Bert Swope
Baths and showers each provide advantages for maintaining good hygiene, but which is best? Germ expert and internist Niket Sonpal discusses both. He provides insight into each option.
Baths can help relieve sore muscles, ease fatigue and decrease stress levels, while warm water helps regulate blood pressure levels.
1. Relaxation
Bathing can be an oasis of peace. Listening to soothing music or reading a good book while submerging in warm water is a wonderful way to unwind, helping reduce stress and improve mental health. Bathing also helps lower blood pressure and balance serotonin levels, which may otherwise become imbalanced by depression.
Warm baths can also soothe sore muscles, which is why many athletes soak in their locker room tub after a tough workout to relax and reduce chronic muscle pain or strain. Baths may also help treat respiratory issues by quickly relieving congestion or breaking a fever.
Aromatherapy can bring peace and serenity into your bath using essential oils such as eucalyptus. Adding these soothing essential oils directly to the tub or shower can boost immune systems, open airways, and clear lungs while using a diffuser will prevent skin irritation.
Focusing on your senses while indulging in a bath soak can help you become more present and increase relaxation. By tuning into sounds, smells, and sensations in the surroundings you may become more attuned with how your body responds. This will enhance your ability to restful relaxation.
A warm bath can provide the ideal setting to practice meditation and deep breathing techniques that can further relax both body and mind. You may also use this time to reflect on the day, address challenges, and consider solutions. Increasing sleep quality through mindfulness practice is vitally important; so take one about an hour before bedtime!
2. Detox
Baths may seem like the obvious solution for keeping yourself clean, but they can provide greater detoxification benefits than showers. Showers use evenly distributed water over your entire body which combines with soap to break apart oils, sweat and dirt that accumulate on your skin before all being rinsed off and flushed down your drain – leaving you feeling much fresher afterward!
Tierno explains that bathtub surfaces can develop a biofilm which harbors bacteria prone to cause athlete’s foot or yeast infections, which then become spreadable when you soak. When this occurs, these organisms could easily get in touch with an open wound or be absorbed through skin pores as you soak.
A detox bath involves adding ingredients such as baking soda or essential oils to water to promote skin health and reduce toxins in your body. Baking soda works to exfoliate dead skin cells while essential oils help relax and soothe muscles.
Epsom salt baths are another popular way to promote detoxification, reduce muscle inflammation and enhance circulation. Add one or more cups of Epsom Salts and antibacterial essential oils like Tea Tree or Geranium into your bath water for maximum effectiveness.
If you want to reap the detoxifying effects of bathing without leaving home, an evening detox bath may help sleep patterns and lower stress levels. Just rinse yourself after each soak – too long in the tub could dry out your skin!
3. Skin Care
Skin is the largest organ in our bodies, so its care must be prioritized. A shower or bath can assist by clearing away dead skin cells from pores, keeping pores unclogged, and clearing away pollutants that may contribute to acne outbreaks.
Bathtime can be ideal for indulging in luxurious oils and lotions that will leave your skin nourished, radiant, and youthful-looking. To get maximum benefit out of bathing or showering sessions, use mild cleansers that don’t contain harsh detergents and moisturize immediately after exiting either one if your skin tends to be dry.
There are various methods you can incorporate into your hygiene routine that can improve skin health through taking a bath or shower, including adding Epsom salts or bath bombs, using moisturizers with soothing ingredients such as oatmeal, and trying different bath and shower routines until you find one that best fits you and your skin type. You must experiment with various approaches so you can find out which works for you and your individual skin type.
Back in middle school health class, your teacher probably stressed the importance of brushing twice daily and showering regularly to maintain good oral health. While these habits are beneficial, it could be that you’re washing too frequently with too hot of water; try cutting back how often you wash to see if that makes any positive difference to your skin. Also, consider switching to gentle soap with vegetable-based surfactants rather than harsher sulfate-containing products, as they are less likely to strip your natural oils and may provide better relief for people suffering from sensitive skin.
4. Blood Pressure
Studies have demonstrated the power of hot baths to lower blood pressure by improving circulation and relaxing the heart, increasing blood flow, and decreasing risks such as strokes or heart attacks. This is especially useful for people with high blood pressure who face the additional threat of future heart diseases due to higher chances of strokes or attacks.
Showering may actually have the opposite effect of what was intended when lowering blood pressure; salt levels increase and heart rates accelerate with repeated showering sessions, possibly leaving skin vulnerable and susceptible to drying out, exacerbating certain skin conditions further.
Baths with water temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer can help soothe dry and irritated skin, while maintaining core body temperatures even. This may alleviate symptoms associated with eczema or other skin disorders by locking in moisture.
An extended bath or shower before bed can also help improve sleep quality by gradually raising body temperature before rapidly cooling it off again after exiting. This process triggers production of melatonin which aids sleep; many organizations such as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute advise taking such baths or showers before sleeping.
Although showering may be quicker and easier, baths still are important in daily routine. Not only can they provide some health benefits, but taking a bath is also a wonderful way to unwind after a long day – so indulge yourself and soak up some soothing suds with music playing softly in the background – sit back, relax and unwind!
5. Hygiene
Besides its relaxation benefits, a warm bath can also provide multiple other health advantages. Loosening tight muscles helps ease aches and pains, relieve stress, and promote sleep by giving your body time off from daily life stressors. Furthermore, baths provide an ideal opportunity to rid skin of dirt accumulation for an overall fresh feeling afterward.
Showering is an excellent way to eliminate sweat, oil, and other toxins from your body. Water mixed with soap helps break apart oily particles accumulated on skin as it rinses off down drain.
Both bathing and showering are necessary parts of maintaining personal hygiene, but if you prefer showers over baths or have limited time available to you, a refreshing one-hour shower might be more suitable. Aside from being more time and resource efficient than bathing (per the United States Environmental Protection Agency), showering uses up to 80 gallons less water.
Baths may not be suitable for individuals suffering from sensitive skin or eczema as it tends to strip the natural oils off their surface and leave it feeling dry and itchy. Furthermore, bathing may break down their protective barrier against bacteria and allergens entering through cracks in their skin barrier, potentially leading to inflammation and irritation in these vulnerable spots.
Showering may actually be better for those prone to allergies or asthma since it helps rinse away dust or pollen from hair and body, while also decreasing toxin buildup in your system. Showering also enhances immunity while helping prevent respiratory conditions like asthma.