Hot tub benefits are one of the main reasons people want to add one to their lives!
Health is a very important topic and one that is often discussed on the internet.
Hot water therapy (or hydrotherapy) from spas can make your life better, help you feel more relaxed and less stressed, and honestly, it’s just a lot of fun!
Anyone who’s spent just 10 minutes soaking their cares away in a spa can tell you that there’s more to hot tubs than fun and entertainment — after a long day, a hot tub session can feel downright therapeutic.
We know people who can’t wait to get home and get in the water!
But what does science have to say about it?
Turns out, hot tubs and spas have a multitude of health benefits. They can:
- Cause your skin to release endorphins.
- Help to loosen joints, reduce pain and support aching limbs.
- Relieve everyday or exercise-induced muscle pain.
- Promote blood flow.
- Relax tight muscles.
- Help you get a better night’s sleep.
- Promote healthier, younger-looking skin.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the proven health benefits of hot tubs.
1. Reduced Stress is one of the best health benefits
That feeling of bliss that washes over you after a few minutes in a hot tub isn’t just your imagination.
It’s the magic of hot water and hydrotherapy!
As New York-based dermatologist Dr. Bobby Buka told Healthline, “your skin releases endorphins in response to the soothing warm water the same way that endorphins are released when you feel the sun on your skin.”
Endorphins are natural brain chemicals that are released in response to certain activities, like exercising, eating, or getting a massage. According to Dr. Melissa Conrad Stoppler, “with high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress.”
Every time you take a dip in the water in a hot tub, your body will begin automatically releasing endorphins, resulting in a near-instantaneous reduction in stress.
If you’re stressed out because you’re in pain – then you’re in luck. Hot tubs are full of water that can help you heal your body and boost your overall health.
Having your tub hot when you get in and knowing you don’t have to wait for it to heat up is something to look forward to!
How do you know if your tubs hot enough?
2. Respiratory Benefits
One of the key benefits of immersion therapy, which has several similarities with soaking in hot tub water, is the positive effects of pressure that water exerts on the body.
This pressure encourages blood flow, which has positive effects on your breathing as well. By increasing your blood flow, the body is able to deliver higher levels of oxygen throughout the body.
These same pressures that increase blood flow also affect how blood is distributed throughout the chest cavity. Immersion in water also slightly compresses the chest wall.
When combined, these two elements result in positive changes to your breathing, actually making the very act of breathing more effective than it is on land.
And did you know that spending a few minutes in a hot tub can lower your blood pressure?
“The high temperatures in a warm tub or sauna cause your blood vessels to dilate, which lowers blood pressure,” says Dr. Adolph Hutter, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
When the temperature gets hot, your heart will be working extra hard to pump more blood. Soaking in a hot tub is a great way to experience this increase in circulation and get the full benefits of relaxation and boosted health effects.
Just be safe if you have low blood pressure or heart disease. Use the hot tub wisely and it will give you health perks for the rest of your life.
3. Spa Benefits for Athletes or Anyone That Wants Better Bone Health
It’s no secret that soaking in hot water helps to increase blood flow. But did you know that blood flow is a key component of good bone health?
It’s a great feature of owning your own hot tub!
While we may think of our bones as solid objects, they’re actually full of passageways where blood needs to flow.
By increasing blood flow on the whole, you enable your body to deliver vital nutrients to your bones.
So the next time you’re thinking of taking a relaxing soak in your hot tub, remember that water is good for your bone health too!
As an athlete that means you can push a little harder and a little further. Enjoy that competitive edge.
4. Relaxation and Pain Relief using hot tubs
What do arthritis, stiff joints, fibromyalgia, sore muscles and back pain have in common? All five are no match for the soothing effects of hot tub water.
As the Arthritis Foundation explains, warm water therapy from sitting in hot tubs loosens the joints, reduces pain and offers 360-degree support for aching limbs. Plus, those pain benefits don’t disappear once you get out of the hot tub, either — a soak in warm water can improve overall pain levels even after the soak.
Water is amazing for your health!
Even if you don’t have arthritis, fibromyalgia or any other specific condition that causes pain, warm water can provide relief from everyday or exercise-induced muscle pain.
According to Medical News Today: “Applying heat to an inflamed area will dilate the blood vessels, promote blood flow and help sore and tightened muscles relax.”
It’s like taking a dip in a hot spring with a view of your own backyard.
The next time you’re feeling sore, stiff or achy, head for the hot tub — chances are, you’ll get the relief you’re looking for.
5. Better Sleep by getting hot before bed
There’s a reason that some people swear by taking a warm bath before bed. Add the massaging jets that offer pain relief and ambient lighting of a hot tub and you have a true recipe for a good night’s sleep.
We all know that better sleep = better health.
A study conducted at the Kyushu Institute of Design in Japan found that bathing before bed results in improved sleep sensations. Even subjects who only soaked their feet in hot water enjoyed better sleep than those who didn’t.
The study also found that bathing before bed results in earlier sleep onset, meaning that after a soak in the hot tub, you’ll be able to fall asleep faster and experience a more restful slumber.
6. Present-Mindedness is Hot Among The Elite
We bet that you’ve come up with some great ideas in the shower, but you can also come up with some pretty great ideas in a hot tub!
When you’re looking for health benefits that aren’t just physical, but mental too, a hot tub can really help!
A big part of why people think so clearly in the shower (aside from the lack of a phone in their hand) is that hot water and steam increase the blood flow to our most important organ, the brain!
We’re not saying that you should try and write your term paper or quarterly report while soaking in your hot tub.
But a regular soak at home can help clear out some of those mental cobwebs, spark interesting brainstorming sessions and increase your mental clarity. Yay, brain health!
7. Hot Tub Benefits for Skin
Turns out that you don’t have to take a daily run to enjoy the cosmetic benefits of exercise.
According to HowStuffWorks: “… the process of perspiring itself causes your pores to open up as the sweat makes its way through layers of skin to the surface.”
You may not need that full collection of skin care products!
The mild perspiration you feel after soaking in a hot tub for a few minutes can make it easier for your skin to release any trapped dirt or oil — just make sure to wash your face afterward to clear away those impurities and avoid irritation.
As an added bonus, sweat has also been found to have natural antibiotic properties and thus can help to kill bacteria on the skin’s surface.
The steam from a hot tub can benefit your skin, too: Healthline revealed that steam can boost circulation, promote the production of collagen and elastin and naturally moisturize the face.
Translation: A relaxing soak in the hot tub can result in glowing, firmer, younger-looking skin. Just be aware that any skin submerged in your hot tub’s water may be drier than usual at the end of your soaking session, especially if you use chlorine, so be sure to moisturize afterward.
We’re on our way to a having a more healthy body and a healthy view of ourselves!
8. Fuller Hair
Not only does a hot tub make your skin clearer and help you relax your temperament, but it can also even help you maintain a fuller head of hair!
As strange as it may sound, by increasing blood flow throughout the body, your scalp and hair follicles benefit too. When blood reaches your scalp more frequently, it can help to stimulate hair growth.
Hair growth at home? Not sure about you but this is making hydrotherapy sound better and better.
Just remember that if you get your hair wet in the hot tub you should wash and condition it afterward. Chlorine may be necessary for keeping your hot tub clean, but your hair isn’t the biggest fan of it.
9. Hot Tub Health – Burning Calories Made Easier
One of the unexpected health benefits of a hot tub is burning calories. Hot tubs can help you grow your hair, improve your skin and even make your bones stronger, but there’s no way it can help you lose weight too, right? Wrong!
As wild as it may seem, sitting in a hot tub can help you burn calories.
We’re making better health easier!
Your body doesn’t pump blood using the power of magic, so it needs to use energy in order to increase blood flow. The energy that your body uses comes from calories. So the very act of sitting in a hot tub leads to more burned calories than sitting on your couch!
Hot tubs are also shown to help reduce stress, which is a leading factor in weight gain.
Just keep in mind that you need to make sure you don’t soak for too long or at too high of a temperature.
If you stay within the safe temperature and time limits, a hot tub really can be a fantastic and healthy way to burn some calories without having to hit the gym!
10. Endless Entertainment
Hot tubs are beloved for more than their numerous health benefits for the body — they also offer an endless supply of entertainment and fun, whether you’re enjoying drinks with friends or warming up après-ski.
Show your friends that you care! Everyone will want to come over when they hear the news that you got a new hot tub. That water is calling their names!
Try opening up your hot tub to guests during a pool party, inviting friends to take a soak on a cold day, bringing out the TV or projector to enjoy an aquatic movie night or playing games with the family.
While owning a hot tub is great for your health and offers plenty of benefits, make sure you watch your tub health too!
Keep it clean and balanced and hot tub can help you live a life that you love.
So let’s answer the question “Are hot tubs good for your body?” Yes. Definitely, yes!
Whether you’re looking to relieve pain, reduce stress, improve your skin, get a better night’s sleep or just have fun, a hot tub can do it all.
Take a look at our wide selection of beautiful and therapeutic spas to find the perfect hot tub for you.
