How To Benefit From A Hot Tub
If you’re considering the purchase of a hot tub, and you’re looking for some really good reasons as to why to do it, listen up.
If you are an average American with all of our average problems and some not so average, you could cope with them on a steady basis with just the time spent in a hot tub. That just sounds too easy, doesn’t it? Well, it actually is that easy. No matter what you are facing during your day; corporate takeovers, the PTA, way too much Math homework, you can benefit from a few minutes a day in a hot tub.
Hot tubs have always been used for relaxing and it has always been rumored to have some kind of medicinal properties. These miraculous findings date back as far as the Ancient Egyptians. We have proof that the Roman Empire encouraged the use of its public bath houses, in much the same way. So how does someone in today’s American world benefit from the age old idea of sitting in warm water for a few minutes everyday, and how does that work in our favor?
More than 70% of Americans believe that they have an over abundance of stress in their lives and even more than that complain of some kind of physical pain that is with them on a regular basis. If they were all to spend up to 30 minutes a day, up to their necks in hot water, like in a hot tub, the benefits of that time in the hot tub would do more for them than any other remedy.
Most Americans are under the belief that if they have an ache or pain, there is a medication that will take it away for them. What’s wrong with that thinking? All you would need to do is a little research on the percentage of Americans who have become addicted to pain medication to understand what’s wrong with that thinking. The thing is this; taking medication is not a horrible thing and there are instances when medication is the only option. The point is, maybe, if before reaching for a pill, we spent the time it will take to sit in a hot tub and possibly reach the same conclusion and outcome. Is it because we are lazy?
I don’t know for sure but I do know that there are so many ailments that can be addressed by the simple use of a hot tub that it should be at least, given a shot. Not only could a hot tub soak heal aches and pains, but maybe the continued exercise could bring about real healing. When we take a pill, our symptoms seem to go away, but they only return once the drugs have worn off. How beneficial could it be for all of us that instead of popping a pill, we sat in some hot water and healed the way the Ancient Egyptians and Romans did?
It sounds too simple to some, but I really think it’s worth the chance.
What To NOT Bring To A Hot Tub
If you’ve been paying attention at all over the past few years, somewhere along the line you must have heard about the wonderful health benefits that accompany time spent in a hot tub. There are benefits that are for those who suffer from arthritis, obesity, and people with balance problems due to a stroke and so on. As much as it sounds like anything goes in a hot tub there are certain things that should never find their way into the tub because of its ability to ruin any benefits you may be experiencing.
The first item is not something that should NEVER be brought into a hot tub but it is something that should be monitored and restricted and that is alcohol. When someone sits in a hot tub and consumes alcohol, as they sweat their sweat is replaced not with water but with alcohol and the effects can be devastating if they are not paid close attention to. Numerous accidents have been documented because people were in a hot tub, stayed in longer than recommended, drank alcohol and passed out. Passing out or falling asleep in a hot tub is not as hard as you may think; in fact it’s quite easy and if you drift off to sleep while relaxing in a hot tub, it’s in your best interest to have a clear head if this kind of thing happens.
If you are going to have some alcohol in the hot tub do yourself a huge favor and don’t use glass. Use plastic cups and it will save a lot of anguish and headache if it were to fall and break. At least with a plastic cup there won’t be shards to worry about.
This point may sound like a no-brainer but it is worth saying and that is it is not advisable to have any type of electronics near the hot tub. Let’s face it, electricity and water do not mix well and there could be fatal consequences if something that was plugged in fell into the water. Avoid the tragedy all together and only use batter operated items, if at all.
It is another big fat mess if you bring one other common item and mix it with a hot tub, especially one with hydrotherapy jets; bubble bath. It only takes a few spoonfuls to cause a serious overflow of the bubbly and it can wreak havoc long after it has been cleaned up. Bubble bath on wood makes for a very slick surface and a slick surface near water could pose a danger with little effort. Because of the design of an above ground hot tub, there may be hard edges that could cause quite a bit of damage if someone were to slip and fall into them.
In order to be able to enjoy the benefits of a hot tub soak it is important to know what NOT to bring into the tub and why they are dangerous. Don’t learn the hard way.
The Evolution of the Hot Tub
There was a time when owning a hot tub was something the average American family could only dream of. The cost to purchase one and the cost of maintaining and cleaning it was just too much for anyone except the rich and famous; not to mention the cost in electricity to run it!
Somewhere along the way there began to be a murmur about the wonderful health benefits that people who were using their hot tubs on a regular basis were achieving that the medical community began to take notice. Their findings were nothing shy of a paradigm shift in the ways people could heal. The possibility that allowed patients to have medical benefits without necessarily the use of medication, were almost hard to believe, but patients were showing signs of physical improvement from simply soaking in a hot tub.
Once this information became common knowledge, a new, improved, affordable option became something that many more families could enjoy. From then on, more and more manufacturers were coming up with ways for the average American family to be able to have their own hot tubs, without the extraordinary purchase cost. They were even improved upon the cost of running a hot tub, and the maintenance came down considerably in price, too.
Today there are so many options when it comes to buying a hot tub that more and more people who could not afford them a few years back are now able to reap the benefits of a soak in a hot tub.
There are hot tubs available today that will accommodate two people or ten. The hot tub designs have become unique, too, and they are not a one-size-fits-all option but they can be customized to blend into the décor-style of the individual buyer. There are options for color, material it’s made from, whether it runs on electrical power or solar power, and so on. People can even opt to have customized enclosures built which range from the bare minimums of a roof and support beams up to something that will resemble what a Zen garden would look like right up to an oasis of anything the imagination can conjure up.
There is no doubt that the people who are able to invest in a hot tub and spend 15-20 minutes a day simply relaxing in it will not only enjoy themselves but will be able to enjoy the health benefits a hot tub can afford.
With the evolution of the hot tub, gone are the days when only a small percentage of people could afford them and we are now all able to afford the purchase cost and the cost it used to take to operate a hot tub has gone down drastically, too. There are models that are made to be energy-saving and the extra stretch on the electric utility may be no more than a $20.00 increase. Not a bad price for what you can get from it.
What began its life as a luxury for only a small percentage has come full circle and has seen its price accommodate whoever will benefit from its healing properties?
De-Stress with A Hot Tub
If you are an American adult, you have stress. It’s everywhere, all around us; whether it’s the boardroom, the classroom, or the weekly volunteering you do at the city museum, no matter where you are in life, you have stress.
Stress can come in all shapes and sizes and for most of us, the options of dealing with our stress comes in the form of unhealthy choices; drinking, smoking, eating, and so on. How can we address our stress without bringing any of the questionable forms of relaxation into the mix, too? A hot tub will do the trick and you can reap the benefits of de-stressing in a hot tub by using it just a few times a week for 15-20 minutes.
It makes you wonder why every American home doesn’t come with a hot tub built right in. With the way the popularity of the hot tub is increasing and the need for us to have a way to de-stress is always an issue, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to start seeing just that happen, homes will be built with the hot tub all ready to go when the owner moves in!
The medical communities have addressed the issue of everyday stress and the harm it can do to if it is not taken seriously and dealt with. It is widely recommended for a portion of the day, if it were to be spent in a relaxing and/or meditative manner, that the benefits will be amazing to the individual. Just getting into a hot tub can do the work of de-stressing for just about anyone and the great relief in being able to let go of some of the everyday stress is priceless.
What makes the idea of de-stressing with a hot tub and not just some quiet time is that when you sit in a hot tub, your blood is able to move more freely in your expanded veins and capillaries and your body is no longer being affected by 100% gravitational pull. The fact that your body is able to have a buoyant affect can take up to 30% of the pressure you carry around all day when you are not in a buoyant state that adds stress to your physical body all the time.
There are hot tubs that come with lounging chairs and are equipped with jets to blow water and air at any of your ailing parts that need the attention. Any number of hot tubs can be specifically and personally equipped to address any areas of your body that are particularly stressed. For some people it is their neck and back. There are hot tubs with just that de-stressing component in stalled; where the jets that are going to do the work on those parts of your body are custom-fit for a specific seat in the hot tub.
Maybe the issue you have is that the bottoms of your feet are achy at the end of the day. There are hot tubs that have the jets directly on the floor where you would sit upright and feel their healing power. No matter where stress takes its toll, a hot tub will help the de-stressing process.
Hot Tub Safety Tips
If you are going to own a hot tub there are certain safety tips that should be taught to yourself or anyone who intends to use the hot tub.
The very first item, as far as safety goes, is to never let a child near the hot tub without adult supervision. It is the first point of critical knowledge that is needed for hot tub safety. Even if you know the child to be an Olympic swimmer, please, do not ever, for any amount of time, leave the child alone within the area of the hot tub, it’s just too dangerous and preventable to take the risk.
Drowning, like in any pools or bodies of water, are the number one causes of fatalities in regards to hot tubs. Because the effects of a hot tub are to induce relaxation, awareness of how long a person should stay in the tub is important to mention. Too many times there have been people, even adults, who have relaxed to the point of falling asleep and drowning as a result. Always keep in mind that the effects of soaking in the hot tub and the benefits they bring can also cause dizziness, light-headedness and sometimes confusion so it is best to be aware of these possible side effects whenever you or someone new comes into your hot tub.
Two of the most dangerous problems with hot tubs are these: body part entrapment and hair entanglement. When a drain is working properly, its function is to suction the water from the bottom of the pool and circulate it through the heating units and back into the hot tub. Because these drains can be powerful, it is worth noting that there have been instances where a body part has become sucked into the drain, which has caused the person to be held under water. As you may know, if a drain is partially blocked, it will work extra hard (producing more suction) in order to get the job done and this just endangers someone who may not be aware of it. It is best if there can be two drains working together so if one becomes blocked, it will allow the other to pick up the slack and there will be a much less chance of causing a part of someone’s body to become entrapped in the drain.
The other safety issue is hair entanglement. This is particularly dangerous when someone with long hair falls asleep or becomes too relaxed to untangle themselves quickly enough and the end result is usually drowning because their hair has caused their head to be held under water for too long. One safety measure that can be helpful in this type of situation is being aware of the emergency cut-off switch is located and responding immediately to turn the power of the drains off, in order to allow the hair to become untangled.
It really doesn’t take much more than good common sense to keep everyone safe in a hot tub but it does require some understanding of what can go wrong; and what to do if it does.