Making A Splash: Why A Bath Is Better Than A Shower

We feel bad.

Last week, we went a little hell for the leather on the legitimacy of the old humble tub. “Don’t have a bath”, we said. “Do you really want to stew in your own dirt?”. “Take a shower!”.

It was, by our own standards, a pretty blistering attack. If you don’t believe us, take a look at last week’s blog entry The Shower Scene: Why A Shower Is Better Than A Bath. It’s all there in black and white. We think you’ll agree, we didn’t leave much room for optimism.

Over this past week, however, we’ve had a chance to reflect and contemplate on our words a little more thoughtfully. Is a bath really that bad? Surely it has some redeeming features? They are, after all, still remarkably popular. Could we have gotten it wrong? Could we, at the very least, have been a teeny-weeny bit unfair?

In our revised judgement, this is most certainly and obviously the case.

And so, in the spirit of fairness, decency and the Belvoir way, we thought we’d flip last week’s subject upside down and flood you with a good handful of details that shed the classic bathtub in a more generous light.

Why is a bath better than a shower? There are actually quite a few reasons and all perfectly valid. But here are five of our favourites to help dampen any lingering doubts you might have.

They’re Relaxing: At the end of a rock hard day, you’ll be pushed to find anything more pleasing to do than to climb into a nice warm bath. A shower is great and it does the cleaning job quick smart, but a bath is infinitely more suitable when it comes to some well-earned chill time. Can you lie down in a shower? Of course not. Take the stress out of your body. Love your bath and let your bath love you.

Heart Healthy: We all know that taking the stress out of our lives is good for the old ticker. A bath, as we’ve just mentioned, is great at helping us to unwind. You can see where we’re going with this. But a warm bath can actually help your heart in a variety of different ways. It can lower blood pressure, decrease arterial stiffness and much, much more…Just try not to make the water too hot. A really hot soak can actually pump your heart rate way up. And that’s just not what you’re going for here.

Relieves Muscles: When it comes to your body, the heart isn’t the only thing that could benefit from some quality time in the tub. Heat is a super solution when it comes to aching muscles, so submerging yourself in warm water for a period of time will help wash away any twinges you may be experiencing. And, if you feel like you need something a little extra to help banish those discomforts, why not throw in some bath additives to help things on their way?

Music & Munchies: You might be able to sing in the shower (and we do), but listening to music whilst you’re being attacked by thousands of water missiles is an all but pointless activity. In fact, doing anything at all other than taking a shower in a shower is impossible. But in a bath? Throw on some Madonna, eat grapes and guzzle some green tea.  This is supposed to be you time, remember. So do whatever you want to do. In fact…

Rubber Ducks: Yes. That’s right. We said it because you were thinking it. Nobody needs to know. It can be your little secret. Quack! Quack!

So, it turns out, much to our shame, that baths are actually really quite good. They’re relaxing, healthy and super-duper fun.

Does that mean that baths are better than showers?

We’re not sure. What do you think? Are you a shower person or a bath person? Do you favour a swift soak or an hour long dip? Let us know…Quack! Quack!