Hot Tub Benefits

Simple Water Safety Steps that Can Save Lives

Pool season is on the horizon and adding an extra safety step around the water can make all the difference. Follow along with these safety tips to enjoy a fun, safe summer!  Stay Close, Be Alert and Watch Always watch children and never leave them unattended Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings Have a charged phone close by at all times If a child is missing, check the pool first Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors Learn and Practice Water Safety Skills Learn to swim and make sure kids do too Know how to perform CPR on children and adults Understand the basics of life saving so that you can assist in a pool emergency Have the Appropriate Equipment Install a fence of at least four feet in height around the perimeter of the pool or spa Use self-closing and self-latching gates Ensure all pools and spas have compliant drain covers Install an alarm on the door leading from the house to the pool Keep pool and spa covers in working order Have life-saving equipment such as life rings or reaching poles available for use

Avoid Fairs & Traveling Hot Tub Expo Shows

** CONSUMER ALERT ** WHERE’S THE SCARIEST PLACE TO BUY A HOT TUB? ANSWER: A FAIR OR TRAVELING HOT TUB EXPO HERE’S WHY: Fairs & Hot tub expos are typically advertised as “national events” and insinuate that all major manufactures are present. However, this is far from the truth. In reality, these expo events are set up quickly and ran by high-pressure sales staff who leave town and disappear as soon as the event is over never to be seen again.   DON’T GET TAKEN FOR A RIDE AT THE FAIR OR TRAVELING HOT TUB EXPO. HOLD ON TO YOUR WALLET You won’t find the world’s number one selling hot tub, Hot Spring Spas or Islander Pools & Spas at these pop-up expos. In the Capital District Islander operates two showrooms in Colonie and Ballston Spa.   YOU’LL FEEL SALES PRESSURE AT A FAIR OR TRAVELING EXPO Sales reps want to close deals as fast as they can to earn their commission. The claims and counterclaims you’ll hear for their products will boggle your mind. They’ll try to sell you what’s on hand, and if you order something like a customer color it could take months for delivery!   DON’T FALL FOR THE “THIS PRICE IS ONLY GOOD RIGHT NOW!” When the”fair” or  “expo” price says 50 percent off, chances are that’s their regular price you’re looking at. Frequently, fair or expo prices are even higher than the regular price so that the sellers can recoup the high cost of the booth and traveling salesmen.   DON’T BE LEFT WITHOUT A LOCAL COMPANY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE SERVICE One of the main reasons to avoid a fair or traveling expo is because when the event ends the fair or expo leaves too, and often without a local showroom or anyone to answer questions, much less provide service after the sale. That’s no way to buy a hot tub. Take your time when buying a hot tub. Take along these 9 questions to get you started:   Do you have a showroom in my local area where I can come for advice and issues? Can you provide reference and reviews about your hot tubs and swim spas? Do you have energy costs for an average size tub certified by an independent testing lab? What options do you have for water care? Do you offer Salt Water models? Is delivery a driveway drop-off or full service to the exact spot where I want it? Do you provide your own service or is it via a third party? Can you give me a copy of the warranty for this hot tub? What’s your cancellation policy? Can I get a refund of my deposit if I change my mind?   FINALLY: If you do shop a fair or traveling expo, we urge you to visit Islander Pools & Spas for a pressure-free experience to compare BEFORE you make any purchase. You will find that we have higher quality products at lower prices with local service! We have been here for over 55 years and will be here for you in the future!   CLICK TO SEE OUR CURRENT PROMOTION HOT TUB BUYERS GUIDE

HELP ME SLEEP: YOUR HOT TUB TO THE RESCUE!

A bad night’s sleep can leave you groggy, unfocused, and unable to be your best self the next day. When insomnia continues for months or even years, what was once a mild inconvenience can become a debilitating condition. Millions of Americans suffer from sleep loss, and many remedies exist to help them get the rest they need. While no one solution is perfect for everyone, many hot tub owners enthusiastically report that a short soak before bedtime is key to sound sleep. When you need help with sleep, a nightly hot tub ritual can help. “HELP ME SLEEP!” IS A GLOBAL PLEA If you search Google using the phrase “help me sleep,” you’ll find plenty of sleep tips and tricks from all over the world. Clearly, lack of sleep is a big problem for some people, regardless of where they live. In the United States, the problem is very serious. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than a third of American adults don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis. While the percentage of adults who don’t sleep well varies based on location, ethnicity, employment, and marital status, no group is entirely unaffected. When you don’t get enough sleep, you’re not yourself and can’t quite get up to speed the following day. Chronic sleep loss—regularly sleeping less than the recommended amount for your age group over an extended period of time—can increase stress and cause cognitive decline. Driving while fatigued is very dangerous. Working while fatigued can create safety issues in hazardous workplaces and costly errors even in relatively safe environments. Lack of sleep can also cause nervousness, depression, or mood swings. Many factors influence poor sleep, so for some sufferers, changing simple habits could help. According to Wayne Giles, M.D., Director of the CDC’s Division of Population Health, “Lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night; rising at the same time each morning; and turning off or removing televisions, computers, mobile devices from the bedroom, can help people get the healthy sleep they need.” Others may need to try alternative methods, including warm water immersion. USING YOUR HOT TUB TO HELP YOU SLEEP Hot tub owners know how to get the most out of their spas, including trying to improve sleep through warm water immersion. For many, this involves creating a daily hot tub ritual around regular activities, including sleep. Enjoying a hot soak about 90 minutes before bed will not only calm you, but also signal to your body that bedtime is near. After soaking in your hot tub, your body cools, and as your body temperature falls, you naturally get drowsy. Climbing into bed feeling calm and comfortable can help you fall asleep faster. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for better sleep, but by using a hot tub in combination with changing habits that might impede sleep, you may get the rest you need to always be your best self. For help with sleeplessness and related medical conditions, always consult your doctor. Hot Spring spas are engineered and manufactured to support a healthy, happy life. Each is designed for comfort and simplicity, and can be the cornerstone of your daily wellness ritual. To learn more about our hot tubs, click here. 

Maximize Your Daily Routine

You strive to be your best at work, at home, and at everything you do. Most days you’re satisfied with what you’ve accomplished, but there are times when you glance at the clock and realize it’s already 3:00 pm and you haven’t made a dent in your to-do list. If you need help getting things done, there’s no shortage of productivity tools available. There are apps to manage your schedule and share tasks, YouTube videos to demonstrate how to prioritize your time or organize your closet, and life coaches, workshops, and online courses to help you set and achieve goals. These productivity boosters are just one part of the equation. To perform at a consistently high level, the key is to build healthy, productive habits and stick with them until they become an established part of your daily routine. Do’s and Don’ts for creating a routine you can stick to. Maintaining good habits isn’t always easy. How many times have you congratulated yourself for getting into a positive new routine, only to revert to old patterns a few days later? So many things, trivial or significant, can knock you off track – a bad night’s sleep, a traffic jam on the way to work, a sick child, a global pandemic. Whatever the reason, you’ll miss a day, then a couple more, and suddenly you’re back where you started — and the habit you felt so good about is now just a memory. Why does this happen, and how can you avoid it? A successful and productive routine begins with thoughtful planning. As you create and execute your plan, be on the lookout for these common pitfalls: Avoiding these common productivity roadblocks will help you stay on track as you work toward your goals. Planning out your day will not only help you organize your time and maintain healthy habits but can provide you with a sense of control and reduce stress, even during uncertain times. How a Hot Tub Can Make You More Productive. We believe in creating a healthy, sustainable routine that allows you to balance work, family, and your own personal well-being. Having a hot tub at home can help. Starting your day with a warm, invigorating soak in your Hot Spring spa can deliver the focus and vitality you need to give your best to whatever is on your to-do list. And that’s not all! Here are just some of the ways your hot tub can help you stick to your routine, feel better, and make progress toward your work, fitness, and family goals: To get the most benefit from your hot tub, use it every day. After a couple of weeks, we’re willing to bet it will become a routine you wouldn’t dream of missing! Morning, afternoon, or evening — whatever time you choose, a warm soak can help you be at your best and improve your performance at work and at home.

Increase Mobility

Arthritis Benefits If you are one of the 46 million Americans affected by arthritis, soaking in your Hot Spring spa can help ease your pain. Joint inflammation from arthritis causes swelling, pain and stiffness, often resulting in the loss of joint movement or function. Immersion in warm water produces hydrostatic pressure on the body that results in reduced joint inflammation and increased mobility*. Spas give you the soothing warm water and buoyancy needed to release tension and improve your quality of life. For even more relief, use the Arthritis Foundation’s hot tub tips to gently exercise and practice flexibility as you soak. The use of hot water or heat is recommended for many people with arthritis but not all. Always consult your physician. For more information regarding arthritis and the health benefits of hot tubs, visit the Arthritis Foundation website. *Source: (June 2012) Pool & Spa Marketing, The Science Behind the Soak: Health Benefits You Should Be Sharing with Your Customers by Dr. Bruce E. Becker

A Better Night’s Sleep

According to the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 132 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia more than one night a week. Find out how spending time in your spa before going to bed can lead to a deeper and more peaceful sleep.

Hydromassage Benefits

There are three factors at work in a spa: heat, buoyancy and massage. Working together, they create a totally relaxing hydromassage experience. The heat in a hot tub raises your body temperature, increasing circulation. The buoyancy of the hot tub reduces your body weight by 90%*, relieving pressure on muscles and joints with a relaxing sensation of weightlessness. Through relaxing massage, our customers have reported that they experience the following benefits: Relief of tension in muscles and joints Temporary relief of aches and pains Decreased anxiety and stress Total, full-body relaxation *Body weight reduced by 90% with neck-depth immersion.

Sleep Better

Why do I sleep better after a soak in the hot tub? Many people struggle to wind down completely at the end of the day, in order to get a complete and restful night of sleep. In fact, in his groundbreaking book, Undoing Perpetual Stress, Dr. Richard O’Connor makes a solid case that the human brain and nervous system just cannot process the constant stress that most Americans absorb every day. He laments that the health-care establishment hasn’t been able to adequately help patients with sleeping problems. And, our sleep problems are being compounded, too, by the light-emitting iPads, iphones and televisions we think we’re relaxing with at night and even in bed. As a result, 132 million Americans have trouble sleeping at least one night each week[1] and the sleep aid industry earned $34 billion dollars in 2014 (a 50% increase from 2008’s $23 billion dollars.)[1] Fortunately, we have good news. If you’re considering getting a hot tub to help you relax and even sleep, the science stands behind you. A warm soak in the hot tub can improve circulation which can help sleep. Warm water raises our body temperature, which in turn dilates the blood vessels, improving circulation. Oxygen rich blood flow to the organs and extremities helps every part of you feel better because cell growth proceeds more efficiently. Improved circulation helps you sleep because it fuels “the relaxation response.” With cells and organs properly nourished with oxygen and nutrients and the heart beating in a steady, reliable way: Breathing rate slows, relaxing you naturally, the production of stress hormones decreases, and muscles relax. All of these physiological changes can promote better sleep. Sleep specialists push insomniacs to develop a night-time, wind-down routine involving darkness to work with our natural brain wiring. For decades, these hard working researchers have known and broadcast the fact that light affects the brain, sleep patterns and mood. Their (and the insomniac’s) biggest enemy now is artificial light, delivered after sundown. So to get your best sleep, put the device down and get into your hot tub. Turn the lights down or off. Listen to relaxing music. Take a friend or loved one with you for light, pleasant conversation. Alone time is a great strategy to wind down. Make this a nightly ritual, and sleep like a baby. [1] Mackay, Maureen. “Sleepless in America.”  www.thefiscaltimes.com

Tips for Your Next Hot Tub Date Night

It’s Friday night. You promised that special someone a romantic date night but you’ve just sat in an hour of traffic and your back hurts. Getting gussied up to go out is the last thing you want to do. So skip the dinner and movie and head back to your Hot Spring hot tub for an ultra-romantic and relaxing date night that’s sure to make your loved one feel special. You could make a custom invitation and line the path to the hot tub with rose petals, or you could just keep it simple. Here’s what you’ll need: Food and Drinks – Love is in the air so crack open a bottle of your favorite sparkly beverage to kick off the night. Drinks are great but they’re even better when accompanied by some light refreshments. No need to overthink it – you can pick up something ready-made from the grocery store deli like a meats and cheeses platter, or you can go straight for the sweet stuff, like mini cheesecakes or brownies. But if you’re really feeling ambitious, you can prepare something a little more exotic, like Cooked Oysters with Burnt Butter. Music – Nothing sets the mood like a great soundtrack to your evening so be sure to get the tunes going. Pick out a curated playlist from one of the many stations on Slacker Radio (link to slacker.com) or create your own custom playlist on Spotify (link to Spotify.com). Use this opportunity to create the ultimate Romance playlist to let your partner know how you really feel. Whether you prefer Barry White, Jimmy Buffet, or Journey, make sure to set the right tone of the night with some serious love ballads. Lighting – If music sets the mood, lighting creates the atmosphere. Turn down the lights and create a romantic setting by using mood lighting. You can use dimly-lit paper lanterns, tea light candles, or, flameless candles. Now that you’ve got everything set up, it’s time to reconnect with that special person. Talk about the week, the moon, the future – the sky’s the limit and there are no distractions tonight. It’s just you, your loved one, and your Hot Sprint hot tub. Enjoy the moment!