Too tired to take a run? Who needs to? Research says that taking a hot bath might be just as effective as taking a run!

Dr. Steve Faulkner, a researcher at Loughborough University, says that taking a bath might be just as beneficial for your health as taking a run, it might even help prevent type 2 diabetes.

He explained that, even though a hot bath has always seemed so very relaxing, recent science has begun to discover how "passive heating" can cause improvements to people's health.

A hot bath and its effects on blood sugar and calorie-burning have been investigated in a study including dozens of people. During this study, half of the people relaxed in a tub for an hour, and the other half ran for an hour.

Running for an hour burned more calories than relaxing in a hot bath, but they discovered that relaxing in a tub at the temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit burned about the same amount of calories as a 30-minute walk.

The blood sugar response under both conditions was about the same.

So who needs a run, when you can just soak in a hot bath?