Baths are a great sensory coping tool, especially for individuals with anxiety and depression.
(Bath Temperature Recommendation: 104-113 F for ideal results according to study)
The warm sensation of the water, the smell of your favorite bath products, the sound of the running water… I could go on, but you get the idea. They’re a great space for mindfulness practices, too. Recently, I read something else that supports the pro-bath notion. The study reported that people with depression would experience a bigger mood boost with their midday bath experience. It said that when we take baths, our body temperature changes and becomes the mechanism that influences mood. How you ask? Theories state that the temperature increase can release serotonin and influence the circadian rhythm in our bodies… check out article attached.)
By increasing participants’ core body temperatures, the theory goes, warm baths helped to strengthen and synchronise their circadian rhythms, the daily fluctuations in behaviour and biochemistry that affect every one of our organs, including the brain. Core body temperature usually rises during the daytime and falls at night – in fact, this nightly decrease helps us to fall asleep by promoting release of the hormone melatonin, which tells the body when it is night. However, in depressed people, this temperature rhythm is often flatter, disrupted or delayed by several hours. Morning exposure to bright light, which both strengthens circadian rhythms and shifts them to earlier in the day, has also been found to alleviate depression. – Linda Geddes, The Guardian.
Happy Bathing!