According to Health Freedoms, Dr. Steve Faulkner, a researcher from the Loughborough University asserts that regular warm baths may be as beneficial as like cycling in helping you burn calories and may help avert type 2 diabetes too.
Even though people have enjoyed warm baths for a long period of time, its benefits have been discovered recently and more and more people are learning about them and practicing this relaxation method more frequently in order to reap them.
What Did the Research Show?
Together with his team, Dr. Faulkner tested the impact of warm baths on the blood sugar and on the burning of calories. There were 14 male participants and each of them was assigned to soak for an hour in a 40-degree bath or do an hour of cycling. Both activities were designed to trigger a one-degree increase in their core body temperature after an hour. As explained on The Conversation, the researchers measured the amount of calories that the men burned in each session, as well as their blood sugar for 24 hours after a trial.
Even though cycling did help the participants burn a higher amount of calories, a warm bath used up as many calories as a 30-minute walk, which is approximately 140 calories.
Regarding blood sugar response, it was similar in both activities; however, the peak blood sugar after they ate was around 10 percent lower when the participants took a warm bath before eating in comparison to when they worked out.
It is important to note that the anti-inflammatory characteristics of exercising are essential for a strong immunity, which further suggests that repeated, passive heating may be able to decrease chronic inflammation which is seen during illnesses like type 2 diabetes.
The Research on Passive Heating
Although passive heating for human health is a rather new research field, there has been some interesting information emerging in the last couple of years. Namely, a 2015 research done in Finland indicates that regular sauna visits can lower one’s chance of heart attack or strokes in men, as seen on The Conversation.
To conclude, this study does not indicate that we should completely exclude physical activity and focus on warm baths to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it merely shows us that whenever we are unable to exercise that we can indulge in an warm bath (mixed up with some essential oils!) and still burn calories! Amazing, right?
Want to learn more about how to burn calories while enjoying a pleasant, warm bath after a long day at work? Make sure you check out the video below…
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