Research Shows You Can Burn More Calories Taking A Hot Bath Than Walking For Half An Hour

Feb 28, 2018 by apost team

Sinking into your hot tub after a long day must be one of the things you look forward to doing. Not only does it reduce stress levels, research shows that it has other effects. Recent studies show that taking a hot bath might show similar results to exercise. According to that study, once you expose your body to extreme temperatures, you will attain high-level fitness. Sadly, most of this study centers on extremely cold water. Research shows that staying in cold water can help in weight loss and counteracting type two diabetes' side effects. However, science shows that there could be another way to achieve this.

National Center for Sport and Exercise Medicine published a study done by U.K.'s University of Loughborough saying that the health-wise benefits of taking a hot bath are being scrutinized carefully. Steve Faulkner who is The Conversation's lead author says that many cultures believe in the health benefits of hot baths. He goes on to say that science has just started understanding how passive heat (instead of sweating and getting hot from exercise) improves health.

The study was small as it was done on only 14 men. These men were to either cycle for an hour at an average pace or soak for a whole hour in water whose temperature was 104 degrees. It is evident that the cyclists did burn more fats overall, but there is an interesting bit in this. The men that took hot baths still broke down roughly 140 calories, which is about the same as taking a 30-minute walk.

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The Importance Of Soaking In A Hot Tub

Another great finding from this study is that when the blood sugar levels of the participants were measured over a 24-hour period, it was discovered that both groups were able to control their levels of blood sugar. In reality, the blood sugar levels were lower in those who took hot baths than in that of the cyclists. Those who soaked in water also had an anti-inflammatory reaction, which is similar to that produced after you do some exercises. This is very important because a lot of people suffering from chronic diseases sometimes get chronic inflammation in their joints.

The findings could be the pathway to using "passive heating" to help those with type two diabetes as well as other metabolic diseases. Steve also wrote that they showed changes to an inflammatory response that is the same as that one experienced after exercise. This anti-inflammatory reaction following exercise is crucial because it aids in protecting people against diseases. However, chronic inflammation of the joints is as a result of the low ability to fight diseases. Therefore, this means that continuous passive heating could lead to lower chronic inflammation that is always experienced by patients suffering from long-term illnesses like type two diabetes. Another research shows that if you are used to going to the sauna, the risk of stroke and heart attack will be reduced in men.

Another research done found that there is a connection between low blood sugar and frequent hot baths. The discovery was that passive heating increases nitric oxide levels thus dilating blood vessels and reducing blood sugar. Steve says that this has yielded excellent results in treating HBP and improving circulation in people suffering from type 2 diabetes. Type two diabetes results from low levels of nitric oxide and passive heating could re-establish a healthy level of nitric oxide and reduce HBP. Still, another research found that you can stimulate your immune system by taking hot baths. This is very useful for those who exercise on a regular basis, as exercising heavily could decrease immune functionality temporarily making us more vulnerable to infections.

Future Study

The authors of this study hope that their research will be expanded into extensive research. They point out that taking hot baths is no replacement for exercise and diet, but it can be used by those who want to get fit. If you are unable to exercise on a regular basis for any reason, consider taking a hot bath. Steve says that they hope that future studies will help to show that passive heating is a good therapeutic tool.

The Cheat Day

Here is some more good news. It turns out that when you eat pizza and junk foods, you could actually lose weight! However, this only works if you eat healthy most of the time. Studies show that if you have a cheat day, you will be more encouraged to retain your diet plan for long. The most important thing is to plan, designate a given day to break the rules. This is because once you give in to breaking the rules anytime of the day of the week, you will feel like you failed in keeping your diet plan and abandon it altogether.

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