Health Benefits of Taking a Hot Bath

I love taking a hot bath or jacuzzi after a good workout or sometimes as a great way to just chill and mounting evidence suggests that hot baths (and not just saunas) have all kinds of health benefits.

In a recent post that got a lot of attention, Charles James Steward writes,

In an effort to find such a solution, I’m looking into how hot baths and saunas affect the body. Throughout human history, multiple cultures around the world have used heat therapy to improve health. But until recently, the benefits of bathing were anecdotal and largely viewed as unscientific. However, in the last few decades evidence has been growing and today we know that regular bathing in a sauna or hot tub can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease – and may well have wider health benefits too.

(From Can’t face running? Have a hot bath or a sauna – research shows they offer some similar benefits)

Loving this!

Here is a list of health benefits of hot baths and saunas Steward cites as well as a few others I found on the web.

1. Improves cardiovascular health and decreases incidence of Cardiovascular disease.

2. Improves sleep.

3. Lowers blood pressure.

4. Decreases inflammation.

5. Improved insulin sensitivity and diabetes management.

I’d like to add stress relief and improved mood to the list but not finding great sources for this yet. If anyone has a good citation, please let me know.