studies (yes, you read that right), and they found that exposure to microbes may not always be a bad thing; perhaps we're washing ourselves way too often, and this could be the reason why our immune systems aren't as strong today as they might have been in our distant past.
A new concept known as "targeted hygiene" is now being coined that suggests gauging how often we bathe. I.E., washing our hands is definitely a benefit because they come in contact with so many foreign objects every day. Other parts of our bodies, however, not so much.
For example, over-showering isn't particularly good for you. Showering once per day or once every other day is probably fine, but doing so multiple times every day is certainly over-doing it and you're not helping your body keep its immune system up.
Some might think reconsidering their daily hygiene habits is gross, but in terms of health, it may not be that bad of an idea. To each their own!
