不想鍛煉？那就來洗個熱水澡吧！

洗一次熱水澡相當(dāng)于散步三十分鐘?

Some things just sound too good to be true, like coffee supposedly making you live longer and chocolate making you smarter. In a reasonable Universe, such outcomes are unreasonably, unthinkably good.

有些東西聽起來美好得不像現(xiàn)實，比如咖啡能夠讓你更長壽，而巧克力能讓你更聰明。在一個理性的宇宙中，這些結(jié)果無疑令人十分高興。

Here's another one you might have heard of. Does a hot bath really burn as many calories as taking a 30-minute walk? It would be nice if it were true, honestly it would. Think about it: you get to take a nice, relaxing soak, while simultaneously reaping the benefits of moderate exercise. It's win-win.

還有一件事你可能早就聽說過，即洗一次熱水澡真的相當(dāng)于散步半個小時。這是真的嗎?如果它是真的就好了，老實說它確實是真的。想想吧：你放松地洗了個澡，同時還能得到鍛煉帶來的好處，這簡直就是雙贏。

A study released last year by exercise physiologist Steve Faulkner from Loughborough University in the UK found the mere act of taking a hot bath reduced mens' peak blood sugar levels while causing their energy expenditure to spike significantly.

去年拉夫堡大學(xué)運動生理學(xué)家Steve Faulkner做的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們只需要洗一次熱水澡，其血糖峰值就能降低，同時能量消耗明顯提升。

"One of the first things that we were looking at is the energy expenditure while you're in the bath," Faulkner told the BBC in 2016, "and what we found was an 80 percent increase in energy expenditure just as a result of sitting in the bath for the course of an hour."

2016年，F(xiàn)aulkner在接受BBC的采訪時曾表示：“我們最先注意到人們在洗澡時的能量消耗，人們泡一個小時的熱水澡，其能量消耗會增加百分之八十。”

So, there are two things to be aware of upfront.

我們需要直面兩大事實。

As stated, in the experiment the bath lasted for a whole hour, so you need some time on your hands if you want to try this at home.

你需要連續(xù)洗一個小時的熱水澡，身體能量消耗才會提升。因此你在家嘗試的時候，需要給自己多一點時間。

The other is temperature. The study, which involved 14 men wearing glucose monitors, saw the temperature of the bath kept at a constant, hot 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), so a lukewarm soak would produce different, and lesser results.

其次是溫度。該研究涉及14名男士，他們需要佩戴血糖監(jiān)測儀待在40攝氏度的洗澡水中，因此溫?zé)岬南丛杷赡軙聿煌男Ч?/p>

But why does it work at all?

為什么洗熱水澡會帶來這樣的效果呢?

Faulkner thinks the answer lies in what are called heat shock proteins – which we produce in both exercise, and, as the results show, passive heating, where body temperature is raised independently of exercise.

Faulkner認(rèn)為答案在熱休克蛋白中，當(dāng)我們在鍛煉和炎熱環(huán)境中，身體就會產(chǎn)生這種蛋白質(zhì)。

"Heat shock proteins are molecules that are made by all cells of the human body in response to stresses," Faulkner explained in The Conversation last year."In the long term, raised levels of these proteins may help the function of insulin and improve blood sugar control."

Faulkner解釋道：“熱休克蛋白是人體細(xì)胞在應(yīng)對壓力時產(chǎn)生的分子。長期來看，這些蛋白增加的程度也許能夠幫助胰島素起作用，提升血糖控制水平。”

These kinds of proteins are known to be lower in people with diabetes, and Faulkner says the results suggest passive heating could be a useful technique to help people with type 2 diabetes control their glucose levels, in addition to helping with weight management generally.

在糖尿病人身上，這類蛋白質(zhì)含量更低。Faulkner認(rèn)為結(jié)果表明炎熱環(huán)境也許能夠有效幫助二型糖尿病病人控制血糖，同時幫助他們控制體重。

Not that the researchers are saying everybody should quit their gym memberships and just take up bathing as a substitute.

這并不意味著研究人員們建議所有人退掉健身卡，而選擇每天不斷泡熱水澡。

While the men in the study burned an average of almost 140 calories per hour while taking their hot bath, they got a much better result from cycling for the same length of time – using up the equivalent of 630 calories.

雖然該研究的男性參與者在洗熱水澡時，每個小時平均燃燒140大卡的熱量，但他們在同樣的時間長度內(nèi)騎自行車燃燒的熱量更多——相當(dāng)于630大卡。

Because of that almost-fivefold disparity, the researchers suggest passive heating should mostly be recommended for people whose health considerations for whatever reason make it difficult for them to engage in physical exercise.

由于這種懸殊高達五倍之多，研究人員們建議持續(xù)洗熱水澡控制血糖的方式只適用于那些無法鍛煉的人。

In those cases, this could be the next best thing to obtaining the benefits of moderate exercise – and you can catch up on your reading at the same time. Not to mention getting clean, and just getting away from the world for a while.

洗熱水澡應(yīng)該是未來人們獲取鍛煉好處的方式之一，并且人們在洗澡的時候還能看書。更別提在泡澡時能夠洗干凈自己，同時遠(yuǎn)離世界一段時間。

In fact, if you have the means – a bathtub and 60 minutes with nowhere to be – we'd recommend preparing yourself a nice hot one right now. Immerse yourself, relax, and – now that we know the science – feel the burn.

事實上，如果你有條件——一個浴缸和長達60分鐘的空閑時間，那么我們建議你立即泡個熱水澡。浸濕自己，放松，現(xiàn)在你能夠感覺到身體里的能量在燃燒。