Remember the old Guinness beer ads that stated “Guinness Is Good For You”? Well, that was probably a dubious claim… Now, you might start seeing ads claiming hot tubs are good for you. This time, the claim is backed by science. The latest one to pop up comes from the University of Oregon Exercise and Environmental Physiology Lab.
Heat therapy is grounded in science and offers many evidence-based benefits. Some of those benefits include increased fitness, immune activity, cardiovascular and metabolic health, and blood sugar regulation.
Researchers have even found that heat can help people live longer, said Minson, Kenneth and Kenda Singer Professor in Human Physiology and co-director of the Exercise and Environmental Physiology Labs.
You can read the original article here: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-health-science-saunas-hot-tubs.html
And you can find the actual study details, here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cph4.70089
This study was first published on 20 January 2026.
One of the reasons heat offers so many health and fitness benefits is because it mimics the physiological effects of exercise.
During exercise, body temperature rises and muscles experience microdamage that is repaired during recovery, making them stronger. This stress-recovery-adaptation cycle is key to improving fitness.
Similarly, sitting in a sauna or hot tub raises body temperature, increases heart rate, and boosts blood circulation. Heat therapy stresses out the body and then it adapts, just like it’s done for hundreds of thousands of years.
So, if the obvious benefits of hot tubbing like stress relief, great feelings, and fun are not enough for you to justify getting a hot tub for your home you now have another reason to dive into hot tub ownership; they are actually good for your health!
Yay science!
*Pro tip: if you want to find more science based info about hot tubs (or anything) just add the word “scholar” to the beginning of any google search. This will filter out ALL info that is not from an actual scientific publication. And we all know that the internet is full of iffy info…
Happy hot tubbing!
