Take baths when you can — don’t limit yourself to showers
People who bathe almost daily have a roughly 28% lower risk of cardiovascular events and a roughly 46% lower risk of brain hemorrhage compared to those who bathe fewer than twice a week.
It costs more in water and electricity;
A Japanese study involving 30,000 participants followed for 19 years recorded 2,097 cardiovascular events. Tho…
It costs more in water and electricity; each bath takes about half an hour.
A Japanese study involving 30,000 participants followed for 19 years recorded 2,097 cardiovascular events. Those who bathed almost daily had about 28% lower risk of cardiovascular events than those who bathed no more than twice a week (hazard ratio 0.72, 95% CI 0.62–0.84). Their risk of coronary heart disease was about 35% lower (0.65, 0.45–0.94), risk of stroke about 26% lower (0.74, 0.62–0.87), and risk of brain hemorrhage about 46% lower (0.54, 0.40–0.73).
Ukai T, Iso H, Yamagishi K, et al. (2020). Habitual tub bathing and risks of incident coronary heart disease and stroke. Heart, 106(10), 732-737. https://doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2019-315752
Open source linkThese results apply to the Japanese population and its bath culture; most Chinese households lack the conditions for daily baths. Also, water should not be too hot and baths should not last too long. For older adults and those with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, excessively hot water and prolonged bathing can actually be dangerous — Japan sees many elderly deaths in bathtubs each year.