There’s nothing like taking a hot bath to relax after a long day. Now, experts are saying that doing this actually burns as much calories as a thirty minute walk does!

A team of scientists from Loughborough University just carried out a study that came to the conclusion that hot bathes will soothe your muscles and help you shed weight. For their study, the researchers compared the effects of cycling for an hour and then having a hot bath for the same amount of time.

The study was divided into two parts, the first of which involved volunteers having monitors connected to them to record their blood sugar levels. This allowed the scientists to see how their metabolisms were being affected.

The volunteers were placed in a hot bath at a temperature of 40-degree Celsius (104 F) for an hour. Two hours later, they were given a hot meal.

In part two of the study, the volunteers cycled for one hour. The experts found that the energy expenditure had increased by 80 percent, but it did not show the same amount as calories burnt while cycling. They concluded that a hot bath sheds the same amount of calories that a 30-minute walk does, which is around 140 calories.

These results are helpful for people with metabolic diseases because it’s difficult for them to exercise. However, the researchers made sure to warn having a hot bath is not the answer for not exercising. Hot baths may burn calories but does not improve fitness or overall health like exercise do.

So next time you decide to take a hot bath, know that you’ll be losing weight in the process!