If you are looking for a long-term solution to improve your overall health, hot tubs can be a truly miraculous solution for you because spending regular time in the hot tub can have many positive effects on your quality of life. The water pressure of the powerful jets combined with the heat of the resplendent water, can really rejuvenate and refresh your body and soul. After a long and stressful day, relaxing in the hot tub can become a very important part of your healthcare regime. Did you know that there are genuine health benefits can be found in the relaxing bubbles of a warm hot tub?
Check out the list of therapeutic benefits that a hot tub has on your health below.
1. Arthritis relief
The most common symptoms of arthritis are inflammation, stiffness and pain in the joints, ligaments or tendons. When the body immerses into the water, the water lifts the body up, allowing free movement of the joints with the up to 90% less weight. After the pressure is released from the joints, the body can move freely without the pain caused by arthritis. The heat of the water and the pressure exerted by the jets allow the muscles to relax completely. Hot Tubs offer a natural way to reduce the symptoms of arthritis and even to relieve sore, aching joints. The improvement can be felt for a long time after leaving the hot tub. Regular use results in improved mobility and increased energy in your daily life.
2. Helps people with Diabetes
According to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that hot tub treatment can help people with type 2 diabetes to lower their blood glucose levels. The heat in the hot tub contributes to the dilation of the blood vessels, improving blood flow so that more nutrient rich blood is delivered to the muscles, effectively lowering blood sugar levels. Hot Tub therapy can be especially helpful for patients who are unable to do regular exercise.
3. Relieves Fibromyalgia pain
People who have chronic pain in their muscles, back, or neck know what fibromyalgia is. Fibromyalgia is a pain experience that is difficult to understand. Muscles may twitch, burn, or cause deep stabbing pain, which makes it difficult to sleep or exercise. Research has shown that fibromyalgia-related pain is caused by an ‘error’ in treating body pain. This 'error' results in hypersensitivity to stimuli that are usually not painful. Research has shown that people with fibromyalgia have reduced blood flow to parts of the brain that help the body deal with pain. The jets in the hot tub stimulate circulation and as blood flow increases, muscles begin to relax, relieving the pain of fibromyalgia and helping the body to move around easier.
4. Reduces stress and eases anxiety
Research has found that hydrotherapy can significantly and positively improve anxiety levels and physical pain. The combination of increased blood flow, reduction in neuroendocrine reactions and relaxed breathing can help relieve stress and improve mental illness. "Happy" hormones such as serotonin and dopamine are elevated, while "stress" hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine are decreased. Hormonal balance can help treat the emotional and physical symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.
As your body heals in the bubbles, your mind will have time to rest. You can use this time to get rid of the problems caused by technology or work, and just focus on pampering yourself in your backyard oasis. The silence and solitude of the backyard can easily become your personal heaven, where you can return at the end of a long and stressful day.
5. Improves sleep patterns and Insomnia
When you go into a hot tub, the water's heat naturally raises body your temperature, decompresses your joints, increases your circulation, and lowers your blood pressure and heart rate. When you leave the bath, your body temperature will enter a cooling period. You begin to feel sleepy as your body temperature gradually decreases after soaking, thus tuning in to a peaceful pre-sleep state that leads to perfect sleep. This is exactly the same process as what actually happens to body temperature before and during sleep, which helps to improve your ultimate sleep-patterns. Hydrotherapy stimulates the body to release endorphins, which helps with stress relief. Less stress also means better sleep.
6. Helps with pain relief and healing
Spa and hydrotherapy help healing the muscles and joints after an injury. The body floats in the water, reducing the weight of the body so that the aching muscles and joints are less pressured. The warm water widens the blood vessels, thus improving circulation and increasing blood flow in the body. The increased blood flow delivers more oxygen to the painful area, this way reduces pain, stimulates relaxation and healing.
People with chronic backaches find warm water especially helpful. Back pain is usually caused by tight muscles and ligaments in the spin. In a hot tub, the force of gravity decreases, so as the pressure on joints and ligaments with it.
The hot tub also heals the aching, swollen and inflamed muscles. After an injury, blood flow automatically increases in the injured area, which causes swelling. The warm water in the hot tub dilates the blood vessels to relieve pain.
Hydrotherapy can also help people with chronic pain by massaging the painful points of the body with the water jets.
7. Muscle Pain Relief
One of the biggest benefits of using a hot tub is to relieve muscle pain. Soaking in a hot tub before and after training helps loosen up your muscles and reduce the risk of injury. It also prevents muscle pain and stiffness, helps treat existing injuries, and improves sleep quality, especially after extreme workouts. Stretching or exercising in the hot tub also improves flexibility.
8. Supports Weight Loss
Hot tubs can help speed up the process of weight loss when used regularly for around 30 minutes per day. Warm water increases your blood flow, which helps release toxins from your body. For example, a person who weights 68 kgs. (10.7 stone) would burn around 34 calories just sitting in a hot tub for 30 minutes. This is only 3% more than sitting on your couch watching Netflix. In contrast if your walk at normal speed for 20 minutes you would burn 100 calories. However, the more you move around in the hot tub, the more calories you will burn. There are several low impact hot tub exercises that can help to improve your weight loss results, muscle tone and flexibility. Here are our top 8 hot tub exercises to get fit.
9. Relieves Headaches
Pressure jets in a hot tub can relieve and prevent headaches from occurring, as they reduce stress and promote relaxation. Studies show that people who suffer from headaches, migraines or tension headaches can benefit from hot tub use because those types of headaches usually originate from muscle tightness in various parts of the body, and that tightness can cause headache pain or neck pain. The powerful water jets are stimulating the muscles in the back and neck, allows for muscle relaxation and serves to ease headache pain.
For those who struggle with migraines, a hot tub soak can provide a good dose of stress relief and a good night’s sleep, both of which are of great benefit. Usually up to 45 minutes in a hot tub at a time while massaging the neck muscles can significantly help reducing headache problems.
10. Boosts Immune System
The warm water in hot tubs opens up the blood vessels therefore decreasing blood pressure. Due to the decreased blood pressure it improves blood flow and improves circulation. It also stimulates nerves to boost the immune system.
One of the common symptoms of a cold or flu is a fever. Fevers are your body’s way of defending itself from viruses. Soaking in your hot tub to increase your body’s temperature and induce a slight fever can help ‘boost’ your immune system and stop the cold virus in your nose from reproducing.
10+1. Helps reducing Cellulite
Research shows that regular hot tub soaking helps diminish the appearance of cellulite-the fatty deposits that typically gather on the hips, thighs and buttocks of most women past their 30's. Cellulite is caused by restrictions in blood flow; and a hot tub widens the blood vessels, increases blood flow and circulation through the effects of warm water therapy and hydrotherapeutic jets. So, enjoying a hot tub regularly in your home, paired with daily exercise and healthier eating habits, can reduce the appearance of cellulite over time.
More importantly, taking time to relax in your spa will lower your stress, and people who are less stressed are more likely to make healthier lifestyle choices.
GOOD TO KNOW: Industry standards recommend that hot tub temperature should range from 37.5C° to 39.0C°. It means that 40C° is the absolute maximum for health safety.
TOP TIP: Whether you want to help relieve pain or simply enjoy relaxing in a hot tub, just make sure you keep on top of all hot tub maintenance to prevent any spread of bacteria and hot tub repairs, in order to enjoy your hot tub for a long time.
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