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Thank you, Science: Hot baths are as effective for health as exercise
In Finland, the sauna is called a "pharmacy for the poor" and there are quite a few more people who have been praising the health benefits of hot tubs for years.
Now there is also evidence and a scientific explanation.
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Sunday, 06 June 2021, 08:30 Updated: 08:51
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Hot tubs and saunas are a delight that mankind discovered thousands of years ago, and related customs have been documented since ancient Egyptian times.
Even today, there are nations where visiting bathhouses and saunas is a popular and frequent folk pastime.
In Finland, for example, a country with 5.5 million inhabitants and 3 million saunas, a visit to a sauna is called a "pharmacy for the poor" due to the health benefits that come from the habit.
"There are quite a few cultures that have always celebrated the health benefits of saunas and hot tubs, and now we know they were right all this time," says Charles James Steward, a PhD student at the University of Coventry.
Steward and colleagues are studying the effect of "passive warming" on the human body, and their conclusions are quite astonishing.
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They conducted a scientific review of a number of recent studies that show that the health benefits of a hot bath or a routine bath in a sauna are the same as those that can be gained from moderate-intensity aerobic exercise - such as walking, running or cycling.
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Woman's feet in the bath (Photo: ShutterStock)
One study included in the scientific review found that sauna use was associated with a reduced risk of fatal cardiovascular disease.
People who visited the sauna frequently (between 4 and 7 times a week) had a 50 percent lower risk of developing potentially fatal cardiovascular disease compared to people who visited the sauna only once a week.
Another study that included a link between sauna visits and reduced risk of dementia - one of the most common medical conditions in old age, and showed another link between immersion in a hot bath and improvement in depressive symptoms.
Other health benefits of hot tubs and saunas found in studies reviewed by Steward and colleagues were: "Improved cardiopulmonary endurance, vascular health, sugar regulation and conditions of chronic inflammation," they wrote.
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Steward explained that sitting in a sauna or hot tub raises body temperature, increases heart rate and improves blood flow to all parts of the body - the same things that also happen following exercise.
However, he explained that a bath can not be a complete substitute for exercise because it will not cause muscle mass increase or fat burning.
But Steward noted that adopting such a habit can benefit people who lead a particularly sedentary lifestyle, or people who are prevented from exercising for extended periods of time.
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