Most people prefer a shower because it is faster and more convenient. Although experts are sure that by depriving ourselves of the pleasure of lying in warm foamy water, we lose a lot. Here are several reasons why a bath is much more useful than a prosaic shower.
Moisturizing and exfoliating the skin
Let’s start with the fact that a warm bath does a much better job of removing dirt and dead skin cells than a shower. Warm water opens up the pores and cleanses much deeper, but you have to be careful: hard chlorinated water can wash out natural oils from the skin and, as a result, dry it out. For the same reason, dermatologists advise taking a warm bath, not a hot one.
Nancy Mitchell, a registered nurse and editor of medical journal Assisted Living Magazine, recommends taking a bath once a week: this is enough to preserve the layer of good bacteria on the skin and get rid of the bad ones. In scientific terms, to maintain a balance of microbiota.
Relaxation of the whole body
Regular warm baths can help relieve muscle tension, says personal fitness trainer Elliot Torsney. This is because warm water dilates blood vessels and improves blood circulation, which naturally relaxes muscles. Athletes are advised to take a warm bath to quickly remove lactic acid from the muscles after intense training. Here are some tips on how to do it correctly:
- Take a bath before bed so you can go to bed right away.
- Pour warm water into the bath – the temperature should be 37–38 °C.
- Immerse yourself in the bath to the level of your heart. You do not need to immerse your upper chest in the bath, so as not to overload your cardiovascular system.
- Lie in the bath for at least 10 but no longer than 20 minutes.
Mental Health Benefits
Cleansing and relaxation are fine. But a 2017 study by German scientists published in the journal BMC Medicine showed that regular hot baths help cope with depression. A group of subjects suffering from depressive disorder took a 40-degree bath twice a week, as prescribed by doctors. After a month, their scores improved by six points on the Hamilton scale. Moreover, the results of another group that did aerobics instead of baths were much more modest. Their condition improved by only three points. This is what a life-giving bath does.
Normalization of sleep
Scientists at the University of Texas have found that those who take a bath an hour or two before bedtime experience an increase in the slow-wave sleep phase. This is due to the body cooling down after heating up – the body perceives this sequence as a signal to sleep. Sleep becomes deeper and stronger, and the body gets quality rest.
Hygiene
It is believed that a shower stall is cleaner than a bathtub. This is not entirely true: the stall is full of secluded damp corners where bacteria like to nest. And this is due not only to the fact that the stall is washed less often, but also to the fact that sometimes these corners are simply inaccessible. With a bathtub, everything is simpler if you wash it regularly. And, by the way, if there are children in the house, you simply cannot do without a bathtub.