In Hindu way of life, bathing is ritual. There are timing prescribed. Dos and Don’ts are prescribed. For educated rational, this is regressive. Actually, we really don’t have संयम developed due to faulty education. There is no दिनचर्या developed during childhood. Due to this, life loses prana early and following rituals or rules or habits become impossible.

Take for example: Don’t eat before bath.

1. Do not have a meal before bathing

Now, this too much to expect.

विना स्नानेन न भुज्जीत ।

Meaning : One should not have a meal before bathing.

Due to the presence of Raja-Tama-predominant impurity on the body before bathing, eating food results in transfer of Raja-Tama-predominant waves into the body

Bathing imparts purity to the body. It means complete cleanliness from within as well as outside. Bathing while chanting God’s Name helps attain such purity. Chanting brings about internal purification, while a bath brings about external purification. Due to the Raja-Tama-predominant impurity on the body before a bath, eating food in an impure state of the body amounts to being responsible for transfer of Raja-Tama– predominant waves into the body. Under the influence of such Raja-Tama-predominant waves, the body may get affected by negative energies distress and hence, it is said that we should not eat before bathing.

Similarly, hot water bath is prescribed before sleep. And this was norm in our families.

दीपनं वृष्यमायुष्यं स्नानं ऊर्जाबलप्रदम्
कण्डूमलश्रमस्वेदतन्द्रातृड्दाहपाप्मजित्

Bathing
·      improves digestion,
·      acts as aphrodisiac,
·      prolongs life,
·      increases enthusiasm and strength.
·      removes itching
·      helps to get rid of dirt,
·      exhauston
·      sweat,
·      stupor / tiredness,
·      excessive thirst,
·      burning sensation
·      and sins.

उष्णाम्बुना अधकायस्य परिषेको बलावहः
तेनैव तूत्तमाङ्गस्य बलहृत्केशचक्षुषाम्

pouring warm water over the body
·      bestows strength,
but the same over the head,
·      makes for loss of strength of the hair and eyes.

स्नानमर्दितनेत्रास्य कर्णरोगातिसारिषु
आध्मानपीनसाजीर्णभुक्तवत्सु च गार्हितम्

bath is contra- indicated for those suffering from

·      facial paralysis,
·      diseases of the eyes, mouth and ears,
·      diarrhoea,
·      flatulence,
·      rhinitis,
·      indigestion and
·      who have just  taken food.

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Here is the modern research supporting bathing ritual for sound sleep. Respect roots, live traditionally and save self from unknown health issues!

Research

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Take a Warm Bath 1-2 hours Before Bedtime to Get Better Sleep, Researchers Find

iomedical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin may have found a way for people to get better shuteye. Systematic review protocols — a method used to search for and analyze relevant data — allowed researchers to analyze thousands of studies linking water-based passive body heating, or bathing and showering with warm/hot water, with improved sleep quality. Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering found that bathing 1-2 hours before bedtime in water of about 104-109 degrees Fahrenheit can significantly improve your sleep.

“When we looked through all known studies, we noticed significant disparities in terms of the approaches and findings,” said Shahab Haghayegh, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and lead author on the paper. “The only way to make an accurate determination of whether sleep can in fact be improved was to combine all the past data and look at it through a new lens.”

The paper explaining their method was recently published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews.