Are Baths Good for You?

By Benjamin Clarke | Published on 30th July 2019

Throughout human history, taking a bath has been associated with health benefits.

The Romans, for example, placed huge importance on bathing and built huge complexes dedicated to this beneficial ritual. The evidence of this can be seen at Pompeii and in Bath.

The Romans felt that baths had massive health benefits, were a great way of being sociable and could act as a way of honouring the gods.

They had a variety of different types of baths, like frigidariums (cold baths), tepidariums (warm baths) and caldariums (hot baths) - each serving a different function and purpose for a person's health.

As with many things that the Romans pioneered, we are still enjoying the importance to our health of a good bath. Below are some of the most common health benefits of bathing.

Cleanses the skin

Immersing ourselves in a warm bath is a fantastic way to moisturise and cleanse the pores in our skin.

The hot steam helps to open up our pores, leaving our skin glowing and feeling fresh and healthy.

Increases the blood flow

A warm bath helps to relax your arteries, veins and capillaries, allowing for greater blood flow around your body.

This is great for your circulation, your muscles and your skin as the means that nicely oxygenated blood is flowing freely all around your body.

Relieves muscle and joint pain

Moving around in a warm bath can be a great, low impact way of moving stiff body parts and aching limbs. The water helps to support the weight of your limbs, allowing you to move in ways that are simply not possible out of the water.

Even if you remain stationary, the warm temperature of the water can assist with reducing inflammation, joint pain and generally relieving stress.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Essential oils in baths

• Health benefits of a jacuzzi

• Ideas for creating a relaxing bathroom

Go Back