Bathing

Bathing is the immersion of the body, wholly or partially, usually in water, but often in another medium such as hot air. It is most commonly practised to cleanse, or for relaxation and leisure. Cleansing the body may be solely a component of personal hygiene, but is also a spiritual part of some religious rituals. Bathing is also sometimes used medically or therapeutically, as in hydrotherapy, ice baths, or the mud bath.

People bathe in water at temperatures ranging from very cold to very hot, or in appropriately heated air, according to custom or purpose.

Where indoor heated water is available, people bathe more or less daily, at comfortable temperatures, in a private bathtub or shower. Communal bathing, such as that in hammams, sauna, banya, Victorian Turkish baths, and sentō, fulfils the same purpose, in addition to its often having a social function.

Ritual religious bathing is sometimes referred to as immersion. This can be required after sexual intercourse or menstruation (Islam and Judaism), or as baptism (Christianity).

By analogy, the term "bathing" is also applied to relaxing activities in which the participant "bathes" in the rays of the sun (sunbathing) or in outdoor bodies of water, such as in sea bathing or wild swimming.

Although there is sometimes overlap, as in sea bathing, most bathing is usually treated as distinct from more active recreations like swimming.