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Background: Bathing is an important behavior for keeping the body clean and is one of the habits of daily life. Among other things, bathing is regarded as a means of relieving fatigue, refreshing oneself, benefiting health, and improving sleep. As such it can be considered a health-maintaining activity. Apart from a previous study by the authors, there has been very little research on the relationship between home bathing habits and health. Objective: The aim of this study was, therefore, to clarify how physical and mental health relate to daily bathing in the home, particularly the habit of full bath immersion. Method: The participants were 198 employees of a quasi-drug manufacturing company and their family members who could and cooperated in the present study. The study was conducted as a self-report survey from October 1-30, 2010, with questionnaires being distributed to and collected from subjects before and after this period. Participants were asked about their sex, age, frequency of bathing per week, frequency of use of bath additives per week, temperature of bath water, bathing duration, and water level when in the bath, health, and sleep quality. Health was assessed using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory, and self-rated health and quality of sleep were assessed using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results: Among bathing habits, the group with a high bath frequency had significantly low scores for tension-anxiety and depression-dejection mood scales, and significantly high self-rated health. In the present study, self-rated health and quality of sleep were significantly better in the group who frequently used bath additives. In the full bath group, Fatigue score was significantly low and self-rated health and quality of sleep scores were significantly high. Discussion and Conclusion: Taking a full bath frequently and frequent use of bath additives are bathing habits that increase physical and psychological health in the middle-aged.
RESUMO
<B>Background:</B> Bathing is an important behavior for keeping the body clean and is one of the habits of daily life. Among other things, bathing is regarded as a means of relieving fatigue, refreshing oneself, benefiting health, and improving sleep. As such it can be considered a health-maintaining activity. Apart from a previous study by the authors, there has been very little research on the relationship between home bathing habits and health.<br><B>Objective:</B> The aim of this study was, therefore, to clarify how physical and mental health relate to daily bathing in the home, particularly the habit of full bath immersion.<br><B>Method:</B> The participants were 198 employees of a quasi-drug manufacturing company and their family members who could and cooperated in the present study. The study was conducted as a self-report survey from October 1-30, 2010, with questionnaires being distributed to and collected from subjects before and after this period. Participants were asked about their sex, age, frequency of bathing per week, frequency of use of bath additives per week, temperature of bath water, bathing duration, and water level when in the bath, health, and sleep quality. Health was assessed using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory, and self-rated health and quality of sleep were assessed using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS).<br><B>Results:</B> Among bathing habits, the group with a high bath frequency had significantly low scores for tension-anxiety and depression-dejection mood scales, and significantly high self-rated health. In the present study, self-rated health and quality of sleep were significantly better in the group who frequently used bath additives. In the full bath group, Fatigue score was significantly low and self-rated health and quality of sleep scores were significantly high.<br><B>Discussion and Conclusion:</B> Taking a full bath frequently and frequent use of bath additives are bathing habits that increase physical and psychological health in the middle-aged.
RESUMO
The effects of bathing with inorganic salts and carbon dioxide (ISCD) on body temperature, systemic circulation, food ingestion and absorption have been studied in healthy volunteers. The peripheral blood flow in the forearm was found to increase in and after immersion of the forearm into a 25<i>l</i> bathing receptacle containing ISCD, as compared with plain water. The peripheral blood flow tended to increase in a dose-dependent manner with ISCD bathing. The skin core temperature, the skin surface temperature and the peripheral blood flow were significantly higher after ISCD bathing than after plain water bathing. The influences of ISCD bathing on food ingestion and absorption were also studied in healthy volunteers. Blood glucose and insulin levels after food ingestion tended to be suppressed by ISCD bathing as compared with plain water bathing. There was no difference between ISCD and plain water bathing in total protein, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, and uric acid levels in the blood. These results suggest that ISCD bathing may contribute to the promotion of human health.
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The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue (Leuplin/<sup>®</sup>1.0mg/kg, s. c.) induced not only a decrease in the serum concentration of testosterone but also potentiation of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP: 10μg/kg, i. v.)-induced elevation of skin temperature in male rats. Keishi-bukuryo-gan (1, 000mg/kg, p. o.) and 17β-estradiol (0.010mg/kg, s. c.) significantly inhibited the elevation of skin temperature as well as teststerone (1.0mg/kg, s. c.) replacement. However, Keishi-bukuryo-gan and 17β-estradiol did not affect the low concentration of serum testosterone, although the hormone replacement of testosterone restored the plasma level. These results suggest that Keishi-bukuryo-gan, which does not have testosterone activity to serum, may be useful for the treatment of hot flushes due to testosterone deficiency after GnRH therapy in men with prostatic carcinoma, as well as 17β-estradiol.