A bath a day may cut risk of stroke

‘Immersion to shoulder height’

a HOT bath every day could reduce the risk of having a stroke or heart attack, research suggests.

scientists found a soak in the tub reduces high blood pressure – and that the more often people bathe, the better it seems to be for the health of blood vessels and the heart.

Researchers from Osaka University drew on participants in a study by the Japan Public Health Centre which tracked adults aged 45 to 59. when the study began in 1990, more than 43,000 participants provided detailed information on their bathing habits and their lifestyle.

each participant was monitored until their death or completion of the study at the end of December 2009, with the final analysis based on 30,076 people.

During the monitoring period, 2,097 cases of cardiovascular disease occurred: 275 heart attacks; 53 sudden cardiac deaths; and 1,769 strokes. after taking into account potentially influential factors, analysis showed that compared with a bi-weekly soak or none at all, a daily hot bath was associated with a 28 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

and analysis of preferred water temperature indicated 26 per cent lower and 35 per cent lower risks of overall cardiovascular disease for warm and hot water, respectively.

Typically, Japanese bathing includes immersion to shoulder height, and the authors of the study – published in the journal Heart – say that may be a critical factor.

study author Professor Hiroyasu Iso said: ‘we found that frequent tub bathing was significantly associated with a lower risk of hypertension, suggesting that a beneficial effect of tub bathing on risk of cardiovascular disease may in part be due to a reduced risk of developing hypertension.’

Having a warm bath has been previously linked with increased quality of sleep and better self-rated health.

The researchers acknowledged that taking a hot bath is not without risk, particularly if the temperature is too high. Overheating can lead to confusion, then possibly drowning and death – especially in older bathers.