The moment you step into a warm bath on a cold day.
When you lay a steamed towel over your face.
When you warm the area around your eyes with a heated eye mask.
Have you ever let out an involuntary “ahh…” and felt the tension in your body melt away?
We know from experience that “warming up helps us relax.”
But this feeling isn’t just about mood.
Warmth is thought to trigger a variety of physiological changes in the body, which in turn lead to a sense of comfort and relaxation.
How Does Warming the Body Change Blood Flow?
When the surface of the body is warmed, the blood vessels in the skin widen to release heat.
This tends to increase blood flow in the skin, centered on the warmed area.
Your skin turning pink after a bath and your hands and feet feeling toasty are both related to this bodily response.
Warmth also affects muscle tension and flexibility.
That’s why, compared with when your body is cold, you may feel that your “body has loosened up” or “moves more easily” after warming up.
However, it isn’t as simple as warming up automatically improving blood flow throughout the whole body.
Keep in mind that the response can vary with the temperature, the area being warmed, the length of time and the condition of your body.
How Is Warmth Related to the Autonomic Nervous System?
The “sense of relief” we feel when we’re warm is also thought to be linked to changes in the autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system has a “sympathetic” side, which tends to be active when we’re busy, and a “parasympathetic” side, which tends to be active when we rest.
Studies of warming such as bathing have reported that, under certain conditions, changes in heart rate variability and other measures suggest increased parasympathetic activity.
In other words, comfortable warmth may be one trigger that helps shift the body from an active state into one where it can rest more easily.
What’s important here is that “the hotter, the more relaxing” is not true.
Water that is too hot can actually raise your heart rate and put more strain on your body.
If your goal is relaxation, it’s important to choose a temperature that feels comfortable to you, not one so hot you have to endure it.
Warming Up Is Also Linked to “Sleep”
There is also interesting research on warmth and sleep.
In 2019, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and other institutions carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 studies.
The results suggested that warming the body with a bath or shower at about 40 to 42.5°C (104 to 108.5°F) 1 to 2 hours before bedtime may have a positive effect on sleep.
Especially interesting is that the time it took to fall asleep was shortened by about 10 minutes on average.
“Warming the body up in order to sleep?”
You may find that surprising.
In fact, one characteristic of falling asleep is that the body’s core temperature gradually drops.
When a bath increases blood flow in the skin of your hands, feet and elsewhere, it then becomes easier for the body to release internal heat.
In other words,
you warm up
↓
heat escapes more easily through your hands, feet and elsewhere
↓
your core temperature gradually falls
↓
this helps you transition naturally into sleep
is thought to be the process involved.
That’s why the timing, about 1 to 2 hours before bed rather than right before, is also key.
Why Does Warming Around the Eyes Feel So Soothing?
Warmth around the eyes is something we also use at La HEAD.
After using a computer or smartphone all day, many of you may feel that “the backs of your eyes are heavy” or that “the area around your eyes is tense.”
Wrapping the area around your eyes in comfortable warmth not only feels good in itself, but also becomes a time to close your eyes and step away from visual information.
Step away from bright screens and work for a moment,
“close your eyes,”
“feel the warmth,”
“do nothing,”
and create time like this.
For busy people today, even this alone can be a chance to step away from everyday tension.
Warmth alone won’t relieve all fatigue or eye strain, but it’s a good idea to use it as one way to switch your mind and body into rest.
Time to Rest Your Head and Body, Wrapped in Warmth
In La HEAD’s SIGNATURE COURSE, we use a warming eye mask during the treatment.
While gently warming the area around your eyes, we care for not only your head but also your neck, shoulders and arms as one connected whole.
In a calm, fully private room, we value helping you step away from the information and busyness of everyday life and slowly let the tension leave your body.
When you sink into a warm bath.
When you’re wrapped up in your bedding.
When you hold a warm drink in your hands.
The way we naturally feel that sigh of relief may come from both the body’s mechanisms and the sense of reassurance that warmth brings.
Precisely because your body works so hard every day, why not sometimes make a conscious effort to set aside “time to stay warm and do nothing”?
We look forward to welcoming you.