Can Hot Tubs Improve the Old Gray Matter?

You turn to your hot tub for pain relief, relaxation, and even to improve your cardiovascular health. But did you know regular hot tub soaks can boost your brain health? Really! Even the Old Gray Matter can reap the benefits of hot tubbing. Here’s how. 

Warm Water Increases Circulation

As you relax in the warm water of your hot tub, your heart rate speeds up and blood flow increases. This carries higher levels of life-giving oxygen throughout your body (a big reason why hot-tubbing minimizes pain and promotes healing). And when this happens, your brain gets an added rush of oxygen, too!

Medical research has found that improved blood flow to the brain, achieved by hydrotherapy, improves cognitive function. First, a university in Spain, when conducting a study involving middle-aged women with fibromyalgia, found that not only did warm water therapy improve patients’ pain and other fibromyalgia symptoms, but it also improved their cognitive function. 

Then, at the University of Washington, Dr. Bruce Becker found that warm water hydrotherapy improved cognitive function for patients with dementia, neurological issues, stroke, and other diseases. His conclusion was that warm aquatic therapy could counter some of the harmful ways that aging affects the brain.

Indirect Benefits

When looking at how using a hot tub can affect the brain, we can’t overlook some of the less direct ways your brain benefits. For instance, you may be using your hot tub for stress-relief or to get a better night’s sleep. Both of those conditions can adversely affect your brain. We all know what it’s like to fight through the day sluggishly when you haven’t gotten enough sleep. And chronic stress has even been shown to kill brain cells and make other long-term changes to the brain. So, when long relaxing soaks help you improve conditions like these, your gray matter receives some of the biggest benefits!

Don’t overlook cognitive function and the many other health benefits associated with using a hot tub. For your mind, body, and overall health, a hot tub can be, literally, life-changing. If you’re ready to learn more or find a hot tub that’s perfect for you, come visit us and let’s talk hot tubs!