The Benefits of Hot Tubs
on High Blood Pressure

I started thinking of the benefits of hot tubs when a friend of mine was supposed to receive hydrothermal therapy after a stroke. Her doctor told her that he would only arrange it if she took the medications he had prescribed for her.

My friend doesn’t want to take the concoction of drugs because she is convinced it was the medications that caused her health to deteriorate, so I went about looking for local spas or saunas that we could use to give her that missing care.

That’s when the idea of owning our own spa became an option. After searching a few companies on the internet, I was sent a DVD and WOW! Some of those spas just held you captive. Owners had picked their own design to suit their budgets and needs. Some of them had captured their favourite holiday haunts. They featured a Mediterranean theme and there was an African theme too. Very novel!

Unfortunately, my friend had another mini stroke before we could get our idea of the ground, and ended back in hospital, but it is still a goal of mine to purchase a spa. I am working on my husband’s soft spot. I know he likes the idea of a spa, and in the garden too.

We are also thinking of the health benefits not only for ourselves but our friends and family, especially my friend in the hospital.

What are the health benefits of hot tubs?

When my husband and I go on holiday, we always look for a spa because we enjoy the sensation. It leaves you feeling relaxed and lightly massaged, and is always fun to do if you go with friends. You could sit and chat all day in them, sipping cool drinks.

Don’t confuse hot tubs with Jacuzzi. They are different. Hot tubs are more beneficial.

Hydrothermal therapy works by manipulating the body’s sense of hot and cold. We are interested in the hot aspect of the therapy. Nerves beneath the surface of our skin are stimulated with the hot water and the water pressure from the jets, relieve stress, aid circulation, sooth aching body parts and help systems that we don’t think about, such as the immune system, digestion, and even hormone production which we could do with as we age.

That’s why, on holiday you get that feel good factor. Most of us spend time in the sea which pounds against or bodies like a massage, stimulating our circulation. Chinese researchers have also found that one of the benefits of hot tubs are the release of endorphins which improve your mood. And, don’t you just sleep like a baby?

When my husband and I are finished site seeing, we look for the sea or a hot tub.

Just take a loooooong look at this top Spa Club that we visited on our holiday to Tenerife this year. It is one of the largest in Europe and hosts a grand array of pools and plumes including a foot spa, mineral spray shower, hot sea-salt pool, Roman bath, Turkish bath, a cold dip, and jacuzzi.

Sorry! Because of the Privacy Law I was not permitted to film inside so I will post a picture of the brochure later.

That was certainly a day to remember. It was also our 12th wedding anniversary so we just wanted to unwind in relaxing surroundings. What more could we ask for.

As we scanned the array of pools, we spotted two hot, steamy, bubbling jacuzzi just beckoning us which we then made a b-line for. After a few minutes relaxing in this hot oasis, we plucked up courage to walk through the ice cold dip.

You are probably thinking we must be quite crazy, but no! There is method in our madness. The secret of this therapy is the way the body is tricked into action.

A soak in the hot jacuzzi brought the blood vessels to the surface of our skin and also dilated them like I mention below, but when we took the dip in the ice cold pool they immediately constricted and moved away from the surface. At this stage we didn`t feel any sensation but as we returned immediately to one of the hotter pools, we felt a tingling sensation all over our bodies. It was fantastic! This therapy is very good for the circulation and one of the benefits of hot tubs. We recommend that moderately healthy people should try it.

Hot Tubs and High Blood pressure

So why are people unaware of the benefits of hot tubs on high blood pressure?

You may have spotted, in some spa facilities, a notice warning people with hypertension to consult their doctor first before taking a hot spa. According to Dr. Shin, a resident of internal medicine at the University of British Columbia, the doctors have no real guidelines on this. At the Cardiovascular Risk Factor Reduction Unit at the Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 21 people with hypertension and 23 with normal blood pressure were subjected to a ten minute submersion in a 40 C hot tub. The results were favourable. That of the hypertensive group was 144 (17) mmHg to 122 (18) mmHg and of the normal group, 130 (14) mmHg to 110 (17) mmHg and the diastolic pressures of both groups dropped. Measurements returned to the baseline level 10 minutes after they left the spa.

So we at least know a 10 minute soak is safe for those with moderate hypertension with exception to the rule. It would be good for those persons to monitor their blood pressure if they would like to try staying in longer to experience for themselves the benefits of hot tubs. Many people who suffer from blood pressure do this, and it has been known to lower their blood pressure significantly, by causing the blood vessels to dilate, lessening strain on the heart, relieving stress, and in aiding a good nights` sleep. At first it causes the pressure to rise because the higher temperature on the vessels near the skins surface, but in a few minutes it drops as signals are sent to the brain and changes in the artery muscles takes place.

Another one of the benefits of hot tubs are the effects that mimic those when we exercise. More oxygen is transferred to parts of the body and muscles when blood vessels dilate. It actually strengthens the heart and aids healing.

Ahhhh! Just the thought of it makes one wish that you could just step outside right into your own hot tub. What’s so nice about that thought is that you can do something about that!

Gem.

You can go and try a wet test for or why not

Yes! The benefits of hot tubs are well worth checking out. Now to look at some other alternatives therapies >>>>

Gem.

Exit The Benefits of Hot Tubs Here for the Home Page