A BIT ABOUT ME

I’ve been writing about wellbeing for 25 years, and in that time I’ve been to hundreds of spas around the world. If we understand how a nation’s people bathe, we can learn and tap into their culture. For example, a Turkish Hammam or Japanese Onsen doesn’t compare to the good old British bath, where we just get in and get out. We Britons need to become much better at relaxing.

THE NAKED TRUTH

Having a bath is an opportunity for us to be totally alone but in this day and age, we are terrified of being on our own and have to distract ourselves with social media, email, work, deadlines or the omnipresent “to-do” list. What we really need to understand is we are not the enemy. When we take time out and let it all go, sitting naked in a bath, that’s when our best solutions arise, because we get out of the way of ourselves.

EARLY BATH

Don’t see a bath as an end-of day scenario. We use our stress hormones morning, noon and night now and, if we’re quite anxious as a person, a morning bath is worth thinking about. In the morning, cortisol gets us up and out, so why wait until we’re frazzled to wind down? With an early bath, we can start the day calm and relaxed.

FEELING HOT, HOT, HOT

This is a great tip for sleeping well. Run a bath as warm as you can bear and get in for 15-20 minutes. Use something relaxing (lavender oil, a candle or breathing deeply), chill, then get out. Dry off, put on your pyjamas and then try to get some cool air on to you – even if that means stepping outside for a few seconds. This lowers your body temperature, which in turn aids the soporific sleepiness. This temperature spike and drop is great for people with insomnia and it’s almost guaranteed to make you feel sleepy.

SALT OF THE EARTH

I love salts, muds and clays because they are from the earth and rich in minerals such as magnesium, potassium and sodium. They’re fantastic for the body, mind and skin and boast negative bionic charges which can be very good for screen detoxing and just generally grounding us

Bathe by Suzanne Duckett is out now (Lagom, £16.99)