March 5, 2018 –  Are you tired while reading this? There’s a good chance you are. A one in three chance I’d reckon. More than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis and it’s evident that a combination of factors has resulted in sleepless lives. Sedentary yet hectic lives, stress, and blue-light mobile screens may all be factors related to our collective sleep disorder, but today we’re not trying to lay the blame. We want to help you get to sleep, regardless of your habits.

According to the National Center for Sleep Disorder Research, nearly 1 in 5 Americans experience some form of sleep disruption. The negative outcomes from such widespread sleep disorders – lost time at work, accidents, medication and more – amounts to a nearly $16 billion annual health care bill. A poll released by the NSF found that 43% of women surveyed say that daytime sleepiness interferes with their daily activities. Imagine if sleepiness were relegated only to night time, how much more enjoyable and productive would our lives be?

These results are staggering but not unexpected… One-third of Americans don’t get enough sleep and One-fifth of them have trouble sleeping. There must be a solution that isn’t drugs and aids that can be addictive and result in permanent dependency.

While we are not certain of the entirety of the factors that result in America’s Sleep Problem, HotSpring of Dayton wants to do all that it can to aid and educate those looking for better sleep—without the myriad of pills and placebos.

The Natural Solution

As far back as the late 1800s, Doctors have been recommending Hydrotherapy as a drug-free treatment for insomnia. And even before the Western scientific consensus studied the reactions that raised-temperature water could induce, people have long held warm-water therapy as a tool of relaxation.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends establishing a regular nightly routine to improve sleep quality and induce relaxation. Their studies found that warm water soaking eases muscle and joint pain and relieves stress and anxiety. Do this 30 minutes-1 hour before bed to avoid overheating as your body cools down. The aptly named National Sleep Foundation has documented how a nightly hydrotherapy routine can greatly better the quality and continuity of one’s sleep. Although it’s widely known that hot tubs can aid healthy rest, you may not know why. We’re going to do our best without breaking out too many medical books.

Two-Fold Causation

Hot Tubs can provide relief of pain for arthritis sufferers, or those suffering from a sore back or aching muscles, but they can also lead to a restful sleep. Let’s examine the scientific reasons why.

Warm water therapy elevates the body’s internal temperature so that after ending your soak, the decrease in core temperature signals to your body that it’s ‘sleep time’, and the steeper the drop, the more likely you are to fall into a deep sleep. This temperature decline is why you are colder at night even in a heated home as well as something that occurs naturally at night but is accelerated by hydrotherapy.

The many other effects of hydrotherapy that we cherish and recommend aid this restful state as well.

The water’s buoyancy depressurizes joints and aches, and the heat increases blood circulation, which delivers nutrients to help cells and tissues regenerate.  A jet-aided hydromassage (a HotSpring specialty) aids sleep by decreasing pain in tendons, ligaments, and muscles. in an obvious way- mental and physical relaxation. Heat increases circulation, delivering nutrients to the body, releasing endorphins, the body’s natural pain reliever.

We recommend adding essential oils to heighten the aura of relaxation.

Don’t forget the Saunas.

It would be remiss if we were to neglect the wonderful properties of saunas surrounding sleep health during this Sleep Awareness Month!

Another natural remedy used throughout history but only more recently studied scientifically, Saunas are the Finnish cure-all that us Americans have been sleeping on for far too long (pun intended).

Did you know?

You may not have known, but HotSpring of Dayton carries and services Finnleo Saunas, a premiere Sauna manufacturer based in Finland and produced right here in Minnesota, USA.

From Saunas to Sleep

The warmth of a sauna has also been found to greatly aid natural and healthy sleep patterns. Here’s why.

The heat of a sauna brings on healthy perspiration, which helps to flush toxins from your system. In a traditional Sauna, the steam from the dropping a little water (löyly) on the heater opens your airways and slows your breathing. We like to add eucalyptus oil to really relax. The meditative effects of sitting in a sauna prepare one’s mind for sleep, a haven from the restless world.

The same as a hot tub, saunas raise the body temperature, inducing your body to readjust its temperature afterward and it is this cooling down and normalizing after the sauna bath that can lull you off to sleep and leave you calm and relaxed enough to sleep soundly through the night.

Also, like hot-tub-hydrotherapy, saunas alleviate any physical aches and pains such as headaches, muscle soreness or joint pain, taking away many of the things that might have disturbed your night’s rest.

Saunas have been helping people sleep well for hundreds of years and if the idea of a good night’s rest has become a dream for you, then perhaps you should give one a try. Saunas and Hot Tubs bring about a proper night’s rest for the same reasons, so it’s up to personal preference for what helps you fall asleep at night.

What’s the Catch?

Although there are plenty of medicines that doctors might recommend, we believe that a more natural and relaxing process with a hot tub is a great solution to helping prepare you for sleep and keep you on a consistent sleep cycle. We want to recognize the problems that many in our community face daily nightly during National Sleep Awareness Month. It is our dream to put everyone into a HotSpring or Finnleo, but it doesn’t end there. We don’t just want to sell our products because that is the business of what we do, but that we really believe that we can positively impact the mental, physical, and social health of everyone who uses our tubs, saunas, or swim spas. Our job doesn’t end at the sale—we want our customers to use their products daily because they really do make a difference. HotSpring’s motto is “Every Day Made Better”, but that starts with making every night better.

Today I’ve examined the underknown health benefits for your heart. Next month tune into our April Health Theme: Stress.

February 2, 2018 –  Everyone and their cousin knows that hot tubs have the power to make our muscles feel great and melt our stress away. We’ve all hopefully experienced the wonderful joy of a relaxing soak and the noticeable immediate effects it has on our body and minds. The sound and movement of the hot water soothe and brings about a slow smile of euphoria as our aches disappear, even if just for the moment. And If you’ve never experienced this wonder, you need to come in soon for a test soak!

You see, hot tubs provide a variety of health benefits, from the alleviation of mental distress such as anxiety and the obvious physical benefits such as the loosening of stiff joints. What if I were to tell there were a plethora of physical benefits not immediately noticeable but beneficial behind the scenes of our biology? Would you believe me?

The Heart Muscle

One such area that greatly benefits from hydrotherapy is the heart. We obviously cannot see our hearts, but every choice in our lives affects its health, so it is often the focal point of our wellness journey. Society obsesses over heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart attacks, and… heartburn (absolute misnomer!) But that conversation does not often mention hot tubs and cardiovascular health in the same sentence, except murmurings of avoidance, due to extreme caution, premature conclusions, and liability concerns. I will be clearing up some of the top Hot Tub myths soon in this series, but today I want to talk about the benefits of Hotspring hydrotherapy and your heart.

What Hot Tubs do to your cardiovascular system

The standard human temperature is 98.6 ˚F, while hot tubs typically range anywhere from 100-104 ˚F. Due to the relatively higher heat difference, the smooth muscles surrounding the blood vessels relax. This, in turn, causes blood vessels to widen, a process known as vasodilation. This dilation brings about two main effects.

A Cardio Workout

Immersing in warm water raises your body temperature, causing your blood vessels to dilate and increases circulation.

Increased blood flow means that there is more oxygen-rich blood flowing to all muscles, one of which is the heart Although the heart distributes blood throughout the body, as a muscle itself, blood vessels called coronary arteries bring blood to the heart…from the heart. The cardiac volume increases by nearly one-third with immersion to the neck, providing you with the same benefits as a cardio workout.

A Blood Pressure Drop

Blood vessels vasolidate and blood flow increases due to lowering of blood vessel wall resistance. The wider radius of blood vessels makes it easier for your heart to pump blood. Additionally, the reduction of gravity due to well…floating in water… reduces the force your heart needs to work against. This action reduces blood pressure, in both patients with normal and high blood pressure.

For persons with hypotension, it is recommended to limit your time in hot water or to lower the temperature.

Unique Benefits

Hot tubs offer the unique position of raising heart rate while lowering blood pressure, something that does not occur in traditional exercise (whereas both factors go up). 20 minutes of hydrotherapy cannot be compared to intense cardio training but is comparable to a casual walk of the same duration.

In addition to the circulatory increase to all muscles including the heart, hydrotherapy balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. This equilibrium mimics the stress relaxing practice of meditation, amazing for a healthy heart on a different level.

Recap

The increased cardiac volume simulates light exercise while lowering blood pressure. While the awesome benefit of lowered blood pressure slowly returns to its previous state within 10 minutes of exiting the water, the balancing effect on the autonomic nervous system is retained for hours after, making daily soaking an excellent routine for your overall wellness, especially cardiac health. Keep these healthy heart benefits in mind during 2018’s American Heart Month.

Help your heart…just for the health of it. We wholeheartedly agree!

Today I’ve examined the underknown health benefits for your heart. Next month tune into our March Health Theme: SLEEP!