The Benefits of Soaking in a Cedar Hot Tub

Jun 5

*The Alumi tub at Stonehaven Catskills has an incredible view of the Delaware River.*

For centuries, humans have looked to the healing qualities of water to alleviate all sorts of ailments, from injuries to stress reduction. Hydrotherapy--making use of water to therapeutically treat disease or discomfort--is something we relish in at Stonehaven Catskills.

The water flowing into your cedar hot tub and cold spring shower is drawn from a mountain spring in the ancient highlands above Narrowsburg, New York, where the Catskill forests and Delaware River Valley have been quietly filtering rainwater and snowmelt through layers of rock and earth for centuries.

Laboratory tests show the purity of this water, remarkably free of the chlorine, disinfection byproducts, heavy metals, and chemical additives found in municipal supplies. What you are immersing yourself in is essentially living mountain water in its most natural state.

With that in mind, we are excited to announce our newest addition to the residence: An Alumi electric cedar hot tub.

There are many benefits to soaking in a cedar hot tub and we hope that our residents and guests will make good use of the Alumi onsite. But, in case you are not familiar with all of the advantages of “hot tub life,” let’s take a quick look at just a few:

1. Stress Relief

The buoyancy and refreshment we experience when we immerse ourselves in water sends an instant message to your nervous system: It's time to relax.

The fight-flight portion of our nervous system--the sympathetic nervous system--quiets down, allowing the rest-digest portion of our nervous system--the parasympathetic nervous system--to take over. This means that our muscles relax, our breathing slows, and our posture loosens.

In short, you are more at peace once the water takes over the work of supporting your body.

And if you have trouble getting into the spirit of things, we recommend closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing. Listen to the sounds of nature that surround you. Listen to the breath entering and leaving your body. Allow your posture and muscles to relax with each breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. Inhale the aroma of cedar and allow it to settle your mind. You’ve got this.

2. Better Sleep

Having trouble nodding off at night? According to a recent series of studies, hydrotherapy leads to an improvement in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a measure of sleep quality. Findings show that a soak in the tub could help you settle into a deeper sleep, faster than usual.

As we already mentioned, this is partially because simply listening to the sounds of circulating water or focusing on your breathing while sitting amidst nature allows our brain and body to relax naturally. Furthermore, research shows that hot water immersion causes an increase in hormones– such as histamine and serotonin–that help you sleep.

But, the real secret to a good night's sleep lies in how our body temperature fluctuates with the use of hot water immersion. When we take a soak in a hot tub, we cause our body temperature to rise. When we emerge from the tub, our body begins to cool down. This cooling process serves as a cue for our nervous system, signaling that it is time to sleep.

For best results, doctors recommend that you end your soak session about 90 minutes before you are ready to settle into the bed. This should give your body plenty of time to heat up and cool down before dreamland kicks in.

3. Diminished muscle aches

Many adults struggle with muscle aches, especially when preparing for sleep. But, a 15-20 minute soak in a hot tub can definitely help.

Immersing the body in hot water increases blood flow, serving to release tense muscles and move metabolic waste such as lactic acid through the lymphatic system, aiding in overall muscle recovery. The buoyancy of the water also helps remove pressure from our joints while the tub’s jets serve to massage our limbs.

We encourage you to make use of the Alum outdoor electric cedar hot tub at Stonehaven Catskills as part of your residency or stay. Just be sure not to overdo it: Soaking in any hot water for too long can cause overheating, blood pressure problems, headache, and dehydration, all leading to worse muscle aches. Also, please avoid heat therapy if you are dealing with any of the following conditions:

open wounds or rashes
diabetes
dermatitis
vascular diseases
deep vein thrombosis
multiple sclerosis (MS)
heart disease or hypertension
pregnancy

Assuming that we utilize hydrotherapy wisely, regular hot tub soaks can be a game changer to our quality of life. Simply remember to stay hydrated and move slowly: Relaxing the body means it may not be able to jump to attention so quickly.

We hope you will take advantage of all the benefits that the cedar hot tub at Stonehaven Catskills has to offer.

The Benefits of Soaking in a Cedar Hot Tub

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