Can soaking your feet in winter really help you stay healthy?

When the cold winter comes, we are exhausted physically and mentally after working and studying outside all day, and our limbs often become cold due to the low temperature outside, and we even feel "frozen". After returning home, sit on the sofa or recliner, put your frozen feet in the steaming foot bath, and enjoy the heat from your feet to the whole body after contact with the hot water, and the fatigue will be gradually dispelled by the warmth.

Foot soaking seems to be unique to winter, which can bring pleasure and a sense of ritual. Because of this, even the younger generation regards foot soaking in hot water as the most cost-effective "health preservation" recipe in winter. So, from a scientific point of view, can foot soaking in winter really preserve health?

01There are many benefits of soaking your feet in winter

First of all, we can directly conclude that foot soaking, especially in the cold autumn and winter, is indeed beneficial to human health in most cases. The benefits of foot soaking are mainly as follows:

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Keep away the cold

The most intuitive feeling that can be felt after soaking your feet in cold weather is to drive away the cold. Our limbs are located at the end of the entire human blood circulation system, and the blood supply is slow. It is for this reason that when the external temperature drops, we usually feel cold hands and feet first. In severe cases, they may even become numb and inflexible due to the slowdown of blood circulation.

Soaking your feet in hot water is the most direct way to warm your feet physically. When the temperature rises, the blood vessels in your feet temporarily expand, which in turn accelerates the overall blood circulation. So when we soak our feet in hot water, we feel the heat spreading from our feet to our entire body, and we may even sweat a little.

Relieve fatigue

The root cause of human fatigue can be summed up as "tension". Muscle tension causes physical fatigue, which leads to symptoms such as backache; nervous system tension causes mental fatigue, which manifests itself in depression, lack of concentration, malaise, etc.

In modern life, many people sit for long periods of time while working, which results in poor blood circulation, and lack of exercise causes double tension in the muscles and nervous system. This working state makes it particularly prone to fatigue.

When soaking your feet, blood circulation speeds up, which speeds up the body's oxygen and nutrient delivery. The waste products such as lactic acid produced in the body will also be metabolized faster, allowing the muscles to recover from the tense state. In some ways, this is actually similar to light aerobic exercise.

In addition, the feet are densely distributed with a large number of nerve clusters, which, according to traditional Chinese medicine, means that there are many meridians and acupuncture points. When these nerves are stimulated by moderate temperature, they can be relieved from the tense state. This is why we often feel a mood boost after soaking our feet.

Promotes sleep

Promoting sleep is actually the result of the superposition of the first two effects. Scientific studies have shown that people are more likely to fall asleep in a warm and comfortable environment. When we regain warmth by soaking our feet and relieve the stress caused by daytime studies and work, our bodies also enter the best state for sleep. Therefore, soaking our feet before going to bed not only makes it easier for us to fall asleep, but also improves the quality of sleep throughout the night. People who suffer from insomnia can significantly improve their insomnia symptoms by soaking their feet before going to bed for a long time.

Improve skin and foot health

In winter, the cold environment and poor blood circulation may cause frostbite on the feet. Soaking your feet accelerates blood circulation in the feet, effectively preventing frostbite, and has a good effect on improving dry and cracked foot skin. If you persist in soaking your feet for a long time and make it a habit, it can also help remove dead skin on the feet, keep the skin soft and smooth, and reduce the occurrence of foot diseases such as athlete's foot and eczema.

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02There are also methods for foot soaking

Although foot soaking has many benefits, it may also bring health risks if you do not pay attention to the correct method, so it is important to pay attention to the method.

Temperature is important

The normal human body temperature is around 37°C, and the water temperature for foot bathing can be slightly higher than this temperature. Generally speaking, it is best to control it between 38 and 43°C. Because if the temperature is lower than this, the water temperature is the same as the normal human body temperature or even lower than the normal temperature, it is difficult to transfer heat to the feet and the desired effect cannot be achieved. If it is higher than 43°C, the high temperature generated by the hot water will over-stimulate the skin, causing discomfort and even scalding the skin.

Of course, the temperature range of 38~43°C can fluctuate according to different people's physique and tolerance. We can let our feet touch the hot water lightly to test our own temperature perception. When we feel that the temperature is within the comfortable range for our feet, we can soak them as a whole.

Don't take too long

Because soaking your feet will dilate the blood vessels in the lower limbs, accelerate blood circulation, and increase blood supply, the human heart rate will also increase. Therefore, soaking your feet for a longer time is not necessarily better. Too long a time will increase the burden on the heart and cause more blood to flow to the lower limbs, leading to insufficient blood supply to the brain.

Generally, it is best to control the foot soaking time within 15 to 30 minutes. Of course, this time range also fluctuates according to different people's physical conditions, and can be judged based on your own feelings. If you experience obvious palpitations or dizziness while soaking your feet, you should stop soaking your feet immediately, otherwise you will faint due to insufficient blood supply to the brain, which will endanger your health.

Hot water over ankles

When soaking your feet, the height of the hot water is also important. Generally speaking, the appropriate height for hot water is to soak the ankles. If it is lower than this height, it cannot cover the entire foot and cannot achieve the best foot soaking effect. If it is higher than this height, the temperature of the hot water will have limited stimulation on the calves and shins, which is a pure waste of heat energy.

Steaming your feet is also effective

In addition to traditional foot soaking, "foot steaming" has also become a new health trend in recent years. Many people mistakenly believe that foot steaming is heating water into steam to transfer heat to the feet. But in fact, under 1 standard atmospheric pressure, the temperature of water vapor is at least 100℃, and this high temperature can cause foot burns. So the "white mist" we see rising when steaming feet is actually small droplets formed by water liquefying when it is heated and cooled in the air, and their temperature is far from 100℃.

But they can also heat and stimulate the skin of the feet, and have the same effect as hot water foot bath. However, compared with traditional hot water foot bath, the water mist generated when steaming feet is not only difficult to control the temperature, but also not as cost-effective as foot bath in terms of heat transfer. However, for those who pursue a sense of ritual, they can occasionally choose to steam their feet.

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03Foot soaking is not a panacea

Although foot soaking is a popular way to maintain health, it is not a panacea for everyone. For some people with special physical conditions, if they soak their feet rashly, it will not only fail to work, but will also damage their health.

Diabetic patients

The skin of diabetic patients has a weaker ability to perceive temperature than normal people, and they are easily burned when soaking their feet. Once burned, the wound healing ability is poor and the risk of infection is high. Therefore, it is best for diabetic patients not to soak their feet easily.

Patients with varicose veins

As mentioned earlier, when soaking your feet, the temperature of the hot water will dilate the blood vessels in your feet. For patients with varicose veins, soaking your feet will increase the pressure in the veins and may aggravate the condition. Therefore, such people should avoid soaking their feet, or control the risk by lowering the water temperature and reducing the soaking time.

Patients with foot skin diseases

If you suffer from tinea pedis, eczema, etc., soaking your feet may aggravate the symptoms. These diseases may cause skin damage, and soaking your feet may cause bacterial infection, so you need to be careful.

Patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

Since foot soaking may cause blood pressure fluctuations or increase the burden on the heart, such patients should soak their feet with caution.

In short, soaking your feet in winter can indeed play a certain role in maintaining health, but this role also varies from person to person. When you enjoy the warmth of soaking your feet, you must also pay attention to using the correct method according to your actual situation, so that you can soak healthily and truly release stress and soothe your body and mind.

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: CPU, science writer

Audit expert: Li Chunli

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