A warm bath is often just what you need after a long day — especially if your muscles are sore or feeling tight from a workout. If you want a side of health benefits with your next bath to help you relax and recharge, try adding a scoop of Epsom salts to your bathwater.
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Not a salt for food, Epsom salt is named after a mineral compound discovered in the early 17th century in a salt spring in the small town of Epsom, just south of London. Recognizing Epsom's water had restorative powers, visitors began coming to drink it for its laxative capabilities. Bathing in it achieved even more therapeutic benefits, from relieved muscle cramps to diminished headache pain to reduced inflammation.
Magnesium and sulfur are easily absorbed through your skin, which is why soaking in hydrated magnesium sulfate — Epsom salt — is so beneficial for maintaining optimal levels of these important minerals.
Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body, and it's required for the healthy function of most cells in your body, but is especially important for your heart, kidneys and muscles. Sulfur is the third most abundant mineral in your body, based on percentage of total body weight. While close to half of it can be found in your muscles, skin and bones, sulfur plays important roles in hundreds of physiological processes.
Magnesium sulfate has been recognized for its ability to relieve constipation, as well as to improve: heart and circulatory health, joint protein formation, blood clots and blood pressure, migraine headache pain, stress, nutrient absorption, inflammation, pain and muscle cramps, and the ability to eliminate toxins.
Additional Epsom salt benefits include easing foot pain, including ingrown toenails, sunburn pain, psoriasis, fibromyalgia and arthritis pain (due to inflammation) and even insomnia.
To take an Epsom salt bath:
- Run warm water in your bath tub, and dissolve about 2 cups of Epsom salt into the tub
- Step in and soak for 15-20 minutes
- Add an essential oil such as bergamot oil, if you’d like, and relax
- Rinse both yourself and the tub afterward