Follow @alkalineherbshop for alkaline herbs 🌿 ⠀ Not all of us have access to saunas, which have been shown to offer multiple health benefits, including enhanced exercise performance, reduced pain, reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, and better heart health overall. But the good news is that you may still be able to enjoy the many benefits of heat exposure simply by drawing yourself a hot bath. ⠀ A 2018 observational study from Scientific Reports analyzing data of over 800 participants found that people who soaked in a hot bath at least 5 times per week had better cardiovascular health. Specifically, regular bathers had lower levels of a hormone called BNP in their blood (high levels suggest the heart isn't pumping effectively) as well as lower brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, a measurement of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). ⠀ Since the study is observational, it's not possible to say whether regular hot bathing is a direct cause of these circulatory benefits. But additional research has found that heat exposure positively influences immune and hormonal systems, improves cardiovascular function (such as by increasing stroke volume and lowering heart rate and blood pressure), and enhances the excretion of toxins through sweat, all of which support the notion that bathing is good for your heart and blood vessels. ⠀ In the study, the researchers defined a hot bath as 41°C (about 106°F), taken for a mean duration of just over 12 minutes. ⠀ Sources: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322255 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5941775/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-26908-1#Abs1 https://www.instagram.com/p/CIitoschxkW/?igshid=1wdsh9haiigya
