You can gain a lot of health benefits from soaking in a hot tub. Did you know that the term “spa” is short for “salus per aquam”? This is a Latin phrase and can be literally translated as “health from water”. Spas have been utilized by ancient cultures such as the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians for relaxation and therapy. In New York, the Mohawk tribe designated the hot spring in their area as “Sarasota”. Which means “place of miraculous water in rock”.
Even in our modern society, you could see a lot of hot springs all around the United States. They have become famous vacation destinations. There may have been dramatic changes in hot tubs and spas since the ancient times of soaking in natural mineral spas. But the health benefits of soaking in hot tub stay the same.
Benefits of Soaking in a Hot Tub – Heat
A number of delicate physiological processes happen when you soak your body in hot water. First, you experience increased blood flow as your body starts to warm. Your warm blood will then cause your blood vessels to become dilated which can result in reduced blood pressure. This process can happen in as short as twenty minutes.
The hot water can also cause your muscles to relax as the heat is transported deep into your body. As normal, your body will attempt to cool itself by transporting heat back to your skin through your blood.
For this reason, spas are more ideal compared to bathtubs. Since spas can sustain hot water temperatures for an indefinite period of time. As such, your blood will not recirculate at lower temperatures when you soak in a spa. It will actually return deep within your body at higher temperatures than before. All while transporting healing heat to areas in your body where other treatments cannot reach. The heat can also mute the sensitivity of your central nervous system. This process allows your body to focus on gaining heat that generates pain relief.
Benefits of Soaking in a Hot Tub – Buoyancy
Even the fittest people can have lots of weight on their joints. Particularly their ankles and feet which support the weight of nearly all of their body almost 24 hours a day. Even the other joints in our body are in constant motion including our wrists, elbows, and knees. And the sad fact is that almost everyone has suffered from back pains or knows someone who has.
While soaking in a hot tub, around 90% of your weight is supported by the natural buoyancy of the water. This can lessen the pressure on your joints which will allow them a break from their daily toil. While you are relaxing in a hot tub, all of your muscles and joints experience reduced strain.
Hydrotherapy
The water jets of a spa are basically focused water streams with heated air blended into the flow. They offer a therapeutic massage that can be controlled. So you can choose how intense or gentle you wish it to feel. The various quantities, configurations, pressures, and sizes of the nozzles in hot tubs are designed to focus on specific body parts. Smaller groups of water jets can target your neck muscles while most other jets target different parts of your back. You can use the jets of the spa to relieve your muscles, similar to a trained masseuse.
Medical Benefits
You can take advantage of the last health effects of owning and using a spa. Here are some of the things you can enjoy soaking in a hot tub, as supported by research studies:
Helps With Lower Back pain
According to the British Journal of Rheumatology, spa therapy can have positive effects (both short-term and moderate long-term) in chronic lower back pain. The volunteers in the research study reported that they experienced lessened intake of anti-inflammatory medications and analgesics. As well as lessened pain duration and increased back flexibility.
Helps With Diabetes
The New England Journal of Medicine reported that type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients who used a hot tub thirty minutes each day for six days a week experienced increased general sense of well-being, improved sleep, decreased glycosylated hemoglobin and plasma glucose, weight loss and lessened insulin doses.
Improved Joint Heath
The Arthritis Foundation reported that regular hot tub sessions can aid in keeping joints properly functioning. Hot tubs can restore and preserve flexibility and strength. It can also aid in protecting your joints from additional damage. An arthritis sufferer can benefit from the buoyancy, massage and warmth provided by hot tubs. While supporting and lessening the pressure on your joints, you can also enjoy freer movement.
Improved Blood Pressure
Mayo Clinic stated that you can simulate exercise by soaking in a spa. You will experience the same increased heart rate without increasing your blood pressure. This means that regular usage of hot tubs and spas can offer you some of the health benefits of exercising with lesser stress on your heart.
Improved Sleep
The National Sleep Foundation reported research studies which suggested that soaking in spas or hot tubs before going to sleep can help you ease into deeper and deeper sleep at night. Soaking in a hot tub for around 1 ½ hours prior to bedtime can aid in triggering your internal thermostat. Resulting in reducing your body temperature which can then induce sleep better.