Is Taking a Hot Bath Better Than Exercise? - Relatively Interesting

Is Taking a Hot Bath Better Than Exercise?

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If you never knew how much a hot bath could improve your health, you will know now.  A hot bath is soothing and lets your mind go. It has health benefits and improves functioning in the body.

Hydrotherapy 

Hydrotherapy is among therapies that don’t require a gym membership, and it helps you lose weight as well. Relax after a hard days work and soak up the soothing qualities of water. Hydrotherapy has many benefits as it helps those with various health issues.

Instead of hitting the gym after dinner, take a hot bath and lubricate the muscles and joints while losing weight. Who doesn’t want their joints to feel better and at the same time lose weight?

Reducing Inflammation: Hot Water Effects

In fact, according to a study, a soak in the tub burns an average 126 calories an hour – the equivalent to taking a 25 to 30-minute walk.  No one knows why a sauna or hot yoga, that melts away the fat, has the same effect.

A hot bath has other health benefits:

  1. Cleansing the skin with hot steam and water to open the pores allowing toxins to be rinsed out
  2. Improving circulation which also loosens joints, tendons, tissues, and muscles.
  3. Reducing inflammation.
  4. Warming up for a workout by loosening muscles and getting the blood flowing for exercise.
  5. Relieving stiffness by letting hot water flow over and relax the tense muscle.
  6. Relieving coughs: Steam can loosen phlegm and mucus that causes coughs and sore throats
  7. Decreasing stress and insomnia as the hot water is a natural sedative: calms your body and nerves

In our modern age of medicine when we have all kinds of remedies, the traditional bath has proven to help our ailments.

 

Is Exercise the Better Option?

The 2017 study by Dr. Faulkner looked at 14 obese and lean males who either did 60 minutes of moderate cycling or bathed in 104°F water. Both forced the body to use more energy than when at rest, and those who bathed burned 79% more calories than they would have just sitting on the couch. 

However, those that exercised (bicyclists) used up more calories (750%) than when at rest. This shows that exercise is still the best way to lose weight. Exercise provides oxygen for your muscles and gives you that natural energy. Movement is still the best option when wanting the desired weight goal.

Another Side of the Hot Bath

Taking a hot bath can increase your chances of avoiding certain diseases:

  • Sudden cardiac death
  • Fatal coronary heart disease
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • All-cause mortality

If you choose to take a bath remember all the benefits that will reduce the inflammation and stress. But, also remember wanting a desired weight will only happen with exercise. Using natural remedies in our society has become a trend which is less abrasive and overall detoxifies our bodies.