Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35168673›Full record

ReviewJournal of physiological anthropology2022

A review of Japanese-style bathing: its demerits and merits.

Yutaka Tochihara

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of physiological anthropology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Japanese Society of Hypertension Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension 2025 (JSH2025).Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026
    Guideline
  2. Safety and effectiveness of routine postpartum bathing in a bathtub: A prospective study in Japan.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026
    Article
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  14. Review
  15. Effects of bathing-induced changes in body temperature on sleep.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2023
    Article
  16. Cardiovascular physiological effects of balneotherapy: focused on seasonal differences.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2023
    Article
  17. The next stage of physiological anthropology.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2023
    Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Yutaka TochiharaDepartment of Human Science, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, 4-9-1 Shiobaru, Minami-ku, Fukuoka, 815-8540, Japan. tochihara@kyudai.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1136-6716
Kyushu University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Japanese-style bathing (JSB), which involves soaking in hot water up to the shoulders in deep bathtubs for a long time in the evening to night, is unique. Many experimental and epidemiological studies and surveys have shown that JSB improve sleep quality, especially shortens sleep onset latency in winter. In addition, repeated JSB lead the improvement of depressive symptoms. JSB is a simple and low-cost non-pharmacological measure to sleep difficulty in winter and mental disorders, especially for the elderly. On the contrary, drowning, while soaking in a bathtub, is the most common of accidental death at home in Japan. It is estimated that approximately 19,000 Japanese individuals die annually while taking a bath, mostly during winter, and most victims are elderly people. Elderly Japanese people tend to prefer a higher-risk JSB because the temperature inside the house during winter, especially the dressing room/bathroom temperature, is very low. Since the physiological thermal effect of the elderly associated with bathing is relatively lower among the elderly than the young, the elderly prefer to take a long hot bath. This elderly's favorite style of JSB results in larger increased blood pressure in dressing rooms and larger decreased in blood pressure during hot bathing. A sudden drop in blood pressure while immersed in the bathtub leads to fainting and drowning. Furthermore, elderly people are less sensitive to cold air or hot water, therefore, it is difficult to take appropriate measures to prevent large fluctuations in blood pressure. To ensure a safe and comfortable winter bathing, the dressing room/bathroom temperature needs to be maintained at 20 °C or higher, and several degrees higher would be recommended for the elderly.

Indexed as

BathsAgedBlood PressureHumansJapanSeasonsTemperatureBlood pressureColdElderlyJapanese-style bathingSleepSudden death

Identifiers

PMID35168673
PMCPMC8848820
OpenAlexW4212816585

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.