Effect of the difference in bathing methods after intense exercise on sleep quality

Abstract

[Background]

Previous studies have presupposed the requirement of whole - body bathing after exercise; however, the physiological response when choosing different bathing conditions after exercise is unknown. The purpose of this study was to perform full - body bathing and shower after intense exercise and to examine how differences in bathing conditions affect the quality of subsequent sleep.

[Methods]

Subjects were 20 students who exercised for 3 hours a week for 2 hours or more. After intense exercise, they took a full immersion bath at 38℃ for 15 minutes (full bath condition) and a shower bath at 38℃ for 15 minutes (shower condition). Then, the subjects were allowed to go to bed for 7 hours from 00:00.

[Results]

For 30 minutes before going to bed, the parasympathetic nervous system was superior in the shower bath condition than in the full bath condition. Along with the autonomic nervous activity, we found that sleep, N2, and N3 latencies tended to be shorter in the full bath condition than in the shower condition.

[Conclusion]

This study clarified that the implementation of full body bath after intense exercise calms the excitation of the autonomic nervous system over time and may lead to smooth sleep onset. However, no statistical difference was found, and advanced further research with a larger sample size is necessary in the future.