Better circulation Heat warms your body and helps blood flow throughout your body. Better circulation may lower blood pressure and reduce risk of heart disease. Having a cup or two of hot water is an easy way to get your blood flowing.
Cold water strains your body — it goes into “survival mode,” working hard to maintain its core temperature. This stimulates your body to increase blood flow circulation.
Hot water is a vasodilator, meaning it expands the blood vessels, improving circulation. This can help muscles relax and reduce pain. Although no studies have directly linked hot water to sustained improvements in circulation, even brief improvements in circulation can support better blood flow to muscles and organs.
Alternating between hot and cold water while you shower is an easy way to improve your circulation. Cold water causes your blood to move to your organs to keep them warm. Warm water reverses the effect by causing the blood to move towards the surface of the skin.
Warm water is particularly beneficial as it encourages the veins to expand, thus allowing more room for blood to flow. Chilled water, on the other hand, may cause the veins to close up.
Heat therapy increases blood flow to a specific area and improves circulation. This is because heat on an inflamed area causes the blood vessels to dilate, promoting blood flow to the injured area. Applying heat to an affected area can provide comfort and increase muscle flexibility, as well as heal damaged tissue.
Avoid heat.
Hot tubbing and extra hot baths are a no no if you want to eliminate or prevent varicose or spider veins. Sitting in hot water for long periods of time actually causes your veins to swell. Keep your bath water at a lukewarm temperature or take showers, and avoid hot tubs altogether.
After 30 days of cold showers, most individuals report feeling more alert, having more energy, having healthier skin and hair, improved mental health and resilience, improved circulation, and more.
Cold air causes our arteries to tighten, which restricts blood flow to the heart and increases our blood pressure. It also means less oxygen travels to the heart, which is already working heard to keep the rest of the body warm.
In warm temperatures, these same blood vessels dilate or widen, increasing the flow of blood to the skin surface, thus allowing heat to leave the body, and keeping the core body temperature from rising to a dangerous level.
Hot baths, even hot tubs and lengthy hot showers, can make varicose veins worse. The heat from the water will cause the veins in your body to swell. If the veins start to swell, the blood flow will slow down.
Helps Improve Sleep & Relieve Stress – The calming effects hot water has on the nervous and endocrine systems help put our bodies in a “lower gear”, thereby relaxing us mentally. This state of heightened relaxation makes it easier for us to fall asleep and helps alleviate daily stress and anxiety.
But circulation can get worse for a number of reasons, including conditions like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and peripheral artery disease (PAD), or weight gain and age. When your circulation isn't working the way it should, some parts of your body may not get the nutrients they need.
Trans fats, saturated fats, excess salt, and added sugars can all negatively impact circulation. Eating a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, oily fish, and nuts may help improve circulation. Exercising regularly, staying hydrated, and avoiding smoking also help improve circulation.
Sleeping on your left side to make it easier for blood to flow in and around your heart. Keeping your arms at your sides instead of under or behind your head. Making sure your pillow supports your neck and spine and keeps them neutrally aligned.
Heat therapy may generate beneficial arterial adaptations, leading to improved arterial function and reduced tissue ischemia.
Potassium (Vitamin K)
Potassium is an essential mineral for many important bodily functions, including blood circulation. It keeps the blood vessel walls strong and can even help prevent bulging veins. Potassium can be found in a variety of healthy and tasty foods like bananas and avocados.
Research has shown that in most parts of the body, caffeine acts as a vasodilator by stimulating the release of nitric oxide. That means it widens blood vessels to increase blood flow and improve circulation. Both can help prevent heart problems and the development of heart disease.
When we spend many hours lying down, blood pools in the legs, lower volumes of blood are pumped through the body even though the heart works harder, oxygen uptake is reduced, and the risk of blood clots is increased, particularly in the legs and lungs.
When your skin comes in contact with hot water, the blood vessels dilate to escape the body's heat. These enlarged veins don't let the blood return to your heart and collect more blood than usual.
As mentioned above, hot showers can enhance blood flow, helping soothe stiff joints and tired muscles. Cold showers, meanwhile, can reduce inflammation and help numb pain.
Those cuddly duds warm your feet, relaxing and widening blood vessels that constricted while cold. This improved blood circulation in your overall body helps release more heat through your skin. “By making your feet warmer, you're opening up blood vessels to help cool down the rest of the body,” notes Dr. Drerup.