If you’re low on time but want to get a jolt of a water’s healing power to help conquer winter’s ill-effects, consider using steam and a warm compress.
What is it about water? Since the dawn of time, humans have used water to relax and sooth. Oftentimes at our most stressed, we look to water to refuel our emotional and spiritual health. There’s something about the calming sensation of the sound of water or the smell of the ocean. Could water really heal — inside and out?
Science seems to think so. After all, Hawaii has earned its prize in Gallup’s annual poll as a top place to live more than six times. Wallace Nichols, author of Blue Mind, explained it to Quartz like this, “Most communities are built near bodies of water not just for practical reasons, but because as humans, we’re naturally drawn to blue space…but even if you aren’t in an area where there is easy access to water, you can still experience [its] emotional benefits.”
If you’re low on time but want to get a jolt of a water’s healing power to help conquer winter’s ill-effects, consider using steam and a warm compress.
Try sitting in a bathroom while the shower steams. Even just a few minutes in a warm, steam-filled room can help clear your sinuses, rejuvenate breathing and calm your mind. Harvard Health believes steam can help directly with sinus pressure when breathing the steam in, helping to relax inflammation.
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A warm compress on the face can help wake-up the body for extra-early-morning alarms, while offering therapeutic benefits of water as well.
One of the best ways to incorporate water into your life is by staying hydrated by drinking 8 glasses a day, and taking a long, relaxing bath. Pentucket Medical believes that baths are underrated in their ability to transform health and alleviate pain and stress. Warm baths can raise the heart rate, oxygen levels, and help ease sore muscles and bones.
Not only does a warm bath make the blood flow easier, it also makes it more oxygenated by allowing you to breathe deeper and slower, particularly when taking in steam. Taking a hot bath or spa can kill bacteria and improve immunity.”
Here are three things to remember when bathing for the maximum relief from Mayo Clinic:
Temperature matters: Mayo Clinic recommends warmer versus hotter temperatures for those suffering from dry skin in the winter.
Shorter can be better: Citing the ability of very hot showers to remove oil from the skin, Mayo suggests limiting showers to under ten minutes for better outcomes.
Apply moisturizer after bathing: To take the effects of the bath or shower to-go, apply a moisturizer after bathing to take the hydration of water with you throughout the day.
