The Benefits of Hot Water Bottles and Why You Need One in Your Home
A hot water bottle is a simple and effective way to reap the benefits of heat therapy. Read on to learn more about all the ways hot water bottles can soothe and comfort a range of aches and pain.
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Hot water bottles can promote restorative sleep by helping to reduce stress and anxiety.
Hot water bottles are also often used as a natural pain reliever.
A more energy-friendly option than electric blankets or disposable heating pads, using a hot water bottle is also a sustainable choice.
Did you know?
Hot water bottles have been around since the 16th century! Initially made of copper, they were used to keep beds warm.
People have been heating water bottles or using warm water bags for centuries. Other than the obvious function of keeping you warm, there are many more benefits to hot water bottles – especially for pain relief .Keep on reading to find out more.
What is a Hot Water Bottle?
A hot water bottle is a container, typically made of rubber, glass, metal, or heat-resistant plastic, designed to be filled with hot water and sealed with a stopper or screw-on cap. Its purpose is to provide warmth, comfort, and pain relief by radiating heat for a certain period of time.
How Do Hot Water Bottles Work?
How do hot water bottles stay warm? The rubber or thermoplastic of the bottle insulates heat, preventing it from escaping right away, resulting in sustained warmth.
The heat from the hot water bottle escapes gradually through the surface of the hot water bag cover, as more heat energy is released.How many hours a hot water bottle stays hot can differ from product to product. Typically, most hot water bottles take about an hour to cool.
How To Use a Hot Water Bottle
Hot water bottles are easy to use, but remember it is crucial to use them correctly so that you don’t burn yourself! You should always adhere to the safety instructions of the product you are using.
Here are steps to follow when using a hot water bottle:
Fill with Hot Water
Boil water and let it cool slightly before filling the hot water bottle about two-thirds full. Be careful not to use boiling water directly, as this could damage the bottle.
Seal Properly
Ensure the stopper or cap is securely fastened to prevent any leakage.
Cover with a Cloth
Wrap the hot water bottle in a cloth or towel before applying it to your skin. This helps prevent burns or discomfort from the bottle feeling too hot.
Apply to the Desired Area
Place the hot water bottle on the area of your body where you need warmth or pain relief. People mostly use hot water bottled on their feet, abdomen, chest, back, or hands.
Monitor the Temperature
Hot water bottles gradually lose heat over time. Check the temperature periodically and add more hot water if needed.
Store Safely
When not in use, empty the hot water bottle completely and hang it upside down to dry with the stopper removed – try to find a cool, dry place to prevent the inside of the bottle from becoming moldy
Hot Water Bottles Benefits
If you’re looking for a natural remedy to help reduce pain or discomfort, a hot water bottle can be a great therapeutic tool. Here are some of the benefits of hot water bottles:
Provides Warmth for Restorative Sleep
Sleeping with a hot water bottle is a simple way to keep your bed warm. While a hot water bottle won’t target the root causes of severe sleeping difficulties, it provides warmth and comfort, which often helps alleviate symptoms of sleep deprivation. The warmth from the hot water bottle helps your body to relax by stimulating blood flow and improving circulation, leading to better oxygen supply throughout your body.
Try leaving the hot water bottle under your blanket for 5-10 minutes before you go to bed.You will be pleasantly greeted by a cozy warmth that can help you drift off to sleep. Remember to move the bottle to a safe place so that you are not lying on top of it with your full body weight, as this could cause it to burst.
Another way to benefit from using a hot water bottle at bedtime is on your feet. Research shows that putting a hot water bottle on your feet has its benefits! Warm feet bolsters blood circulation and loosen up blood vessels helping you sleep deeper, and ultimately waking up feeling more rested.
Decreases Stress and Anxiety
After a stressful day, imagine how wonderful it would be to relax with a comforting warmth to calm your nerves. Anxiety and stress can affect your body temperature. If you’re prone to feeling chilly, but worry not – a hot water bottle can help regulate it!
If you are feeling chills from anxiety, the warmth from a hot water bottle can help stimulate blood flow and circulation in the body. This helps the muscles in your body relax and unwind, increasing oxygen flow to your brain – helping with anxiety and stress relief – similar to how taking slow, deep breaths can help calm you down.
Relieves Aching and Sore Joints
Everyone experinces aches and pains from time to time – after an intense workout, a radical change in temperature, or simply from a wrong movement. For example, a stiff neck is a very common, widespread source of discomfort – using a hot water bottle on your neck can sooth the discomfort by stimulating blood flow and relaxing your muscles. Research shows that heat deactivates the pain at a molecular level the way pharmaceutical painkillers work – more than just a placebo effect, a hot compress can physically shut down the normal pain response involved in these muscle-level aches and pains.
Helps with Digestion
Just like muscle pain, there are multiple benefits of using hot water bottles on your stomach. Holding a hot water bottle on your stomach after eating for about half an hour has been shown to increase hydrochloric acid production as well as improving circulation, which in turn helps digestion.
In addition, the heat from a hot water bottle can be a huge help for those who suffer from constipation or even Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). It can aid with the discomfort that IBS can bring and help reduce the effects of constipation.
Hot Water Bottles and Women’s Health
For women navigating the discomfort of period pains or pregnancy, a hot water bottle can help ease any lower-body pain. You may experience pain in your lower back, in your stomach, under your bump, or between your thighs; applying warmth can help your body relax and increase circulation to aid relief. You should be careful to not apply the heat from a hot water bottle directly on your skin, however – make sure you wrap it in a cloth or in a towel, so as to prevent any burns.
If you are looking for a safer hot water bottle that can help with your cramps and pains, why not try out our Snuggler The Snuggler is gently weighted with tension-melting Terraclay™ to deliver deep touch pressure, helping relieve stress and soothe cramps, aches and pain. It can be warmed in the microwave for a few short minutes and is encased in an organic Snugknit cover to keep your skin protected.
Sustainable and Environment-friendly
With a lot of us now shifting to home working, this may mean that we’re heating our homes a lot more than we used to. One of the benefits of a hot water bottle is that it comes out considerably cheaper than heating your entire house; it takes far less energy to simply use a hot water bottle to directly heat yourself, which is helpful when it comes to the rising cost of energy and living.
While there are hot water bottle alternatives such as electric heating pads and disposable heat patches, opting for a hot water bottle remains a sustainable choice. Hot water bottles are typically more eco-friendly than electric heating pads, or heaters as these devices add to our energy consumption and carbon emissions as well.
Conclusion
In the simplicity of a hot water bottle lies a wealth of therapeutic health benefits. Beyond its basic function of providing warmth, it offers pain relief, sleep support, and cozy comfort. This easy-to-use remedy is also a sustainable choice in our eco-conscious age. So, whenever the chills set in or discomfort strikes, consider a snuggle with a hot water bottle to lull you back to a place of comfort and calm.
