Adding a morning hot tub soak into your routine can improve the rest of your day by easing you awake and invigorating your senses. Here are five ways you can start your day strong with the help of your hot tub.
1) Ease into your day
A hot tub creates the perfect environment to begin your day with quiet reflection. Enjoying the still warm water for a few minutes before turning on the jets allows you to focus on deep breathing. This peaceful contemplation can help set your tone and attitude for the rest of the day. It can also help to direct your focus, allowing you to prioritize the tasks ahead.
2) Avoid electronics first thing in the morning
Eighty percent of smartphone users age 18-44 check their phones within the first 15 minutes of waking up, and plenty has been written about why this is a bad idea. In fact, there’s even a popular productivity book called Never Check Email in the Morning. The idea is that checking your email right when you wake up starts your day off on the wrong foot — increasing heart rate and blood pressure, adding stress and building a huge to-do list before you’ve even had time to brush your teeth. Instead, experts recommend saving the email checking for when you get into the office, and setting up early morning power hours for accomplishing the day’s big tasks before tackling all the loose ends of your inbox.
3) Recover after a morning workout
It’s possible — even beneficial! — to enjoy a workout and a hot tub soak at the beginning of each day. After aerobics or weight training, allow your body sufficient time to cool down naturally. Then you can enjoy the massaging benefits of your hot tub to relax the muscles that you’ve worked. Be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after your soak to replenish fluids lost during your workout.
4) Relieve Morning Aches
It’s no secret that inflamed joints can feel especially stiff first thing in the morning. This stiffness can affect any joint — fingers and hands, writs, elbows, knees, ankles, feet, shoulders, and hips. Fortunately all of these joints can benefit from the buoyancy of the warm water in your spa. A 15-minute soak and massage from your spa’s hydrotherapy jets can ease morning stiffness to help you loosen up for the day.
5) Give yourself time to hydrate
The time spent relaxing in your spa is also the perfect opportunity to rehydrate from the night before (or from your morning workout). Bring a large bottle of cold water with you for your morning soak, as hydrating first thing in the morning can help energize you. Jeff Sanders, author of The 5 AM Miracle, drinks one liter of water within the first 45 minutes of waking up. He says, “Hydration is incredibly important, especially after waking up. I always find that this larger quantity of water provides incredible energy and prepares my body for the day ahead.”
The closer your hot tub is to your home, the more likely you’ll be to fit it into your daily routine. If it’s on a balcony or patio outside the master bedroom, it’s even easier to enjoy all the benefits of a morning soak in your spa before beginning your day.