Who doesn’t love soaking in a hot tub after a long and stressful day at work? We all want to relax and unwind and a bath is the perfect way to do that. But did you know that a warm bath isn’t just good for relaxing, but actually have a lot of health benefits? Now you can enjoy your baths with zero guilt, after you learn about all the ways that baths help your body. So what are these amazing benefits?
Stress relief
The first one is simple, and it is the reason why so many of us turn to hot baths in the first place. But there is a difference between relaxation and stress relief. This isn’t only because while in the bath you can’t reach out to your phone or other potential stress-inducers, but because the sole fact that you are sitting surrounded by warm water reduces stress levels. This can further be increased by putting a few drops of lavender essential oil into the bath to stimulate your senses. Your body temperature is rising, and your muscles are relaxing, which promotes better sleep. This is why it is a great practice to take a bath just before bedtime for a good night’s sleep. Just make sure you don’t fall asleep in the bath!
Relieves pain
Soaking in warm water is one of the first things you should go for if you have any sort of muscle soreness. The warmth will relax your muscles, which can help with pain after training, a long day of sitting and even chronic muscle pain. But sore muscles aren’t the only pain that a spa bath can relieve. Headaches are another thing that can be helped, courtesy of the dilated blood vessels. And if you have a headache because of a stuffy nose or other sinus problems, the steam can help loosen the system up and allow you to breathe normally, further relieving the pain.
Cardiovascular health
The prime reason why we should all be utilizing our comfortable bathtubs is the immense benefits to our heart and cardiovascular system. The warmth of the water helps dilate the blood vessels, improving blood flow. If you have problems with circulation, this could be of great help. Make sure that you don’t have any cardiovascular issues that dilating blood vessels could make worse. Otherwise, taking long, hot baths can lower blood pressure, and increase your heart rate. The science is simple: the pressure that the water puts on our bodies is like a workout for our systems which work a touch harder to keep us healthy.
Cleans skin
A regular shower doesn’t clean your body the way a bath does. When you are surrounded by warm water, your pores open up, water goes into them and cleans them out thoroughly. Make sure you don’t stay in there too long and that the water isn’t too hot, because that can lead to burns and premature aging of the skin. If you want to use any products on your skin to moisturize or treat it, right after a hot spa bath is the perfect time because your pores will be open and your skin will absorb a lot more of the product than it normally would.
Enjoying a bath at home is great, and everyone should do it, but you should also treat yourself to a day at the spa, enjoying the full experience. Just remember to leave all of your worries outside of the water and enjoy the bath fully, focusing on the healing it is doing.
Diana Smith is a guest writer.
