Hot tubs and saunas can both soothe aching muscles and provide welcome warmth, but hot tubs might offer greater health benefits.
A study found that soaking in hot water raises core body temperature more than dry or infrared saunas, triggering stronger heart, blood vessel, and immune responses.
That’s the takeaway from a new study done by researchers in the Bowerman Sports Science Center at the University of Oregon, which compared the physiological effects of soaking in a hot tub to sitting in a traditional dry heat sauna or a more modern far-infrared sauna.
Researchers monitored body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output (the amount of blood the heart pumps per minute) and immune cell populations and blood biomarkers of inflammation. Data were collected before, during and after subjects soaked in a hot tub and sat in traditional dry heat and far-infrared saunas.
All three options are effective but hot tubs fared better because:
hot water immersion gives you the most robust changes in core temperature. We can’t effectively dissipate heat as we can if we have contact with the air and we’re sweating to cool the body. When you’re submerged in water, the sweat mechanisms aren’t efficient.
Regardless, in addition to relaxation, there are great benefits to the heat!
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