Hot Tub Mental Health Benefits - Relief from Depression

Having never had a hot tub before, Dawn Murphy and her husband, who both suffer from depression, got themselves a Lay-Z-Spa Hawaii in late 2021 and have it setup under a canopy in the garden. They created themselves a cosy space with fairy lights and they like to listen to music whilst they relax and unwind in the hot tub.  

Hot Tubs Help With Depression

Dawn and her husband both work for the NHS and have found their work particularly stressful in recent years, especially due to the pandemic. Dawn’s husband also suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which is a form of depression that puts you in a low mood for an extended period of time during certain seasons.  
 
The couple has expressed that since having their Lay-Z-Spa hot tub, and using it to unwind after work, it helps with their symptoms and allows them to ‘decompress’ and ‘destress’ which is a huge part of combating depression.  
 
A hot tub is a sociable space too and social interaction can help boost morale. Dawn explained that she has had friends round on a weekend and they all enjoyed socialising in the hot tub. They ended up losing track of time and being in there all afternoon and most of the evening.  
 
Even right at the beginning, when they first got their Hawaii Airjet™, Dawn explained that the hot tub really helped combat cold & flu symptoms they encountered over the Christmas holidays. Catching a cold when you’re already in a low mood can have impacts on your mental health. However, the heat and steam from the hot tub helped with congestion and relaxed their muscles that were aching, as they often do when you’re unwell.  

Mental Health Benefits of Hot Tubs

Hot tubs are great for mental health to relieve stress, tension, anxiety as well as alleviate other health issues. One of the biggest benefactors of using a hot tub for depression is that it encourages your body to release feel-good endorphins making you feel happier and more relaxed and the best time to do this is around 90 minutes before bedtime.  
 

Scientific studies have revealed that spending 30 minutes in a Lay-Z-Spa actually reduces stress hormones and anxiety

Spending time in a hot tub encourages you to switch off and disconnect. Removing yourself from distractions, and not bringing any with you into the hot tub such as a phone, you can sit back an relax in the calming 40°C and using the massage system will offer a whole other level of relaxation.

Sources:
https://www.lem-uhn.com/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/about-sad/  
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5371197/  
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/09/12/409276.full.pdf