定期洗澡如何幫助緩解抑郁

定期洗澡如何幫助緩解抑郁

Taking a bath can seem like a luxury, something you put off until you have a long weekend or a vacation. But if you have a decent tub, it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, it's one of the few low-cost ways of relaxing; a box of epsom salts and a bottle of lavender extract will set you back less than $15 and last for quite some time.

洗個(gè)澡似乎是件奢侈的事，你可以把它推遲到你有一個(gè)長(zhǎng)周末或者假期的時(shí)候。但如果你有一個(gè)像樣的浴缸，那就不需要這樣了。事實(shí)上，這是少數(shù)幾種低成本的放松方式之一;一盒瀉鹽和一瓶薰衣草提取物將花費(fèi)你不到15美元，并能持續(xù)相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間。

If treating yourself to some low-cost stress-relief isn't enough to get you filling your tub, consider some intriguing research from Johannes Naumann at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Naumann found a small but significant amount of relief from depression symptoms in people who took afternoon baths versus people who exercised instead. The study appeared in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

如果泡澡這一低成本的減壓措施還不足以讓你放松自己，考慮一下德國(guó)弗萊堡大學(xué)約翰內(nèi)斯·瑙曼的一些有趣研究。瑙曼發(fā)現(xiàn)，下午洗澡的人與進(jìn)行鍛煉的人相比，抑郁癥狀有少量但顯著的緩解。這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在《BMC補(bǔ)充和替代醫(yī)學(xué)》雜志上。

A bath can increase your core temperature, and that plays into your circadian rhythms. (Photo: TORWAISTUDIO/Shutterstock)

Traditionally, the rule has been that a hot bath can be stressful on the heart, so those with pulmonary issues should check with a doctor about a smart bathing routine. But new research shows it might be worth investigating.

傳統(tǒng)上的規(guī)則是，洗熱水澡會(huì)給心臟帶來(lái)壓力，所以那些有肺部問(wèn)題的人應(yīng)該向醫(yī)生咨詢一下如何正確地洗澡。但新的研究表明，這可能很值得研究。

Researchers in Japan followed the bathing habits of 30,076 men and women from 1990 through 2009. They were divided into three groups: people who took two or fewer baths a week, three to four baths a week, or daily baths. They found that more frequent bathers and lower incidence of coronary heart disease, and the temperature of the water didn't make a difference.

從1990年到2009年，日本研究人員對(duì)30,076名男性和女性的洗澡習(xí)慣進(jìn)行了跟蹤調(diào)查。他們被分為三組:每周洗澡兩次或更少的人，每周洗澡三到四次的人，或每天洗澡的人。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，更頻繁地泡澡和更低的冠心病發(fā)病率以及水溫并沒(méi)有什么區(qū)別。

More specifically, they found that those who took baths three to four times had a 25 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and a 13 percent lower risk of stroke. Daily bathers had a 35 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and a 23 percent lower risk of stroke, according to The New York Times.

更具體地說(shuō)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)洗澡三到四次的人患冠心病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)降低了25%，患中風(fēng)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)降低了13%。據(jù)《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》報(bào)道，每天洗澡的人患冠心病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)降低了35%，患中風(fēng)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)降低了23%。

The study, published in the journal Heart, didn't answer why the benefits were so notable, but the researchers suggest that warm baths lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function.

這項(xiàng)發(fā)表在《心臟》雜志上的研究沒(méi)有解釋為什么這種益處如此顯著，但研究人員認(rèn)為，洗熱水澡可以降低血壓，改善血管功能。

Regular baths may have a preventive effect against cardiovascular disease. (Photo: Alliance/Shutterstock)

It seems a hot bath definitely can't hurt, and is likely to have numerous benefits, from plain-old relaxation of tense muscles to a mental mini-getaway from whatever else is going on in life. Other experiments have shown that before-bed baths can help you sleep by opening up your capillaries and allowing the body to quickly get rid of excess heat quickly. (These results depend on the person sleeping in a cool room.)

洗個(gè)熱水澡似乎絕對(duì)沒(méi)有壞處，而且可能有很多好處，從放松緊張的肌肉到在精神上暫時(shí)逃離生活中發(fā)生的一切。其他實(shí)驗(yàn)表明，睡前洗澡可以打開你的毛細(xì)血管，讓身體快速排出多余的熱量，從而幫助你入睡。(這些結(jié)果取決于睡在涼爽房間里的人。)

If you want to try this at home, keep screens out of the tub — both to reduce stress levels and to keep expensive electronics away from water — and pick up a paperback book. (And if it gets wet, no worries, just leave it out to dry.) No need for fancy bath additions; try epsom salts, essential oils, which are now available even in local pharmacies, olive oil, or just run some shower gel under the bath faucet — it will foam up with bubbles.

如果你想在家里嘗試這個(gè)，把屏幕放在浴缸外面——既可以減輕壓力，也可以讓昂貴的電子產(chǎn)品遠(yuǎn)離水——然后拿起一本平裝書。(如果它變濕了，不用擔(dān)心，讓它晾干就行了。)不需要花哨的浴室添加;試試瀉鹽，精油，現(xiàn)在甚至在當(dāng)?shù)氐乃幍甓伎梢再I到，橄欖油，或者在浴缸的水龍頭下放一些沐浴露——它會(huì)產(chǎn)生泡沫。