Author Archives: Christina Mantoura

Research has found that time spent outside in nature can have a very positive impact when it comes to reducing stress levels. Exposure to natural light increases the levels of serotonin in the body and helps to boost the mood. However, for many of us, the majority of our days are not spent outside in a natural environment but in an office space or inside a building. Walking from the office to the car, or from public transport home, might be the only chance we get to be outside during the course of a day. If you have a hot tub at home this is a great opportunity to tap into the benefits of connecting with nature, as well as the positive impact that hydrotherapy has to offer.

A hot tub outside in nature

Multiple studies have been conducted over the years looking at the impact of nature on stress. For example, the researcher who created the term “road rage” found that the scent of grass had a calming effect on agitated drivers. As well as increasing the levels of serotonin in the body, spending more time in nature can also help to boost other bodily functions, such as strengthening the immune system. Positioning a hot tub outside provides the opportunity to do more communing with nature, from inhaling the fresh scents all around you to resting your eyes on trees or grass, instead of grey concrete. Plus you’ll get more natural light and be exposed to phytoncides, which are emitted by plants and trees, – according to the Japanese Society of Biometeorology these can significantly improve health.

Combining the benefits of hydrotherapy too

Whether you’re using the hot tub at night looking up at the stars or during the day in the sunshine, you’ll still enjoy a range of benefits that come from hydrotherapy. These include:

• Immune boosting experience. Hydrotherapy is known to increase circulation and the flow of white blood cells around the body. This enables lymph to move more freely around the body – lymph is part of the immune system, which removes unwanted materials. The more effective it is, the better your immune system is able to function.
• Flushing out toxins. The warmth of the water can make you sweat, which is the most effective way for the body to rid itself of toxins and impurities.
• Releasing muscle tension. The buoyancy of the water is supportive and can take the pressure off the body, enabling muscles to relax. As hydrotherapy also stimulates endorphins it can act as a natural pain reliever too.
• Stress management. Hydrotherapy can help to bring blood pressure down, reduce anxiety and release endorphins to help combat stressed feelings.

A hot tub on its own offers a wide range of benefits, from helping to flush toxins from the system to releasing tense muscles. When positioned outside in nature you’ll also be able to enjoy the calming effect that the natural world has been proven time and again to have on the human body and mind.

Also called ‘the water cure,’ hydrotherapy has been used by different civilisations for many generations. It is essentially the use of water for various purposes – in the context of your regular health routine this could be fitness, healing or downtime. Whether you’re looking for ways to optimise your workout or to aid recovery, hydrotherapy could hold the key.

When – and how – can you get the benefits of hydrotherapy?

• As part of your fitness regime. Working out in the water has a very wide range of benefits, especially if you’re looking to increase the effectiveness of your exercise programme or you’re recovering from injury. The buoyancy of the water provides a supported way to exercise, taking the pressure off joints and bones and helping you to avoid the injuries that often result from other similarly intensive exercises, such as running. You can also optimise the time you spend exercising by doing it in water, which provides resistance to every movement you make. Whether you’re swimming or doing yoga or aerobics in the water, the impact of each movement will be significantly increased as a result of the resistance that the water provides.
• Essential recovery from activity. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to know what aching muscles feel like. Whether you’re training for an event or you’ve simply started a new activity, the outcome is often a whole new set of aches and pains as a result of using muscles for the first time or employing them differently. Hydrotherapy has become essential to recovery, especially in warm water such as that in a hot tub. The warmth of the water helps to improve circulation and blood flow to muscles to aid quicker recovery and can also reduce muscular pain and stiffness after an intense activity session. Soothing exerted muscles in this way is a key part of ensuring that you don’t experience muscle fatigue. As well as heated water there are benefits to cold too, including delivering a boost to your immune system and activating your metabolism.
• Stress management. Wellness and relaxation are as important as physical activity when it comes to health. Hydrotherapy has a lot to offer in terms of stress relief and helping you to relax, both physically and mentally. Just 5-10 minutes of hydrotherapy each day can contribute significantly to stress relief and wellness, helping to calm and releasing essential endorphins. This could be either hot water hydrotherapy or cold – the impact is similarly positive. Balance is the key to establishing a truly healthy routine for your lifestyle and being able to find ways to relax and unwind is as important as setting goals and getting stuff done.

Hydrotherapy provides a whole range of health benefits whether you’re looking to incorporate it into an exercise routine or you’re keen to find more relaxation time for yourself. The impact of the water can be life changing, from soothing away aches and pains to providing the resistance to achieve real gains.

According to NHS statistics, back pain is the largest single cause of disability in the UK. Lower back pain alone accounts for around 11% of this. If you regularly suffer from lower back pain, whether as a result of a chronic condition or due to lifestyle choices such as working at a desk, there are steps you can take to help yourself. In particular, a hot tub can have a positive impact when it comes to reducing daily discomfort and helping to pave the way for recovery.

What causes lower back pain?

Lower back pain may be the result of a medical condition, such as sciatica, or it could be caused by something like a strained muscle. Living with back pain on a daily basis may mean that you experience constant stiffness, pain when moving or that you find it difficult to sit or stand in a specific position. Although back pain is a common complaint in the UK, that doesn’t mean that you have to suffer on an ongoing basis. There are solutions for easing and reducing back pain that don’t involve expensive treatment or drugs.

Hot tubs and lower back pain

There are three key ways in which a hot tub can positively affect your lower back pain:

• The application of heat. The warmth of the water in a hot tub has an instant calming and soothing effect on the human body, helping to ease out muscles and relax tightness. Improved circulation boosts blood flow, which is essential for allowing more oxygen-rich blood to get to your muscles to help them recover more quickly. That means that lower back pain is minimised and you may find mobility is easier after a hot tub session, simply thanks to the warmth of the water.
• The impact of buoyancy. Bodyweight is reduced by 90% in a hot tub (when your entire body up to your neck is in the water) and this can provide essential relief for anyone with lower back pain. In the water your body is supported, removing the pressure of gravity that can really take its toll. Bones, joints and muscles are free from the pressure of supporting your body while in the hot tub and, as a result, pain is reduced.
• The effect of hydromassage. Most hot tubs offer a range of different options when it comes to massage jets and these can be essential for lower back pain relief. Jets that can be positioned directly onto the back and focused specifically on the area where you’re feeling discomfort can help to ease out tension and reduce the pain that you’re experiencing, not just while in the water but when you get out of the hot tub too. Not every hot tub is the same when it comes to the effectiveness of the massage jets so it’s worth going for quality to ensure you get maximum impact.

Hot tubs can offer essential relief from lower back pain without the need for drugs.

Anxiety is very common today. Worldwide, around 40% of disability is due to anxiety and depression. It’s a condition that many of us live with day to day and it can affect everything, from work to personal relationships. There are many ways in which you can deal with anxiety – a hot tub at home can provide some essential relief.

The soothing impact of a hot tub soak

Hydrotherapy has been used as a form of stress relief for thousands of years. Stepping into the warm water of a hot tub can instantly help to alleviate the physical symptoms of anxiety, in particular the muscle tension that can be common. Soaking in a hot tub improves circulation by dilating blood vessels and this can provide instant relief from muscle tension and pain. There are other ways in which the physical impact of a hot tub on the body can also help to relieve anxiety, including:

• Feeling supported by the buoyancy of the water, which enables the body to completely relax
• Enjoying the massage effect of the hot tub jets, which are ideal for working out knots of tension and easing painful spots
• Getting the body ready for sleep and combating insomnia – according to a study in the journal ‘Sleep’ a pre-bedtime hot tub soak not only makes it easier to fall asleep but also improves the quality of sleep too
• Lowering blood pressure – just 15 minutes in a hot tub can bring your blood pressure down according to a study by the Mayo Clinic

Using your hot tub to help deal with anxiety

Having a hot tub at home is a great way to help reduce the anxiety that you experience on a regular basis. Many people develop coping mechanisms that involve alcohol or food, even an addiction to sport or social media, when anxiety gets really bad. Regularly soaking in your hot tub offers a way to cope without any of the negative consequences of these other options. It’s very easy to set up your hot tub as somewhere to go when you’re feeling anxious:

• Create a private sanctuary that is out of bounds to other people, somewhere you can retreat to when you need to destress and unwind
• Alternatively, make your hot tub a sociable place – human contact can be supportive during anxious times, especially in a hot tub which is the perfect place for real, uninterrupted conversations about difficult issues
• Place your hot tub outside in nature – immersing yourself in the natural world is a great solution when things start to feel too much
• Use hot tub additions to help cope with anxiety – for example, advanced entertainment systems that allow you to play music can be a great way to increase the anti-anxiety experience. You could also add lights (blue and green are meant to be particularly relaxing) as well as chill out features such as a waterfall.

There are many different ways to cope with anxiety and a hot tub at home can provide simple, swift relief even on the worst of days.

Family time can be difficult to create these days with our addiction to devices and the various activities and responsibilities that everyone is involved in. However, family time is crucial to bonding, creating a sense of belonging and ensuring that everyone stays in touch. No matter how large or small your family, having a hot tub at home as somewhere to spend time in is a great way to get your loved ones together and reconnect.

A way of relieving stress for all the family

Hot tubs have proven benefits when it comes to helping people to manage stress. The soothing effects of the warm water – and the impact of the massage jets – can help you to relax physically and calm down emotionally. Hydrotherapy has been used as a way to promote healing and help to reduce stress and anxiety for thousands of years. If you have children doing a lot of sport it can help with recovery – or maybe your teenagers are doing exams and feeling totally stressed out by them. If you have a hot tub to spend time in together then you can all enjoy the stress relieving benefits – which will help to improve family relationships too.

A place where everyone can relax and open up

It’s often difficult to get kids to open up and be honest about what’s really going on in their lives but a hot tub offers the perfect environment for this. Because of the water, devices such as smart phones are left on the side and out of reach so you’ll be able to get your children’s full attention. This is a great space in which to encourage honest conversation and meaningful discussions. It could be something as simple as working out how to deal with a challenging situation by telling your son or daughter about how you managed something similar. Your children may also feel more relaxed and comfortable and so able to open up about problems or issues that they wouldn’t otherwise talk about, whether that’s fear of failure at school or being bullied. Hot tubs are fun but they also have a much more meaningful purpose.

Reconnecting with the ones you love

Finding time for each other is challenging today but if you’re regularly soaking in the hot tub together then you can create a dedicated window in any schedule that’s all about being with the ones you love. This is a great way to create memories that will last and to learn more about each other through open and honest conversation. This type of quality time strengthens relationships, as well as allowing everyone to enjoy the health benefits, such as improving quality of sleep and learning to relax. Dedicating time to relaxation in this way also helps to make it a priority and can create a learning experience for all the family when it comes to handling anxiety and promoting wellness.

If you have a hot tub at home then there are many benefits that your family can enjoy together – these are just a few of them.

Hot tubs are a luxury – they are relaxing and indulgent and a great place to socialise. But did you know that a daily hot tub soak goes much further than that? Not only does a hot tub create a blissful spa-like space at home where you can chill out but the impact of the hot tub can also help to improve physical wellness.

A cure for common sleep problems

If you suffer from insomnia, you have trouble getting to sleep or you find that the quality of your sleep is low, regularly soaking in a hot tub can help. The warmth of the water enables the body to wind down and prepare for bed, avoiding issues such as over-stimulation from phones or devices. Quality of sleep is also improved as the body cools down.

Relieving aches and pains

Soaking in a hot tub improves circulation and can help to reduce joint pain and stiffness. Whether you suffer from a chronic condition, such as arthritis, or you’re winding down after an intense activity or training session, spending time in a hot tub is a great way to reduce discomfort and improve the ease of performing daily activities.

Relaxing over-stressed muscles

Soaking in a hot tub helps the whole body to relax. The buoyancy of the water provides a supportive environment in which tight muscles can unwind, aided by the tension relieving effect of the massage jets. The warmth of the water helps to relax muscles and promote muscle healing.

Promoting weight loss and reducing the risk of heart disease

Studies have found that regularly spending time in a hot tub can help to support a weight loss journey. In clinical studies, people who used a hot tub lost an average of 3.5 pounds without any dieting or exercise (although the most effective weight loss approach combines healthy diet, hot tub and exercise). Regular time in a hot tub has also been found to help with heart disease by lowering blood pressure. Just 15 minutes in a hot tub can be more effective than working out on an exercise bike but puts a lot less stress on the heart.

The impact on emotional wellness

Regular use of a hot tub is important for physical wellness but also has a very positive impact on emotional wellness too. A hot tub can be somewhere to escape to and have some quiet time, to meditate or listen to music after a hard day. It can also be a sociable space in which you spend time with family or loved ones, connecting and bonding. The relaxing effect of the water provides an environment in which worry and anxiety can be left behind.

These are just some of the ways in which a hot tub at home can be beneficial for both body and mind. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to relax, recover or restore, regularly soaking in a hot tub provides the perfect place to give your body what it needs to thrive.