Why a daily soak in the bath could cut risk of stroke

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

Scientists discovered that a soak in the tub reduces high blood pressure – and also found 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, the research showed that compared with a bi-weekly soak or none at all, a daily hot bath was associated with a 28% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

And analysis of preferred water temperature indicated 26% lower and 35% 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 commented: ‘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 previously been linked by researchers with increased quality of sleep as well as better self-rated health.