“There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.”
Sylvia Plath
After a long day, there is nothing I like more than a soak in a hot bath – preferably with some posh bath oil or bubble bath. Often, I’ll listen to a podcast or read my book and, if it’s a Friday night, I might even have a glass of something on the side. If I’m feeling really fancy I’ll even light a candle!
I am guilty of having my baths nuclear hot which means I don’t always last in them as long as I would like to. But I do always feel better afterwards. Often I will have one after I’ve finished work on a Friday as it signals that the work week is done and it’s time to turn slow it all down and turn on weekend mode.
So I would 100% recommend taking the time to chill out (or, if you’re like me, slowly cook like boil-in-the-bag rice) in a bath at least once a week. And make sure you lock the door – the aforementioned candle, despite its strong scent, was not enough to mask my nine year old son’s interruption to my bath the other day!
But for those of you who don’t want to just take my word for it, I’ve done some research into the benefits of a hot bath to help persuade you to take the plunge more often.
The Health Benefits of a Hot Bath
Having a hot bath can burn calories
Yes, apparently, soaking in a hot bath can actually burn calories. A study[1], led by Steve Faulkner at Loughborough University, involved 14 “habitually inactive” participants (apparently doing less than 1.5 hours of structured physical activity in a week gains you the badge of “habitually inactive”) spending either 60 minutes sat in a hot bath or 60 minutes cycling.
The water temperature was set at 40oC – enough to raise your body temperature by 1oC in an hour. And although the participants enduring the hour’s cycling did burn more calories than those sat in the bath (no surprises there!), those enjoying a soak burned around 140 calories – the equivalent to spending 30 minutes walking[2].
The study did point out that exercise brings with it several other benefits so this isn’t a reason to skip your weekly online fitness class if favour of the bathtub. It does though provide another good reason to make time for a little you time in the bath.
A hot bath can help improve your mental health
Various studies have shown that regular hot baths can help improve mental wellbeing. For example, a study, reported in the NewScientist[3], found that long soaks in a hot bath twice a week could help with depression, thought to be down to the effect raising our body temperature has on our circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms regulate our sleep patterns and are often seen to be erratic or off-kilter in those with depression.
After eight weeks of spending 30 minutes in a hot bath (again, 40°C) for up to 30 minutes, followed by 20 minutes wrapped up in blankets with hot water bottles, the participants scored lower on a depression scale. And the benefits were seen as early as two weeks after the study started. Again, it seems important that the bath raises our body temperature so it does need to be a hot bath.
Another study compared the effects of showering compared to having a bath and found that a bath appeared to be more beneficial to mental and physical health than showering[4].
Warm baths can help alleviate stress
Submerging yourself in a warm bath can help calm anxiety and relieve stress. In fact, there is a whole therapy dedicated to the benefit of water – hydrotherapy. And whilst cold water hydrotherapy focuses on stimulation, the warm water variety can be used to soothe the mind. To enhance the benefits of the warm water, calming essential oils, such as lavender, rose and bergamot, can be added.
Warm baths can help relieve aching muscles
Being hunched over a desk or on your feet all day can result in various aches and pains or muscle stiffness. A warm bath gets your blood moving, which helps relieve sore muscles and loosen tight ones. Adding Epsom salts can help further with this, having been shown to reduce inflammation (although there is limited scientific evidence to support this, there is good anecdotal evidence in favour of Epsom salts). I recently discovered these restoration Epsom salts with Bergamot, Sweet Orange and Rosemary which I’m really loving right now.
So next time you think you’ll just jump in the shower, rather than spend the time it takes to run a bath, think about some of the above benefits and see if you can make the time. Just remember to lock the door if you have young children in the house!
[1] S. H. Faulkner, S. Jackson, G. Fatania & C. A. Leicht (2017). The effect of passive heating on heat shock protein 70 and interleukin-6: A possible treatment tool for metabolic diseases?, Temperature, 4:3, 292-304.
[2] “A hot bath has benefits similar to exercise”, 20 March 2017, Steve Faulkner, The Conversation.
[3] “Hot baths could improve depression as much as physical exercise”, 22 March 2018, Claire Wilson, NewScientist / bioRxiv.
[4] Goto Y, Hayasaka S, Kurihara S, Nakamura Y. Physical and Mental Effects of Bathing: A Randomized Intervention Study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018;2018:9521086. Published 2018 Jun 7.
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