A “detoxifying” skincare therapy, a soothing act of self-love, a pampering observe for your pet—if TikTok is to be believedthe advantages of an Epsom salt tub are virtually limitless. However, stylish as they’re, the chemical compounds are previous as hell: The salts are named after the English city of Epsom the place they have been found within the early seventeenth century, they usually have been subsequently extracted and studied for his or her potential medicinal properties.1
Although they have been as soon as thought-about a high-society luxurious, Epsom salt is now tremendous accessible to the lots—it’s offered in luggage or packing containers at most drugstores and supermarkets, often for lower than $10, and your mother in all probability has some below her rest room sink. And whereas Epsom salt has been linked to all types of wellness advantages, it’s in all probability most recognized for its alleged pain-relieving properties. You could have seen a health influencer counsel an Epsom salt tub to alleviate muscle aches after a troublesome coaching day or long term, or maybe your pregnant pal has been attempting an Epsom soak to assuage their sore ft.
However simply because a wellness observe is stylish doesn’t make it legit. Under, consultants clarify what you need to know concerning the potential advantages of Epsom salt baths (and Epsom salts normally)—and which claims you need to take with, ahem, a grain of salt.
What is Epsom salt? | Benefits of Epsom salt baths | Epsom salt for sore muscles | Benefits for skin care | Potential risks | How to make an Epsom salt bath
What precisely is Epsom salt?
Epsom salt is a type of magnesium referred to as magnesium sulfate, Chris D’Adamo, PhD, director of the Heart for Integrative Medication on the University of Maryland School of Medicinetells SELF. Magnesium performs a task in additional than 300 enzyme reactions within the physique that have an effect on muscle and nerve perform, blood sugar and strain regulation, bone development, electrolyte perform, vitality manufacturing, and more. The first supply of magnesium for most individuals is meals—leafy greens, fish, legumes, and whole grains are all excessive within the essential mineral.
By way of its medical purposes, hospitals typically use Epsom salt to deal with sufferers, Dr. D’Adamo says. Medical doctors could inject intravenous (IV) magnesium sulfate for ache and blood strain regulation, for instance, significantly amongst pregnant individuals with preeclampsia, he says.2 And well being care practitioners additionally typically use IV and oral magnesium sulfate dietary supplements to deal with persistent ache circumstances, together with migraineor to deal with magnesium deficiencies, he provides.3
Contemplating that magnesium normally is extraordinarily essential for maintaining your physique operating in high kind (and there’s research to suggest {that a} good proportion of individuals have lower-than-optimal ranges of the mineral) and magnesium sulfate, particularly, is usually used as a medical therapy, it’s not a stretch to suppose that an Epsom salt tub could do your physique good. Which leads us to…
Are there any confirmed advantages of Epsom salt baths?
First, it’s value realizing that there are some advantages to taking any tub. It could possibly assist your sleep, for one factor, and never simply because it’s soothing and de-stressing (which it can be). Heat water additionally will increase your core physique temperature, so whenever you get out of the bathtub (or bathe), your physique temperature begins to drop, which indicators to your mind that it’s time for relaxation. (That’s additionally why sleep consultants recommend snoozing in a cool room.) In truth, analysis suggests {that a} 10-minute soak within the tub (or heat bathe) one to 2 hours earlier than bedtime may also help you go to sleep sooner and really feel as when you’ve had a greater night time’s relaxation.4
However what about the advantages of an Epsom salt tub, particularly? To reap any potential perks—past the soothing nature of the nice and cozy water—you’d want to have the ability to get the magnesium into your physique in a roundabout way, the place it may well then create physiological adjustments. That might be both by absorbing the magnesium within the bathwater via your pores and skin or inhaling it from the steam of the new water, says Dr. D’Adamo.
