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Comment by Kurtz79 | Hacker News Reader

Make "going for a walk every day" the rule, not the exception.

Just go out and walk, don't think "I have to walk because I need to lose weight", do it as an habit.

You don't think "I need to wash my teeth because I don't want them to rot", or shower every day because "I don't want to smell".

We probably could avoid washing and brushing our teeth for a day, without ill effects. But we do it every day because it's so ingrained in our daily routine that our day does not feel complete if we skip it.

It's much harder to break a rule than to break an exception, and routine is much more powerful than willpower.

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> But we do it every day

Wait, how long has this been going on? Do most people really take showers every day? Most people I know (myself included) only do it when they get smelly/sweaty, which is roughly every day in the summer, every 1.5-2 days in the winter. Is this a US thing?

Looked at some online polls, seems like 50% say once a day, 30% every other day and 20% something else.

When I was in Japan, I had to shower at least twice a day but in England I don't sweat quite as profusely.

I think there's a distinction between hygiene and social/cultural 'etiquette'. I will always make sure I am very clean before meeting someone, casual or otherwise.

Yes, in the USA, it is considered normal to take showers daily, at least with the middle class, and quite weird to not do so, to the point of being a major social impediment ("hey hippie, take a bath!").

Hmm, but how can they know? I mean, it's rare that your frequency of sweatiness coincides exactly with the daily cycle. Sometimes I can go three days without a shower, sometimes I have to shower twice in a day.

I guess this is one of those cultural things, and people just do it half because it's good sense and half because it's the custom.

It also depends on your body's details. For example, my hair gets so oily if I go 2 days without a shower. I need to shower every day just to feel like my hair feels clean. If I'm going to do my hair, might as well do the whole body. If I'm in a rush though, I won't necessarily soap up the whole body every day.

I also find a warm shower a pleasant way to wake up (and live in a locale where neither electricity nor water is scarce) - so it's a combination of sense, custom, and pleasure.

> Is this a US thing?

South African here. I shower daily, no matter the season (as does everyone I know). Sometimes another quick shower just before bed on a hot day.

I just don't feel clean otherwise. Climate accounts for the seasons, but we do it in cold-ish Winters as well.

I think "I brush my teeth so they don't rot" and "I need to shower because I don't want to smell" daily.

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