Bathing tips and facts to lift your mood

Bathing tips and facts to lift your mood

After long hours of work, all you want to do is rest and remove all the stress you have been caring all day. One of the few solutions that can help you lift your mood or remove all that stress is bathing. According to a Japanese study, bathing can reduce anger, anxiety and stress. There is also an article in Psychologytoday.com written by Peter Bongiorno, which stated ā€œDecreases in stress hormones (like cortisol) have been reported with water bathing (TodaĀ et al., 2006). It has also been shown that water bathing may also help the balance of the feel good neurotransmitter, serotonin (MarzszitiĀ et al., 2007).ā€

Here are some tips and facts to give you a relaxing bath and help you know what are the benefits bathing can give to your body.

Take a bath before sleeping. A hot bath before sleeping can warm your body up during the night will synchronize you circadian rhythm and this will help you sleep better at night. Better sleep patterns can help you perform better at work, thus, lifting your mood or helping you get rid of stress.

Add essential oils to your bath. There are a lot of essential oils that can help you improve your mood. Here are a few examples of essential oils that you can use during your bath. Valerian oil can be used during your bath, this herbal oil can help reduce your anxiety and induce sleep. Bergamot oil is also known to reduce anxiety. There difference is Valerian oil has a sweet and strong earthy smell while Bergamot oil has a brisk citrus smell. Another essential oil you can add to your bath is Patchouli oil, like both Valerian and Bergamot oil, this reduce anxiety. It also relieves stress and depression. Patchouli oil has a slightly sweet, intoxicating smell. This oil is complimentary to vanilla oil and/or other sweet scented essential oils. You can also add Vetiver oil, this essential oil is not as popular as the others but it also helps lift your mood. Vetiver is a native grass plant in India and it has a sweet, earthy scent. Some also stated that this oil is an aphrodisiac. Another one you can put on your bath is Sweet Basil. You might that Sweet Basil can only be used in cooking Marina sauce but you can also use it to calm your nerves during a bath. Sweet Basil is also less sedating than anxiety medication such as Diazepam. There are a lot more essential oils you can use during to help you relax, try to mix and match them to your preference. BUT do not put more than 15 drops of essential oil without adding carrier oil. Carrier oil help dilute the strong scent of essential oil. This type of oil also prevents your skin to get irritated and dry. Famous carrier oils are Coconut, Jojoba and Almond. Put this in your bath with a few of the essential oils that were given then you are good to enjoy your bath.

Surround your bath with scented candles. You can put a Eucalyptus scented candle beside your bath tub while taking a bath. Eucalyptus is known for its fresh mint smell; this can help your respiratory issues and will help you breathe better. A combination of Pine and Vanilla scented candle can also reduce stress, they have contradicting smell but they actually go well together. Another one that can help reduce stress is Rosemary scented candle. This scented candle reduces stress and it also combats headache and physical fatigue. So if you had a mentally and physically exhausting day, put this candle beside your bath and it will help get a more relaxing bath. Lighting candles during bath at night is better that using your fluorescent light because you expose yourself with artificial light. Artificial light subdues the production of melatonin in your body. Melatonin is a sleeping aid hormone thus helping you get a better sleeping pattern. Do not use too much scented candles though. You do not want your whole bath experience to be too hot it might become too suffocating.

There you have it! These are just a few facts and tips to help you take care of your mental health through bathing. Hope this can help you and happy bathing!
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