We have got to make a choice for almost everything in life, from buying a simple pen to buying a car or selecting cloths from wardrobe. If we can make all these choices based upon what could be beneficial for us, have we ever thought before taking bath?? Shall I take a bath in hot water or cold water?? Which one could be beneficial for me?? If no, then start thinking, and if yes you do think and don’t know which option to go with, then here today I am going to help you in that.
Before taking too long I shall start with my personal favorite hot water bath and its benefits. A hot bath is liquid psychotherapy. It is peaceful and soothing. Chances are, once you’ve started a bath, you feel insulated from your troubles — you know you’ll have to pay attention to them soon enough, but not just now. A hot shower not only feels good, it can also be beneficial to your health. The key is not to stay in there too long, as it can dry out your skin. But five to 10 minutes under hot water can work wonders for your body, muscles, joints and overall mood. Clinical evidence has shown that taking a hot bath has a lot of benefits including; pain relief, enhanced mobility, reduction of symptoms in skin disease, as well as improved psychological well being. Some proven benefits of hot water bath are as follows:
- Improves Circulation of Blood:
Hot water can treat muscular and joint pain associated with arthritis, muscle tears and muscle overuse. The warmth stimulates circulation and blood flow while loosening joints, tendons, tissues and muscles. While it may not cure the pain for good, five minutes under hot water can considerably ease pain, stimulate healing and reduce inflammation. It’s more convenient than a massage and more natural than medical treatments.
- Cleanses the Skin:
Clogged pores can lead to blemishes and a buildup of toxins in the skin. Hot water and steam open the pores on your skin, making it easier to clean and release impurities. Following with a cold water rinse will close the pores again and make your skin feel refreshed.
- Warm Up:
A hot shower is an effective way to warm up before a morning workout. When you get out of bed in the morning, muscles can be stiff. It’s important to be completely warm and loose before any exercise, and a hot shower can get the blood flowing, warm the muscles and prime them for exercise.
- Relieve Stiff Neck & Shoulder:
Aside from a massage, a hot shower is the next best thing for a stiff neck or shoulder pain. Letting hot water run over this area for 10 minutes will relax the muscles. Doing some easy neck and shoulder rolls while in the shower will further loosen these muscles.
- Relieves Cough:
The steam from a hot shower can loosen phlegm and get rid of mucus that could be causing a cough or sore throat. Adding eucalyptus oil to your skin or the air will make the steam more effective and can help you breathe more easily. A hot shower can also relieve other body aches associated with a cold.
- Decrease Stress & Insomnia:
A hot shower is a natural sedative. If you are stressed or have trouble sleeping, taking a hot shower for 10 minutes calms your body, mind and nerves. Adding lavender oil will help, because this is a natural relaxation herb.
- Alleviates Migraine:
Hot water bath can prove to be a cure for migraine patients. The warmth stimulates circulation and blood flow, thus blood reach to all parts of brain, thus prevents any blockage and is also found to be good for those suffering from migraine. Hot water should directly be poured on head, either with a shower or through mug.
Apart from this hot water bath is also suggested by doctors in case if you have swelling, it reduces swelling, it also reduces anxiety and lowers the tension of body.
That was it for hot water bath, now is the turn of cold water bath. Yeaaahhh… cheers to the cold water lovers. It is not like only hot water is beneficial for our body because the smoke coming out of water makes us feel taking some therapy while cold water does not create any such aroma. Cold water bath has equal or even more benefits that hot water bath. Some of them are listed below:
- Increases Alertness:
Taking a cold shower in the morning, and feeling cold water pour down over our body seems more horrifying than soothing. However, the deep breathing in response to our body’s shock helps us keep warm, as its increases our overall oxygen intake. Thus, our heart rate will also increase, releasing a rush of blood through our entire body. This gives us a natural dose of energy for the day.
- Refines Hair & Skin:
When it comes to hair and skin, one of the most natural ways to maintain your appearance is with cold showers. Hot water has the tendency to dry out our skin, so it’s best to use cold water to tighten your cuticles and pores, which will prevent them from getting clogged. Cold water can “seal” the pores in the skin and scalp too, preventing dirt from getting in.
- Improves Immunity & Blood Circulation:
Cold water can improve circulation by encouraging blood to surround our organs, which can then help combat some problems of the skin and heart. As cold water hits the body, its ability to get blood circulating leads the arteries to more efficiently pump blood, therefore boosting our overall heart health. Thus, it can lower our blood pressure, increase immunity & clear blocked arteries.
- Weight Loss:
Cold showers can aid weight loss in an unexpected way. The human body contains two types of fat tissue, white fat and brown fat. White fat is accumulated when we consume more calories than our body needs to function, and we don’t burn these calories for energy. These body fat piles up at our waist, lower back, neck, and thighs, and are the one we all struggle to eliminate. Brown fat is the good fat, which generates heat to keep our bodies warm, and is activated when exposed to extreme cold, according to the Joslin Diabetes Center, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Thus, cold showers can promote brown fat activity.
- Speeds Up Muscle Soreness & Recovery:
We have all seen athletes taking ice baths after training to reduce muscle soreness, but a quick cold shower after breaking a sweat at the gym can be just as effective, especially in relieving delayed-onset muscle soreness.
- Eases Stress:
Jumping into the shower without letting it heat up, or going into the ocean without slowly acclimating to it, can help promote hardening, increasing tolerance to stress, and even disease. It also leads to an increase in gluthathione, an antioxidant that keeps all other antioxidants performing at their optimal levels.
- Relieves Depression:
Cold showers have been shown to relieve depression symptoms due to the intense impact of cold receptors in the skin, which send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from the peripheral nerve endings to the brain. Thus, it produces an antidepressive effect, and boosts moods, making it a pick-me-up.
Apart from these above mentioned benefits cold water bath has also been found to be effective in increasing testosterone levels in males. That was it from cold water bath.
Till now, you might have decided which option you’ll go with. So just go ahead and take a bath and keep yourself clean and healthy.
Going forth, I would like my readers to comment and share their views and experiences here, I would further like to help you wherever I could.