Hot spring bathing practices have a positive effect on mental health in Japan

Hot springs have long been used for medical purposes throughout the world. Recently, the positive effects of hot spa-bathing on circulatory diseases have been reported, while there are few reports on the mental effects of hot spa-bathing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the relat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Midori Takeda, Hiroki Nakamura, Hajime Otsu, Koshi Mimori, Toyoki Maeda, Shunsuke Managi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-09-01
Series:Heliyon
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023068391
Description
Summary:Hot springs have long been used for medical purposes throughout the world. Recently, the positive effects of hot spa-bathing on circulatory diseases have been reported, while there are few reports on the mental effects of hot spa-bathing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between hot spa-bathing habits and mental health throughout Japan. We conducted a nationwide online survey, including questions on bathing behavior, subjective satisfaction, lifestyle, and illness. The results showed a significant positive correlation between hot spa-bathing habits and multiple subjective satisfaction levels regarding mental health effects. The factor analysis results indicated that hot spa-bathing habits tended to be associated with good mental health, high health consciousness, and disease. Our study revealed that subjective satisfaction was higher among individuals with hot spa-bathing habits, suggesting that the hot spring spa-bathing habit may have a positive influence on mental health.
ISSN:2405-8440