Sure, spas help ease muscle and joint pain. But did you know they can help you get a good night's sleep as well? According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 132 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders including mild to chronic insomnia, pauses in breathing and snoring. The poll found that 48% of women and 38% of men suffer from insomnia more than one night a week. This number is on the rise as evidenced by the growing number of sleep disorder centers across the nation (approximately 3,000 in the U.S. today). According to a sleep therapy center in Louisville, KY, insomnia is the second most prevalent reason people go to the doctor (after pain).

Sleep researchers believe that many cases of insomnia can be traced to hectic, stressful lifestyles lived by basically healthy people. The results of sleep deprivation are varied and may cause battered nerves, grogginess, lapses in memory, depression, and erratic mood swings.

So how can you help your body enter a deep sleep? According to a recent study in the scientific journal Sleep, a drop in body temperature can help to ease your body into a deeper, more relaxing sleep. Therefore it is suggested that you soak in very hot water (103° F) approximately 90 minutes before bedtime. This causes the body's internal thermostat to pull your temperature down, enabling sleep to set in with more ease. An ideal way to achieve this is to take a 15-minute soak in a spa. This therapeutic use of warm water is called hydromassage. The beauty of a spa-induced sleep is that it is a natural remedy, unlike alternative sleeping aids such as prescription drugs, over-the-counter remedies and alcohol—all of which can make you feel groggy and have other adverse side effects.