Hot baths are considered beneficial for helping you relax after a long workday, but they can also assist in improving your health. One study shows that soaking in a hot bath can help control type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong condition that can lead to serious health complications if left untreated. Elevated blood sugar levels can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and nerve damage. Maintaining a healthy diet and engaging in physical activities can help control blood sugar levels.
A research team from Leicester and Loughborough also reported that bathing could reduce blood sugar levels by 10 percent, and they found that energy expenditure could increase by 80 percent, resulting in burning 126 calories per hour. Weight gain is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes.
The study was led by Dr. Steve Faulkner, a postdoctoral research associate at the National Institute for Health Research in Leicester-Loughborough, who sought to determine if there were any alternatives to exercise that could help people maintain better blood sugar levels.
They compared a one-hour hot bath with the same duration of cycling exercise, and the researchers found that the less strenuous activity had some surprising health benefits.
Faulkner believes that the reason for this is that bathing may encourage the release of heat shock proteins, which may help lower blood sugar levels by improving the insulin-controlled absorption of glucose. Participants also showed that they burned an average of 126 calories per hour while bathing, which is roughly equivalent to walking for 25 to 30 minutes.
Overall, the research suggested that passive heating, such as bathing, could increase the calorie-burning rate and may help reduce spikes in blood sugar levels after eating, according to the British newspaper Express.
