A 20-minute bath can make all your worries dissipate. Close the curtains, put the phone away, turn on some music and disappear from the world for a while. It’s hardly revolutionary wellness advice, but Beyond Wellness founder Michael Hook reckons people have forgotten how to stop, or even just pause.

“We don’t have enough me time. We don’t have enough downtime,” Hook said. And wellness, he added, does not necessarily have to involve expensive treatments, retreats or elaborate routines. Sometimes it can be as simple as intentionally setting aside a small part of the day for yourself. “Don’t just jump into the bath and jump out. Make a bath a 20-minute ritual,” he said.

It is the ritual that makes the difference because, in reality, there is nothing particularly complicated about sitting still for 20 minutes. But deliberately doing nothing has become something many people struggle to do. The Dutch even have a word for it: niksen, which means quite literally doing, well, nothing. Phones follow us everywhere, work creeps into home time, and even relaxation can become another activity that has to be squeezed into a diary. Hook said there is nothing wrong with meditating in the bath either. Close your eyes and switch off for a while.

Salt bath benefits:

1. One of the primary benefits of Epsom salt baths is that the minerals introduced to the water and absorbed by the skin help to detoxify the skin as well as reduce irritation and swelling.

2. Another benefit is the high level of magnesium that you will benefit from as you soak in the tub. Magnesium is best absorbed through the skin, so getting it from a bath is wonderful and relaxing. 

3. Natural bath salts can actually improve the skin barrier function. This allows the skin to stay hydrated for longer.

4. Bath salts are known for relaxing tense muscles and reducing aches and pains. Indeed, there is some evidence that salt bath benefits extend to reducing inflammation which in turn eases pain.

5. Soaking your feet in bath salts brings lots of benefits including reduced itching from athlete’s foot, targeting toenail fungus and reducing odour.

6. More and more studies are emerging which show that salt baths can boost our immunity, perhaps through replenishing electrolytes, aiding cellular function and establishing balance. More research needs to be done, but already salt baths are heralded for bolstering things such as cardiovascular health, circulation and even regulating blood sugar levels.

7. Soaking in a bath can lower stress all by itself but add in bath salts and you have a potent de-stressing mix. The improved circulation helps you relax your body inside and out.  

This article appeared first on The Citizen.