Amazing news: if you’re one of those people that absolutely detests cardio (*raises hand*), you might be able to replace your weekly sweat sesh with a super hot bath – seriously.
Cosmopolitan reports that Loughborough University researcher Dr. Steve Faulkner has found that taking a long, hot bath has more benefits than we already knew it did – namely, burning calories and preventing type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Faulkner’s study examined the effect of an hour-long hot bath (around 104 degrees Fahrenheit) on the amount of calories burned, and found that sitting in a bath burned 140 calories – a similar amount to 30 minutes of walking. (Though, in fairness, researchers found it doesn’t burn quite as many calories as more intense forms of cardio like cycling.) And let’s be honest here, when faced with the choice, would you rather chill out in a hot bath with candles, a good book and your favorite bath bomb, or spend half an hour walking?
“Passive heating,” as the study calls it, also has tons of other benefits too – researchers found that hot baths lower your peak blood sugar (a good thing!) and helps fight chronic inflammation.
“The overall blood sugar response to both conditions was similar, but peak blood sugar after eating was about 10% lower when participants took a hot bath compared with when they exercised,” Dr. Faulkner writes in The Conversation.
So yes, this means you have full permission to skip your cardio this week in exchange for a stress-relieving bath – you’re welcome.