Who doesn’t love a nice, relaxing bath after a long day of work? Or taking a bath to start the day right and refreshed? Taking a bath sure do have beneficial effects on people, not only in cleaning our skin and bodies but also in improving our optimal health.
Health Benefits of Taking a Bath
Regularly taking a bath won’t be recommended by health professionals for nothing; there are some scientific explanations as to why this routine is being practiced. Here are some scientifically proven benefits of bathing.
Cleanses and Moisturizes the Skin, Hair, and Eyes
While drinking eight glasses of water is good for our health, so does soaking and hydrating our bodies in it by bathing. Hot water causes the pores to open up and sweat, the body’s way of naturally cleaning itself. Cold water closes up the pores, tightens the skin, and reduces sweat, thus, providing excellent hydration. Adding certain bath oils and salts, as well as bathing in natural bodies of water and pools with natural minerals can enhance these bathing benefits.
Improve Heart Health and Blood Circulation
Immersing yourself in a warm bath causes your heart to beat faster, therefore, giving it a healthy workout. This will then result to less viscous blood and more functional vessels which improve the blood circulation in the body. Warm bath for people without prior heart diseases can lower the blood pressure and boost cardiac function.
Helps with Breathing
Warm bath makes the heart beats faster, improving oxygen intake while its steam clears the sinus and chest. Studies show swimming promotes lung growth and capacity for young girls because of the breathing technique required to develop stamina and lung strength.
Calms the Nervous System
Bathing calms the nervous system and helps relief from pain and inflammation. It also reduces stress and anxiety levels and improves the mood.
Muscle, Joints and Bones Benefits
Moving and exercising in water is known to have a low impact on muscles, joints, and bones but serves as a good way to workout. Conditions such as Osteoarthritis can be relieved from discomfort during spa time.
Regulates the Temperature
One way to cool our bodies during hot summer days is to immerse in a cold bath. During cold days, taking a hot bath would surely make you feel more pleasantly warm enough amidst the cold temperature.
Hot Bath Vs. Cold Bath
While some people prefer to have a hot shower, there are also those who love to feel the coldness of the water against their skin. Whatever your preference is, both hot and cold bath have their own benefits. But when do you take a hot bath? When is the best time to take a cold bath? Let’s find out below:
When to take a hot bath?
- A Hot bath is best taken when the temperature outside is cold. This helps your body balanced out the temperature.
- Taking a hot shower or bath is also beneficial if you have a cold or a cough. This helps clear the airways, thus, decongesting your throat and nose.
- It’s also an excellent way to clean your body thoroughly. This is because warm temperature helps kill bacteria and germs.
- A Hot bath is also recommended for those people who have trouble sleeping at night like those suffering from insomnia and other sleep disorders.
- If you have sensitive skin and can get rashes easily, then the warm temperature of hot shower is best for you. A Hot bath helps getting rid of skin irritations.
- If you think your pores are clogged with toxins and other pollutants, then it is best to take a hot bath. Hot baths help open and detoxify your pores.
- Lastly, take a hot bath if you have muscle fatigue and if you feel stressed. Warm temperature helps calm and soothe the muscles.
When to take a cold bath?
- Cold showers/baths are best taken early morning as the cold temperature helps awaken your senses, letting you get rid of laziness. This will give you a new level of alertness needed for your daily tasks.
- If you are feeling depressed, a cold shower can help your body release beta-endorphins to treat your depression quickly.
- Cold bath and shower are also best taken during hot and humid summer days. The cold temperature will keep your feeling fresh throughout the day.
- If you have an active lifestyle like that of an athlete. Taking cold shower post workout is also beneficial. This also helps your sore muscles recover faster. In fact, 24-minute cold bath can minimize the sore muscles after the workout.
Risks and Safety Precautions When Bathing
There are also risks and safety precautions to remember during a bath, so being cautious is needed.
Watch out for the right temperature of the bath.
- Too hot can cause heart strain, especially for people with existing heart conditions. Temperature above 39°C (102°F) have physiological effects on the body and may lead to serious consequences. As much as possible, the temperature must be as close to normal body temperature (37 °C or 98.6 °F), and it should not exceed 43 °C (110 °F).
- Too hot water can cause burns, especially to babies and elderly. It may also aggravate skin diseases and irritate open wounds.
- Too hot water can also lower the blood pressure which can cause lightheadedness or dizziness, nausea and in worse cases, fainting.
Bathroom accidents are also common because of the slippery and hard surface, so take precaution every bath time. Keep the floors dry and put non-slip mats or tiles to prevent accidents. Grab rails and hand bars must also be installed around bathtub, shower, and toilet.
Bath Safety Tips For Babies
As mentioned earlier, bathing can also cause accidents to babies, especially when they are unsupervised. Hence, parents must ensure that recommended precautions are followed all throughout the bathing period.
- Supervision is key. Accidents can be prevented if you never leave your child unattended even for a short moment. Take your child with you if you need to get out of the bathroom. It is advised to prepare everything within arm’s’ reach before deciding to bathe your baby.
- No to Slips, Falls, and Bumps. Make sure to put no-slip strips on the bottom of the bathtub. Since children are playful, and their movements can be out of hand most times, it is important to put cushion cover on the water faucet in case your child accidentally bumps his/her head. Ensure that the toilet seat cover is always closed to prevent the toddler from falling in. Moreover, it is highly recommended that you use non-slip bathtubs specifically design for babies. The best baby bath tubs are those with non-slip design and can support your baby securely.
- Watch out the temperature. Adjust the water heater so that the temperature of the water is 37 °C. Test the temperature on your wrist or elbow to ensure it’s warm, not hot.
- Storage of Medicine and Toiletry. Keep medicine bottles, cosmetics, soaps, and shampoos out of children’s reach for they may accidentally open and swallow its contents if left unattended.
- Storage of Electrical Appliances. Unplug electrical appliances you have, such as dryers and razors, and store them also in a high place away from the children’s reach.
Bath Safety Tips For Seniors
Accidents and injuries often happen in the bathroom, especially for the elderly due to loss of balance and falling on the hard, slippery surface. Hence, a lot of people prefer to buy the best walk in tub as this is deemed as the safest, most accessible, and best bathtub for senior.
The following are basic tips to help prevent injuries from happening:
- Install Grab Bars. Grab bars serve as a tool for the elderly to grip and hold on to while sitting down and getting off the bathtub or toilet. It provides them support and safety in performing simple bathroom tasks. Grab bars also used in the case, seniors fall over and need something to catch and brace themselves.
- No to Slips and Falls. Choose a nonslip surface for your bathroom floor. Don’t use scatter or throw rugs that are easy for seniors to trip over with, or you can secure the position of these rugs with a tape.
- Provide Accessibility. Store commonly used items within reach and visibility of an elderly. Make sure the entrance are free from obstacles that may cause them to stumble over. Installing a walk-in showers or walk-in bathtub can prevent the commonly tripping of seniors on the sides of the bathtubs.
- Monitor the Temperature. Seniors’ skins are thinner and more delicate to extreme temperatures. Sometimes, they took longer in recognizing hot water which leads to increased risks of burns. Make sure the maximum temperature is somewhere between 98 °F to 110 °F and is clearly labeled.
- Looking After Them. When possible, it’s good to have someone in the family looking after the beloved elderly in case worse things happen and can’t be handled by the senior alone. It reduces the risk of serious injuries if there’s someone readily available to support them.
Conclusion
There are a number of great choices for best hot tubs and bathtubs with advanced features that are perfect for relaxation, leisure, and fitness. Nowadays, more and more hot tubs and bathtubs are developed with new technologies and innovative features that provide comfort and health benefits for the users. Whether it’s a high-tech and modern or a simple tub, it can’t be denied that bathing affects not only our hygiene but also our optimal health. So, reward yourself with a nice and relaxing bath-time!
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