Hot baths improve your sleep quality

Sleep is so important for your mental health and wellbeing. A lot of research suggests that good quality sleep is a crucial need for human beings to function well. It’s therefore essential that engaging in regular healthy sleep is considered a priority in your life.

Despite sleep being so important, so many of us struggle to get good quality sleep, especially with the hectic pace of modern life. There are many things that you can do to help improve your sleep. Some of these suggestions include meditation before bed, relaxation, or regular exercise.

Another positive idea to help sleep quality is having a nice hot bath before bed. Below, we will talk through some of the reasons why hot baths can improve your sleep quality, and give our top tips to consider if choosing to try this bath-time bed strategy.

The science behind why?

You may be wondering exactly how a hot bath can help you sleep. Well, a lot of research has been done to understand the reasons and there is some fairly conclusive evidence. When we drift off to sleep, our core body temperature needs to drop. Typically, this temperature change will only be one to two degrees, but this drop in temperature helps signal to the body that it’s time to go to sleep. This is most likely due to the body conserving energy to focus on other important things while you sleep.

Taking a hot bath helps you fall asleep quicker as it supports this natural process that helps your body temperature to drop. If you have a hot bath around 90 minutes before bed, your body temperature will automatically drop when you finish your bath. This will send signals to your body that it is time to sleep, and will support you to drift into a good quality sleep.

Baths help you relax

One of the big reasons baths can be so helpful when it comes to sleep is that they can really support us to feel relaxed. When in a nice warm bath, your skin releases endorphins due to the soothing qualities of the warm water.

Hot baths can also reduce our stress and anxiety levels and help our body and mind feel calmer. They do this because they activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of your body activated when you feel relaxed.

Relaxation can be encouraged further through a bath by adding relaxing essential oils or bath salts. There is a direct link between feeling relaxed and good quality sleep. Therefore, baths are a great option to help your overall well being, mental health, and your sleep.

Support with pain and breathing issues

One of the reasons that many people struggle with sleep is pain. A lot of people may wake in the night due to feeling discomfort, pain, or having breathing issues. This can affect the quality of sleep, as we may have disturbed sleep as a result, making us toss and turn throughout the night.

A hot bath can be helpful with pain by increasing blood flow and increasing oxygen levels to the muscles. This provides your muscles with more nutrients, and also improves the tightness in your muscles. As a result, this can relax your muscles and relieve or improve pain. A hot bath can also improve your breathing, as it can often increase your oxygen intake and open your airways.

Baths are a brilliant way to help combat muscle soreness and are a great way to improve your sleep quality if you are regularly in pain.

Can support with cold and flu symptoms

Similar to the way a bath can help with breathing issues, the steam from a hot bath can be really beneficial to relieve a bad cough or stuffy nose. These symptoms are often present when struggling with a cold or flu, and can really impact on the quality of our sleep.

A hot bath helps with this by supporting the blood vessels in your nose and face to start moving.

This can support the release of congestion felt when struggling with a blocked nose and can help release any mucus blockage. Not only can hot baths help you to recover from the symptoms of a cold or flu, but they have also been found to help improve immune systems, which could support you from catching further colds in the future.

Ely mattress

Here at Ely Mattress, we really care about your sleep. We believe that the best way to maximise your sleep quality is to sleep on the best possible mattress. Our mattresses are made from natural materials, which means they are breathable, comfortable, and safe. To browse our range, please visit our online store.