Put the Bath Back in Bath & Body

Stressing the Destressing

One of the things we encounter while speaking with people about their bathing habits is that there never seems to be enough time to sit in a nice, warm bath after a long day. Knowing that most of you are working under high-pressure situations at work or at home, we understand the sentiment.

However, taking the time to put your body in a relaxed atmosphere while also being able to give your skin the care that it needs, plays a big part in your overall health and well-being. With so many stressors playing on our minds, it’s important you find ways to relieve yourself of them.

Some of the more common ways of reducing anxiety are actually not helping us and can lead to setbacks in the way we look and feel. You might be a person who, instead of spending some time pampering yourself, has a few drinks after work. Maybe you find yourself in front of the television set more often than you’d like, or even playing around with your smart phone, and still feel unable to relax when it’s time for bed. Aside from a proper diet and daily exercise, soaking in a hot bath after a rough work day, or after chasing your child around the home, can actually do wonders for your mental and physical states.

What a Hot Bath Can Do For You

Most of you who are in a home or apartment have access to a tub. You often catch yourself cleaning it occasionally and wondering, “Why don’t I ever use this?”

Cleaning the body feels great, even in the shower, but there are things that a shower can’t do that will have lasting health effects. And it isn’t something you have to do everyday either. We’ve identified some of the tremendous benefits that bathing can give you by just taking 15-20 minutes, a few times a week, to alter your way of living and feeling.

• Warm baths are superior to showering in opening up your skin’s pores and cleansing the body of trapped oil and dirt, not only making your skin appear fresher, but cleaning it better than a shower can.

• The raising of your body’s temperature while bathing improves blood circulation while also elevating your metabolism. Think of it as a natural way to improve your health while relaxing. Even the gyms can’t offer this.

• As well as releasing oil and dirt, taking a hot bath can also push toxins out of the body that have built up through your diet or elsewhere. The human body can sometimes act as a sponge with the chemicals that it’s exposed to. Bathing regularly gets rid of these things through the largest organ you have – your skin.

• You can kick up your body’s immunity by bathing as well. Hot baths boost your vascular and lymph system, giving you the ability to play “Search and Destroy” with bacteria and viruses that may unknowingly have you feeling lackluster.

• Taking a bath actually releases hormones called “endogenous opioid peptides”, which are essentially endorphins. This is why people always feel so tranquil after bathing. It can also explain why this practice can regularly improve a person’s mood outside of the bathroom as well.

• Finally, the health benefits don’t stop at just well-being and circulation. Bathing has been shown to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics, help in easing colonic distress, reducing muscle soreness and also getting rid of migraines. Now that sounds like a 15-20 minutes well spent.

Taking 15-20 minutes each night to soak yourself in a peaceful atmosphere, maybe lighting some candles and putting on some soft music while you’re at it, can do wonders in making your life a whole lot more healthy and relaxing. Go home tonight and find out for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.