Top 7 Tips For Summertime in the Hot Tub
Most of us living in the Northwest are unaccustomed to hot summer days. Today is supposed to be 80 degrees and I’m sure a lot of you are already wilting at the thought. Your hot tub can be a blessing in the heat. If that sounds like a contradiction, it’s not! Turn the temperature to 99 or 100. Your skin temperature runs between 94 and 96. If you turned the tub to 94, you’d feel chilled sitting still. Really! You can stay in for a good long while at 99 degrees-past the prune fingers and toes stage. When you get out, you’ll feel refreshed for hours. Something about the heating of your body on a sustained basis and then the cooling feels so much more refreshing than a shower. I’ve been know to lie in the hot tub on a really hot day for the better part of a good novel. Here are a few more of my tips for safe summer hot tub soaking:
1) Drink plenty of water before and after soaking. I love chilled San Pellegrino from my local Trader Joe’s. Avoid alcohol until AFTER your soak. Alcohol is dehydrating and is a depressant on your system.
2) Cool down before you heat up. Wait until you stop sweating and your pulse returns to normal after exercising before getting into the hot tub.
3)Enter and exit the hot tub slowly. Ease in gradually. Exit carefully. A sudden change in posture and temperature can cause lightheadedness.
4) Watch the temperature. The maximum recommended safe temperature for a hot tub is 104 degrees. Soaking time at this temperature should not exceed 15 minutes. For summer, try 100 degrees or even 99 degrees in order to feel refreshed not enervated in the heat as I noted above. Kids under 12 usually prefer lower temperatures in the summer.
5) Check with your doctor
if you are taking medication or have a health condition that may be affected by extreme heat.
6) Wear sunscreen or a broadbrimmed hat if you’re soaking in the direct sun. Even better get one of our umbrella hats. Look stylish while you soak.
7)Never leave children alone in the tub.
The best tip of all: have fun, relax and enjoy yourself!
SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.
