10 Little Known Health Benefits of a Hot Tub

When people consider buying a hot tub, they generally consider the obvious reasons—relaxation, socializing with friends, or a way to reconnect with your spouse.

While these are all great reasons to add a hot tub to your backyard setting, there is mounting evidence of a plethora of health-related reasons to heavily consider a hot tub purchase in your near future.

As the population is living longer than ever before, yet remaining active throughout their retirement years, extensive research is being done on alternative ways to help us feel more youthful, and help our bodies rebound from physical activity, and just the general aging process.  What has been found regarding water therapy is fairly astounding, and the extent of the health benefits of a hot tub continue to amaze me.  

(Like what you're reading? Check out "The Essential Guide to Hot Tubs")

So, in an effort to help spread the word, I have compiled a list of 10 lesser-known health reasons to purchase a hot tub—at least lesser known to me, as I used to think they were ‘just for fun’!

1. Lowers blood pressure
2. Increases cardiac volume (the amount of blood moved by the heart)
3. Increases volume of blood pumped per minute
4. Decreases blood vessels’ resistance to blood flow
5. Increases muscle blood flow
6. Offloads bones and joints
7. Increases renal blood flow and renal efficiency
8. Promotes sodium excretion
9. Increases brain blood flow
10. Promotes relaxation which may lead to improved sleep patterns

While not all of these benefits may occur for everyone or even at a dramatic rate , the science is increasingly proving that warm water immersion has countless health benefits and those who consistently soak in a hot tub generally just ‘feel better’ all around.  

On the flip side, there is now increasing use of ‘cold water therapy’—generally associated with sports medicine and therapy for athletes, cryotherapy is now becoming a more well-known concept, and the hot tub industry is now working towards allowing you to have a form of cold water therapy in your own backyard.  

Some hot tub manufacturers are now offering hot tub chillers, allowing you to cool your hot tub water to 60 degrees, which allows for owners to experience benefits of both hot and cold water…and also, allows you to enjoy your hot tub year round, instead of looking at it longingly throughout the hot summer months!