1. Improved Sleep
When your body is cold, your sleeping pattern may be disturbed. Whilst the optimum room temperature for sleep is between 15-22°C, If you are warm and comfortable and your body temperature is just right, you will normally fall asleep quicker, and sleep throughout the night with less disruptions.
It is commonly known that getting good quality REM sleep (rapid eye movements) has loads of positive effects... from your mental alertness to your general mood, even the way your body metabolises food!
So spend some time in your hot tub before bed, and you'll have a much better chance of getting a good night's sleep and it can help aid weight loss (in addition to a healthy diet and exercise, of course.)
As we covered in our other article which looks at how a hot tub can improve your mental health:
Scientific research from Washington State University in the USA looking into whether long-term immersion in hot water was good for your body. Leading researcher Dr Bruce Becker found that soaking in a hot tub for just 15-20 minutes puts your body into a deep relaxation state.
This research also found that the deep relaxation state gives you a better night's sleep, because when you get out of the hot water your body enters a sort of 'cooling' period. This is very similar to the body temperature drop that we naturally experience when falling asleep.
2. Stress & Anxiety Reduction
In addition to making you feel more relaxed, a number of studies have shown that the magic combination of hot water, a great hydrotherapy massage from powerful jets and the weightlessness feeling of floating in water can significantly reduce your mental AND physical stress... and decrease anxiety!
The warm water in the hot tub helps make your blood flow easier and become more oxygenated, allowing you to breathe slower and more deeply. Those actions alone will reduce the levels of stress in your body and improve your overall mood.
Adding music or aromatherapy scents to your hot tub (there are specific ones made for hot tubs) can help set the mood even further and also contribute to the reduction of stress and anxiety.
3. Arthritis & Chronic Pains
For those people who unfortunately suffer with ailments like carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, tendonitis and various other bodily aches and pains, spending a bit of time in the hot tub will offer some welcome relief. Thanks to the bubbles from a hot tub's jets, you'll enjoy that weightless feeling. Your core body temperature increases, blood circulation increases and your muscles relax, which also reduces inflammation in joints.
For those with arthritic problems, we turned to arthritis.org who state that "soaking in warm water is one of the oldest, cheapest, and safest forms of complementary therapy."
There are many known benefits to switching between hot and cold therapy for joint pain. Cold therapy is generally better for acutely painful or swollen joints. Don't switch between hot and cold immediately - give your body time to adjust.
In this fantastic state, your aching body can experience better flexibility, range of motion and strength. It's little wonder that so many people get some real, significant benefits from hydrotherapy.
4. Diabetes
Initial research into the health effects of hot tubs have indicated that a hot tub may actually help to lower your bloody sugar level, epsecially for those suffering with Type 2 diabetes. A USA-based study from the New England Journal of Medicineput subjects with Type 2 Diabetes into a hot tub for 30 minutes, every day for three weeks. By the end of the test, the subjects saw an average drop in their blood glucose levels from 182mg/dl to 159mg/dl.
Basically, the hot water temperatures simulate some of the effects on the body of physical exercise, which has proven to be an effecive form of treatment for sufferers of Type 2 diabetes.
5. Headache Reductions
If you suffer from chronic headaches or migraines, there aren't many treatments. This can be really frustrating. There is some evidence, however, that regular dips in a hot tub may help to reduce the frequency of certain types of headaches.
How? Well, some of the most common triggers for headaches are things like tension. Many migraine suffers often report experiencing tension headaches just before they have a migraine. In a hot tub, your muscles are not contracted, and your aches and pains subside.
Overall, you feel more relaxed. This therefore decreases the chances of experiencing a tension-triggered migraine!