Last updated on March 14th, 2025 at 03:40 pm
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Did you know that bathing has more to do with than just hygiene? It can have awesome benefits for your mind, too. Let’s get into 4 awesome ways a bath can improve mental health.
According to a study on bathing, which is quite popular in Japan, 80% of the participants found that taking a bath brought positive changes to their mental and physical well-being.
These factors include feelings of relaxation and refreshment on top of other benefits.
Bearing in mind that some of these positive results came about for them, the same can happen for you.
What a bath can do to improve your mental health
A bath can be a great way to relax after coming home from a long day or just having a long day in general, even if you didn’t go out.
I think we all experience the everyday stress modern life gives us, and sometimes, finding a simple way to unwind is necessary. Therefore, a bath can be just the tool to relax and improve your mental health.
Furthermore, based on my experience, taking a bath has been an easy way for me to slow down and feel more relaxed.
On top of that, taking a bath has also given me the space I need to just take life easy, even if it’s just temporarily. Because of that easiness, my mental well-being has seen a positive effect.
So, get ready to be encouraged to learn why bathing might be just what you may also need.
4 ways a bath can relax your mind and improve your mental health
Before we investigate them, I need you to understand that these are just some of the ways a bath can improve your mental health. But be open-minded either way because this small gesture can add goodness to your self-care journey.
1. Your mind and body relax
Taking a simple bath gives you the space to step away from all that modern life throws at you. It’s no secret that stress can become the aftermath of all of this.
However, when taking a bath, you get to step away from all that stress and just come back to yourself.
Additionally, you could even get your creative juices flowing and turn this into a true experience.
Don’t worry if you don’t know where to start, I have a simple guide to help you get started.
Afterward, you’ll truly see that the floor is truly yours. Furthermore, you’ll experience that once your body relaxes, your mind relaxes too.
2. A bath could help improve your mood swings and mental health
The study also observed that although bathing isn’t the all-in-one solution for challenges we may experience mentally, it has shown that it can play a significant role in possibly improving emotional health.
This is due to the ability of bathing to help with the regulation of mood swings by helping you relax, especially mentally. An intentional bath session encourages some downtime.
Because of this, it can further contribute to the exacerbation of depression.
We do not want that now, do we?
So, since bathing can help ease mood swings, it could potentially ease depression as well.
3. A bath may also improve muscle and joint relief
Taking a bath is not only there to keep you clean and just relax your mind. Certainly, there are more mental benefits to bathing.
The study also showed that participants also experienced joint relief from the pain they felt in various parts of their body.
This may be because bathing provides a relaxing environment for your body to be relieved from all the stress it has been possibly exposed to daily.
To add more benefits, consider adding mineral bath salts to help speed up the process.
4. A bath is perfect to incorporate a peaceful experience into your daily routine
Taking time out for mental health requires an environment that promotes serenity. This is because taking a bath can allow you to have some quiet time just to yourself (sounds like a dream, right?).
Furthermore, this could be perfect to stop experiencing any interruptions. I mean, we all need time away from the noise, right?
It would also be a good idea to prevent thoughts from drifting back to the long day you had.
No, this is your time. There should be no space to allow worries and anxiety to creep in.
🌼You might also like: How To Establish Your Self-Care Daily Routine in 4 Easy Steps
How to create a perfect bath experience to improve your mental health
As mentioned earlier, in case you don’t know where to start with this whole thing, I have curated a simple guide just for you to help you experience the mental benefits of bathing for well-being.
Step 1: Carve out some time for a bath with intention
Decide when you want to carve out some time to take a bath. Could an afternoon session be okay for you, or maybe later at night before you go to bed?
Well, whatever you decide, ensure it’s time you can truly take time out for yourself.
Step 2: Add some relaxing elements to your bath session
As mentioned earlier, decide that you want to use this time to give back to yourself. Well, you can create a relaxing playlist to use during this time.
Additionally, you can also try and add items such as sweet-smelling candles to set the mood.
So, decide what items could amp up your feelings of relaxation.
Step 3: Pamper yourself, darling!
Remember that this is time dedicated to you, so you need to find fun in this. So, for instance, you could incorporate some sweet skincare in your session.
This could include things like using a face mask to truly make you feel like a VIP. Also, you may consider adding a luxuriously feeling body wash to use during your session.
Afterward, you could use a body lotion to moisturize your skin. So, think about what you would like to add.
Step 4: Decide on the duration of your bath session
Consider how much time you want to dedicate to this session.
For example, are you able to dedicate 15 minutes? Or a good half an hour?
Well, whatever you decide, remember that this isn’t another chore but a gift to yourself.
If you feel that you could go over time other than what you decided, consider setting an alarm to alert you when your session ends.
Conclusion
Taking a bath can do wonders to improve mental health. I hope these 4 steps will help you make this experience simpler. I hope that taking this secret weapon will help you tackle stress and anxiety with ease.
So, how has this simplification helped with your stress and anxiety levels? Share in the comments. If you found this post helpful, please share it with someone who may love to read it.
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Until next time, please take care!