The magic of hot water – Hot water therapy
There is something very magical about hot water. Slipping in to a warm bath allows you to be supported and buoyed up, warmed and nurtured to the core. It reminds you to let go of your mental and physical tension, to give up all the striving and activity, to just be held by the penetrating warmth.
The advent of the modern bathroom has brought hot water into almost every home. It’s easy to become accustomed, even blase, to the ubiquity of hot water, and forget some of its healing benefits.
When you first encounter hot water in shower, the tub, it takes your body a few minutes to adjust to the new temperature sensation. An increase in blood pressure will be experienced. Blood rushes to the skin, where it is warmed by the hot water. This causes the blood vessels to expand and the blood pressure to drop back down. The rush of warmed blood then penetrates deeper into the tissue below the skin, bringing more oxygen. It also brings a soothing, relaxing sensation as the warmed blood continues to expand more vessels. even chronically tight muscles, which are responsible for much back pain, begin to relax. That allows the free movement necessary for exercise and stretching.
As heat goes deeper, the body temperature increases to as high as 99 degree F or more. The rate at which the body uses oxygen and excretes waste material increases, and so does your heart rate and respiration.
When you submerge yourself in a bath, a pool, or a whirlpool, you experience a kind of weightlessness. Your body is relieved from the constant pull of gravity. Water also has a hydrostatic effect. It has a massage-like feeling as the water gently kneads your body. Water, in motion, stimulates touch receptors on the skin, boosting blood circulation and releasing tight muscles.
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Categories: backache, benefits, Exercise, health, hot, Hot water therapy, pain, Relief Tags: Bath, benefits, Blood circulation, Blood Pressure, Body, hot, Hot water, Oxygen, pain, Relax, Therapy, Treatment, Warm, water
Sauna Health Benefits : Are saunas healthy or harmful?
A sauna is an enclosed room which can be heated with the use of an electric heater, infrared heater, or wood stove. The elevated temperature in the room can be made more intense with the use of steam, or left dry, depending on the taste of the sauna bathers.
- During a 10-20 minute sauna session, your heart rate increases by 50-75%. This provides the same metabolic result as physical exercise. There is a nominal effect on blood pressure.
- Blood vessels become more flexible and there is increased circulation to the extremities.
- One of the main health benefits to owning a sauna is that using it rids your body of unwanted materials and helps to improve overall circulation.
- Another health benefit to owning a sauna is that it can help prevent heart disease.
- Steambaths and saunas induce sweating to provide a comprehensive cleansing of the skin and sweat glands.
- When taking a sauna, skin temperature rises to 40°C (104°F) and internal body temperature rises to about 38°C (100.4°F). Exposure to the high heat creates an artificial fever state. Fever stimulates the immune system resulting in increased production of disease fighting white blood cells, antibodies and interferon.
- Relief from the pain and stiffness of arthritis.
- Steam is an excellent treatment for respiratory problems, such as; chest congestion, bronchitis, laryngitis and sinusitis.
- Revives tired and strained muscles after physical exertion.
- The cleansing effect of profuse perspiration helps provide healthy skin and a clear complexion.
- Burns calories. About 600 calories burned in 30 minutes while sitting in a sauna.
Precautions before using sauna
- Avoid alcohol and medications that may impair sweating and produce overheating before and after your sauna.
- Stay in no more than 15–20 minutes.
- Cool down gradually afterward.
- Drink two to four glasses of cool water after each sauna.
- Don’t take a sauna when you are ill, and if you feel unwell during your sauna, head for the door.
Caution
Pregnant women, heart patient with low or high blood pressure condition or suffering from any disease which has negative effect of sauna bath should first consult a physician regarding their physical condition and the length of period they can take sauna bath.
NOTE : Using a sauna for weight loss is not a sole method. Used in conjunction with eating correctly and getting regular exercise a sauna can help a person to lose weight. It is also a great way to relax after a stressful way, which will also help keep the body healthy. A healthy body losses weight much better than one that is not healthy.