Hot Water Baths Can Help Beat Depression

Depression is a mental illness that is far more complex than we imagined. Maybe many people say drinking a cup of coffee or continuing to think positively can relieve depression, but it turns out that this is not proven.

In fact, research says exercise every day is proven to reduce symptoms of depression. But not everyone likes to exercise or has the energy to do it. The good news here is that a new scientific study claims that this one activity can actually have some practical and easy effects.

A group of researchers from the University of Freiburg, Germany, studied 45 participants who suffered from depression. People are divided into two groups. The first group was instructed to take a hot bath at 40 degrees Celsius every afternoon for 30 minutes.

While the second group was asked to do aerobic exercise for 40-45 minutes twice a week as reported by the Times Of India. After eight weeks, the state of participants' minds was measured with the help of a scale of depression.

The first group to take a hot shower scored six points lower than their score before the experiment. While groups that do aerobic exercise only score three points less than their previous score.

So, regular hot showers prove to be more effective in reducing depression symptoms than exercising. The scientific reason why hot showers help people who suffer from depression is your body's circadian rhythm.

Circadian rhythm is a 24-hour internal clock that tells us when to sleep and thus impacts the biochemistry and behavior of our body by temperature.

Depressed people often appear to have circadian rhythms that lead to insomnia. But increasing one's body temperature can strengthen their circadian rhythms which in turn can help improve depressive symptoms. Although studies carried out were small but providing a method that tried it would not be harmful.