# Benefits of Air Baths? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 12, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731 "2022-04-12T18:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/1 "2022-04-12T18:22:58Z")
As you can [see](https://knowledgenuts.com/benjamin-franklin-liked-to-take-air-baths/), Benjamin Franklin used to take air baths. My question: is there _any_ (and note I said _any_) benefits to them? This article is a little skeptical. But they don’t have the final word. And, hey, nudists chime in. I at least would love to hear what you have to say on the matter. Yeah, at various points in my lifetime I’ve tried them (ironically not even aware of Franklin). And they are exhilarating. And I could also swear that they do make you feel refreshed and better. I look forward to your kindly replies 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/2 "2022-04-12T18:33:58Z")
I can find references that Franklin used to walk around in a cold room without any clothes on, and I personally know people who go swimming in pretty cold water every morning because they like to swim, but to get the full benefits as far as your circulation, you are supposed to sit in a hot sauna first before plunging into a cold pool (or rolling around in the snow, or whatever) As for nudism, sure everybody’s naked, but you can, maybe even should, sit on a towel; at least that seems more hygienic. I’m sure the sauna/hammam place has posted guidelines. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/3 "2022-04-12T20:41:51Z")
There are people who will tell you walking around nude is “healthful”, skin cancer aside. But other than boosting your vitamin D production I have trouble understanding the benefits. Does the fact that some people genuinely enjoy walking around nude count as a benefit? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/4 "2022-04-12T20:46:13Z")
Gotta air them bits’n’ puppies out sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/5 "2022-04-12T21:11:32Z")
In humid weather, and lacking the ability to actually clean yourself, I could definitely see the benefit of airing/drying yourself out. Swamp ass is real. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/6 "2022-04-12T21:28:43Z")
Well, it has the benefit of people making sure they knock first. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/7 "2022-04-12T21:41:32Z")
UV kills germs so, if you take off your clothes **and set them out in the sun** , that’s probably a reasonable way to get them a bit more clean of foreign germs. Likewise with your skin, if you **go outside** to be nude. If you just sit inside and you stack your clothes in the corner with all the dog fur, spiders, and poop molecules that have been brought in from outside - however - then the nudity part would probably not have been beneficial. If you live in modern day and have stacks of clean clothes available, though, there’s probably no benefit to getting naked vs just changing into something clean. Opening the windows is generally a good thing, then and now, to be clear. I was only discussing the nudity part. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/8 "2022-04-12T21:44:37Z")
Having read many of Franklin’s essays, I suspect he just enjoyed runnin’ around nekkid. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/9 "2022-04-12T21:48:19Z")
… And I don’t think Franklin did it for free. It was all about the Benjamins, then as now, amirite ? [Yeah. The fresh air, sunlight as disinfectant/UV thing was what I’d always heard] ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/10 "2022-04-13T21:32:28Z")
I was pretty sure I knew what an air bath, Benjamin Franklin style, was – being naked in the open air. I think a nice breeze was considered a definite bonus. However, to be sure I looked it up. Today, though, it seems “air bath” has a different meaning. From the Kohler website: > What is an air bath? > As the name suggests, an air bath **uses jets of air to deliver a full-body massage experience**. Warm air is pushed through a staggered airjet design, creating thousands of tiny, invigorating bubbles that surround your body to give you a sensation of weightlessness. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/11 "2022-04-14T23:17:24Z")
Inside my clothes, I’m always naked. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/12 "2022-04-14T23:59:44Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > UV kills germs so, if you take off your clothes **and set them out in the sun** , that’s probably a reasonable way to get them a bit more clean of foreign germs. Likewise with your skin, if you **go outside** to be nude. UV kills germs by damaging their DNA (and other biological molecules). A dose of UV that will have significant sterilizing effect can damage _your_ DNA too. UV is used to sterilize surfaces, but not usually skin. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/13 "2022-04-15T14:47:55Z")
That was my thinking as well- it would be useful to dry yourself out well every so often- kind of like not keeping your shoes on all the time is good for avoiding athlete’s foot. I would think you’d have to do it fairly frequently to get any real benefit- keeping yourself moist and funky for 47 out of 48 hours every couple of days would be materially the same as 100% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/benefits-of-air-baths/962731/14 "2022-04-15T16:28:22Z")
They conserve water?