洗一次热水澡相当于散步三十分钟?

Some things just sound too good to be true, like coffee supposedly making you live longer and chocolate making you smarter. In a reasonable Universe, such outcomes are unreasonably, unthinkably good.

有些东西听起来美好得不像现实，比如咖啡能够让你更长寿，而巧克力能让你更聪明。在一个理性的宇宙中，这些结果无疑令人十分高兴。

Here's another one you might have heard of. Does a hot bath really burn as many calories as taking a 30-minute walk? It would be nice if it were true, honestly it would. Think about it: you get to take a nice, relaxing soak, while simultaneously reaping the benefits of moderate exercise. It's win-win.

还有一件事你可能早就听说过，即洗一次热水澡真的相当于散步半个小时。这是真的吗?如果它是真的就好了，老实说它确实是真的。想想吧：你放松地洗了个澡，同时还能得到锻炼带来的好处，这简直就是双赢。

A study released last year by exercise physiologist Steve Faulkner from Loughborough University in the UK found the mere act of taking a hot bath reduced mens' peak blood sugar levels while causing their energy expenditure to spike significantly.

去年拉夫堡大学运动生理学家Steve Faulkner做的一项研究发现，人们只需要洗一次热水澡，其血糖峰值就能降低，同时能量消耗明显提升。

"One of the first things that we were looking at is the energy expenditure while you're in the bath," Faulkner told the BBC in 2016, "and what we found was an 80 percent increase in energy expenditure just as a result of sitting in the bath for the course of an hour."

2016年，Faulkner在接受BBC的采访时曾表示：“我们最先注意到人们在洗澡时的能量消耗，人们泡一个小时的热水澡，其能量消耗会增加百分之八十。”

So, there are two things to be aware of upfront.

我们需要直面两大事实。

As stated, in the experiment the bath lasted for a whole hour, so you need some time on your hands if you want to try this at home.

你需要连续洗一个小时的热水澡，身体能量消耗才会提升。因此你在家尝试的时候，需要给自己多一点时间。

The other is temperature. The study, which involved 14 men wearing glucose monitors, saw the temperature of the bath kept at a constant, hot 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), so a lukewarm soak would produce different, and lesser results.

其次是温度。该研究涉及14名男士，他们需要佩戴血糖监测仪待在40摄氏度的洗澡水中，因此温热的洗澡水可能会带来不同的效果。

But why does it work at all?

为什么洗热水澡会带来这样的效果呢?

Faulkner thinks the answer lies in what are called heat shock proteins – which we produce in both exercise, and, as the results show, passive heating, where body temperature is raised independently of exercise.

Faulkner认为答案在热休克蛋白中，当我们在锻炼和炎热环境中，身体就会产生这种蛋白质。

"Heat shock proteins are molecules that are made by all cells of the human body in response to stresses," Faulkner explained in The Conversation last year."In the long term, raised levels of these proteins may help the function of insulin and improve blood sugar control."

Faulkner解释道：“热休克蛋白是人体细胞在应对压力时产生的分子。长期来看，这些蛋白增加的程度也许能够帮助胰岛素起作用，提升血糖控制水平。”

These kinds of proteins are known to be lower in people with diabetes, and Faulkner says the results suggest passive heating could be a useful technique to help people with type 2 diabetes control their glucose levels, in addition to helping with weight management generally.

在糖尿病人身上，这类蛋白质含量更低。Faulkner认为结果表明炎热环境也许能够有效帮助二型糖尿病病人控制血糖，同时帮助他们控制体重。

Not that the researchers are saying everybody should quit their gym memberships and just take up bathing as a substitute.

这并不意味着研究人员们建议所有人退掉健身卡，而选择每天不断泡热水澡。

While the men in the study burned an average of almost 140 calories per hour while taking their hot bath, they got a much better result from cycling for the same length of time – using up the equivalent of 630 calories.

虽然该研究的男性参与者在洗热水澡时，每个小时平均燃烧140大卡的热量，但他们在同样的时间长度内骑自行车燃烧的热量更多——相当于630大卡。

Because of that almost-fivefold disparity, the researchers suggest passive heating should mostly be recommended for people whose health considerations for whatever reason make it difficult for them to engage in physical exercise.

由于这种悬殊高达五倍之多，研究人员们建议持续洗热水澡控制血糖的方式只适用于那些无法锻炼的人。

In those cases, this could be the next best thing to obtaining the benefits of moderate exercise – and you can catch up on your reading at the same time. Not to mention getting clean, and just getting away from the world for a while.

洗热水澡应该是未来人们获取锻炼好处的方式之一，并且人们在洗澡的时候还能看书。更别提在泡澡时能够洗干净自己，同时远离世界一段时间。

In fact, if you have the means – a bathtub and 60 minutes with nowhere to be – we'd recommend preparing yourself a nice hot one right now. Immerse yourself, relax, and – now that we know the science – feel the burn.

事实上，如果你有条件——一个浴缸和长达60分钟的空闲时间，那么我们建议你立即泡个热水澡。浸湿自己，放松，现在你能够感觉到身体里的能量在燃烧。