Why Soaking In The Tub Is So Much Better For You Than Taking A Shower

Bathers have a bad rep.

All they want to do is relax and decrease the level of anxiety in their lives, and for years, strangers have been doggin' them all over the internet like, "EW, GROSS. YOU'RE BATHING IN YOUR OWN DIRT, YOU FILTH SPONGE!"

TBH, you're killing their vibe.

Criticizing a bather for their practice is like storming into a room full of high people and yelling, "THE COPS ARE HERE!"

It isn't fair, and the truth is, there are a lot more reasons to love a bath than there are to love a shower.

Maybe you all need to open up your minds and find the bather within.

Here are five reasons baths are so good for your mind, body and soul:

1. They're fantastic for your skin.

First of all, baths are NOT — I repeat, NOT — bad for your skin. In fact, you should think of a bath as treating your skin with relaxation, which works from the inside out.

Pretty deep, huh?

Also, you can add epsom salts, bath bombs or mineral salts for an all-over soak treatment.

Does a shower do that? No, it doesn't.

Showers are a full-time job for minimum wage. Showers are a lie.

2. They delay aging.

Baths lower your cortisone levels, a stress hormone that can contribute to premature aging.

Do I want to delay the look of death from mutating my flawless fucking skin? YES, YES I DO. THANK YOU.

Dermatologist Whitney Bowe, MD, told Refinery29 that the best way to bathe is to try the soak-and-smear technique, which sounds pretty gross at first.

But, it actually just means putting on lotion or oil after a bath to make sure your skin doesn't get dehydrated or dry out when all the water evaporates.

3. They are fun.

Showers feel like a chore, something you have to check off your endless to-do list.

A bath is like an EVENT, a party you throw for yourself that you're still honored to attend.

I love sitting in the bath with my favorite podcast, lighting a candle or two and forgetting I have a job, a relationship or even pets to answer to.

I drop into the tub, and I just melt the fuck away into a zen-like state until I forget I am a person.

It's not raging at the club, but it's fun for me.

4. They are totally as hygienic as showers.

Unless you are rolling around in a pile of human waste or mud, or are a professional athlete covered in sweat, the dirt from your skin separates from you when you get into the bath.

If you're so dirty you can see it around you, maybe switch to a shower.

But as long as you are a relatively clean person, you are not literally bathing in your own dirt.

It's separating from you. You can literally see it doing so.

5. It actually forces you to just sit still.

Taking a bath is about as close to meditating as I will come in my lifetime.

I may not be able to do it for more than 10 minutes because of my serious aversion to sitting still, but at least the warm water of a bath is calming enough to make it possible.

And that precious time to myself does wonders for my psychological well-being. To double the dosage, I'll listen to Eckhart Tolle books on tape.

Trust me, the man is a meditative songbird, just lulling your thoughts and expanding your mind simultaneously.

This debate is as old as time, but I will say that I love a good bath.

And I just hope this short manifesto has opened your own mind to the wonders of bathing in much the same way as, say, a good bath could.