Taking a 15-minute hot tub bath every day can improve sleep quality.

The fast-paced lifestyle has brought about ubiquitous anxiety and insomnia problems. A recent clinical study published by the International Clinical Medical Research Center (ICMR) in the "Applied Physiology Journal" shows that regularly taking a hot tub bath has a significant positive effect on improving the sleep quality and mental health of young and middle-aged people.

This 12-week randomized controlled experiment recruited 120 volunteers who had long suffered from mild insomnia and work stress. The researchers randomly divided them into two groups. The experimental group was required to soak in a 39°C to 40°C hot tub 15 minutes before going to bed every night; the control group maintained their original daily routines.

The experimental monitoring data showed:

1. Extended deep sleep time: The proportion of "deep sleep" (Non-REM3 stage) for the experimental group volunteers increased by an average of 22 minutes. Medical experts explained that hot baths can cause the blood vessels in the skin to expand, and the body temperature gradually drops after getting out of the bath. This process can perfectly simulate the temperature changes during human natural sleep, thereby inducing deeper sleep.

2. Decreased cortisol levels: Blood and saliva tests showed that the cortisol (Cortisol) hormone, a stress hormone, in the blood of the experimental group volunteers decreased by an average of 18% after taking the bath.

3. Relief of muscle soreness: Patients with chronic lower back pain reported that the buoyancy of the hot water reduced the pressure on the spine, combined with the gentle water flow massage, the pain was reduced by nearly 40%.

Many people regard the hot tub as a luxurious treat, but from the perspective of preventive medicine, it is an excellent physical therapy. Through simple, non-toxic, and warm physical stimulation, it can effectively block the damage of chronic stress to the autonomic nervous system. This study provides new evidence-based medical support for clinical non-pharmacological treatment of insomnia.