Sanyukta Baijal
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A hot water bath helps in relaxing your body and make you fall asleep faster.
Do you like taking hot water bath? Most people do and it is good for your body. Taking a hot bath regularly can actually help you feel better physically and mentally.
According to a study published in the online journal Heart, taking bath daily with hot water promotes your heat health and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease like stroke. The research was conducted on 61,000 adults age between 45 to 59 years. The participants were asked to complete a detailed questionnaire on their bathing habits and potentially influential factors like lifestyle, including exercise, diet, alcohol intake, weight (BMI), average sleep duration, medical history and current medicines use.
After taking account of potentially influential factors, analysis of the data showed that compared with a once or twice weekly bath or no bath at all, a daily hot bath was associated with a 28 per cent lower overall risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 26 per cent lower overall risk of stroke. Besides combating heart diseases, a daily hot bath can help you stay fit in many ways. Take a look at the health benefits of bathing with warm water:
Reduces muscle tension: A simple warm bath can help in reducing tension on overstretched muscles. It may encourage the healing of sore muscles by relaxing them and improving flexibility of muscles, especially when you take a bath after working out.
Improves blood circulation: Taking a dip in a bathtub filled with hot water increases your blood circulation to the limbs and helps in nourishing damaged cells at the extremities. This reduces blood pressure which occurs due to irregular blood circulation.
Reduces sugar levels: According to a study from the McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colorado, hot water bath is beneficial for people with diabetes. It found that diabetics who took a hot water bath in a tub for about 20-30 minutes for 3 weeks experienced reduced levels of blood sugar by 13%. This is known as hot tub therapy.
Boosts immune system: Taking hot bath in a tub can kill harmful bacteria in your body and improve your immunity. It may also reduce the risk of the symptoms of cold and flu.
Helps to reduce stress: You can actually get rid of all your stress and tension by taking a warm water bath. It can increase levels of serotonin, which is the chemical produced by the brain associated with happiness and well being.
Good for your skin: A hot water bath opens up your skin pores and causes you to sweat, which is the body's natural way of cleansing itself. It also moisturizes your skin for longer period of time and prevents it from drying up. Hot water bath also reduces those little cracks that often appear when your skin is dry.
Helps you sleep faster: A hot water bath helps in relaxing your body and make you fall asleep faster. This happens because hot water increases the body temperature and relaxes the muscles. A simple 20-minute warm water bath in a tub is enough to soothe you physically as well as mentally.
Reduces headaches: A warm water bath may help you combat those irritating headaches. Since most types of headaches are caused by the narrowing of blood vessels in the head, a hot bath's positive effect can help alleviate the pressure on those blood vessels and cure your headache.