Hot showers and baths can inflame the skin, causing redness, itching, and even peeling — similar to a sunburn. They also can disrupt the skin's natural balance of moisture, robbing you of the natural oils, fats, and proteins that keep skin healthy.
Staying in your hot tub too long can result in dizziness, light-headedness, overheating and dehydration, especially if you're soaking at a higher temperature. It can also cause burns, decrease in blood pressure, increased heart rate, nausea and vomiting.
Since the water in a hot tub is higher than your normal internal temperature, staying in a hot tub too long can cause you to overheat and experience symptoms like light-headedness, dizziness, or nausea. These symptoms are your body's way of telling you that it is time to get out of the hot tub and cool down.
“Soaking in a tub is something many people have access to but don't take advantage of enough. But it can be beneficial for a lot of people.” Baths shouldn't be an everyday thing. But if you can carve out 10 or 15 minutes for a bath just once a week, you may find it makes a difference in your overall health.
"When taking a bath, you should try to limit it to 15 minutes," Dr. Chimento says. "Anything longer than that will begin to strip the skin of its natural oils, leading to inflammation and irritation." Basically, when it starts to get cold, get out.
On the whole, a bath should last no longer than 30 minutes on the high end. The normal average is anywhere between 15-30 minutes, with prolonged exposure causing severe dry skin which leads to agitation, irritation and promotes bacteria growth, which carries a multitude of health risks.
According to all three of our experts, the recommended bath temperature is 36-40 degrees Celsius, which is just a few degrees above normal body temperature. The results of our independent study found that three in five people are having their baths too hot, above the suggested 40 degree upper limit!
When your body gets superheated: Your blood vessels dilate to try to help cool off the body. Blood diverts to the skin, away from the body core. Heart rate and pulse increase to counteract a drop in blood pressure.
It found that hot baths can bring about certain similar health benefits to those of aerobic exercise. Heat therapies, including time in a hot tub, can raise core body temperature and improve blood flow, which can lower blood pressure, control blood sugar and reduce inflammation.
At night our body temperatures naturally drop, which signals the production of melatonin—or the sleeping hormone. Soaking in a warm bath will raise your body temperature, and exiting will more rapidly cool it down, thus instigating the production of melatonin, and better preparing you for sleep.
“People who already have low blood pressure should avoid soaks that are much hotter than body temperature,” cautions Dr. Todorov. “Their blood pressure could drop to dangerously low levels.” But if you have high blood pressure (hypertension), hot tubs are likely safe and could be beneficial.
Interpretation. Immersion in a hot tub for 10 minutes lowers blood pressure in subjects with treated hypertension, but no more than in normotensive control subjects. Spending 10 minutes in a hot tub should be safe for most treated hypertensive patients.
The ideal temperature for a bath should be a few degrees above body temperature. The human body sits at a temperature of around 37 degrees, so ideally your bath should be between 40-45 degrees.
A safe bath temperature for babies and children is 37-38°C. Scalds can happen in seconds if bath water is too hot. Reduce scalding risk by lowering the temperature of the water coming out of your taps to a maximum of 50°C.
Bathing with cold water makes the immune system increase because cold water has regenerative properties. The muscles of the body that work all day will feel relaxed. The skin feels more moisturized.
The warm, bubbly water also eases aches and pains from conditions like arthritis, low back pain, and fibromyalgia. But hot tubs might not be safe for some people, including pregnant women and those with heart disease. And when they aren't cleaned well, they pose risks to even healthy people.
Soothes sore muscles- The heat will get your blood circulating, helping to relax sore or tight muscles. Lowers blood pressure- High temperatures in a warm bath cause the blood vessels to dilate, increasing and improving blood flow to the heart, which lowers blood pressure.
Not only does a warm bath make the blood flow easier, it also makes it more oxygenated by allowing you to breathe deeper and slower, particularly when taking in steam. Taking a hot bath or spa can kill bacteria and improve immunity.
Avoid hot baths
Heat can widen the veins, which may make it harder for blood to flow through the legs. While soaking the feet may help in some cases, it may make some people feel worse.
"Really it's all down to personal preference," Dr Perry says. "If you're someone that generally baths daily or showers morning or night it's unlikely you are very dirty, therefore there is no need to worry about showering after a bath."
"Most studies that show physiologic benefits have the participants bathing regularly, sometimes daily, often at least 3 to 4 times per week for around 20 minutes or so each time," says Patterson.
Taking a hot bath or shower (or spending time in a hot room) can lead to increased body temperature and cause blood vessels to dilate, which lowers blood pressure and can cause lightheadedness or dizziness.
This initial reaction causes an increase in blood pressure, but because the warmth quickly causes the blood vessels to dilate or expand, the resistance on the heart is lessened. This means a soak in hot water will actually lower blood pressure!