洗熱水澡和走路30分鐘燃燒的卡路里一樣多

Good news: researchers are saying that relaxing in a hot bath and doing absolutely nothing may be just as beneficial for your body as a 30-minute walk. A group at Loughborough University did the strenuous job of tracking this theory with 14 men who were put through two tests: a one-hour bicycle ride and a one-hour bath in 104-degree-Fahrenheit water.

好消息：研究人員表示，洗個熱水澡放鬆、啥事兒都不做也許能和走路30分鐘一樣爲你的身體帶來益處。拉夫堡大學的一個課題組做了艱苦工作，對14位參加兩項測試的受試者進行追蹤以研究這項理論：一項測試是騎一個小時自行車，另一項測試是洗個熱水澡（水溫104華氏度）。

The goal was to raise the body's core temperature by one degree. All in all, the cycling burned many more calories, but the researchers did come across something somewhat surprising: Relaxing in the hot bath did burn 130 calories, which is about the amount you'll burn on a half-hour walk.

目標就是將身體的核心溫度提高一度。總而言之，騎車燃燒了更多的卡路里，但研究人員也有一些令人驚奇的發現：洗個熱水澡放鬆也燃燒了130卡，大約是走路半小時所燃燒的熱量。

The Conversation shared some additional findings from the study. The blood sugar of all participants was also tracked for 24 hours after the tests, and it was discovered that peak blood sugar was around 10 percent lower when a bath was taken in place of the bike ride. The bath also seemed to have the same effect as exercise when it came to the anti-inflammatory response post-activity for each of the participants.

The Conversation分享了該研究的一些額外發現。測試結束後，研究員繼續跟進這些受試者的血糖水平，跟進了24個小時，並發現泡熱水澡的受試者，他們的最高血糖水平比騎自行車的受試者低10%。關於每位受試者在活動後的抗消炎反應這一方面，洗熱水澡似乎和鍛鍊的效果差不多。

The study suggests that passive heating - exactly what it sounds like, relaxing in a hot bath for an hour - can help reduce inflammation. The idea of passive heating as a medical treatment is relatively new, and popular with one country in particular: Finland. A study in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal from 2015 suggests that spending time in saunas - another act of passive heating - may help ward off cardiovascular diseases.

研究表明，被動受熱--就是字面意思，洗熱水澡放鬆一小時--有助於降低炎症。醫學治療中，被動受熱是個相對較新的觀點，在芬蘭這個國家特別受歡迎。2015年，JAMA Internal Medicine journal的一項研究表明，蒸桑拿--被動受熱的另一種行爲--或有助於預防心血管疾病。

One thing to note: All of these study participants were men, and given that the male and female bodies can act in drastically different ways, there may be some variety in the results. But even if it doesn't replace a day's exercise, soaking in a warm tub can only do good things for your mental health.

注意這一點：上述所有研究中，受試者都是男性，鑑於男女的身體反應會出現天壤之別，所以結果可能會有所不同。雖然不能取代一天的鍛鍊量，但泡個熱水澡對人們的精神健康百利而無一害。