Sauna, The Easy Way To Sweat Your Way To Health and Longevity

The Bottom Line

Sauna health benefits include lowered risk of cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease along with increased longevity.

Summary

If there is one theme that appears again and again in the scientific literature, it is that pulses of temporary stress can enhance health and longevity. This stress can come from fasting, exercise, what we eat, or even temperature changes. Sauna bathing is one of these stressors that does the body wonders.

What is Sauna?

A sauna is typically a small room or building designed as a place to experience high temperatures. A typical sauna runs at 140 – 212 F. It is usually dry heat but humidity can be added if desired. An infrared sauna is a special type of sauna that uses infrared light to create radiant heat. Infrared heat penetrates the body more deeply than warmed air in a traditional sauna so you can sweat just as much at a lower temperature. Infrared saunas are not usually as hot as your standard sauna, they typically run between 110 and 130 F.

Sauna vs. Steam Room

Both sauna and steam room provide a temporary stressor in the form of heat. So they both have lots of benefits for health and longevity. The biggest difference between a sauna and a steam room is humidity. Sauna is typically dry heat, although you can increase the humidity if you desire. While a steam room is always humid. The heat in a steam room is created by a generator filled with boiling water whereas the dry heat in a sauna is produced from hot rocks or a stove. The temperature of a steam room is typically slightly cooler than a standard sauna at 100-115 F but with 100% humidity.

When it comes to deciding between a sauna, an infrared sauna, or a steam room, the most important thing is to use what is available to you and pick something you enjoy and will stick with. The benefits of heat therapy all come down to consistency.

Health Benefits of Sauna

A typical sauna runs at 140 – 212 F. As little as 5-20 minutes in this hot air increases blood flow to the skin, muscles, and bone marrow. Want to stave off dementia? Prevent cardiovascular disease? Boost the immune system? Or simply live longer? Then it is time to get your sweat on.

Here’s how it works. When you expose your body to hot temperatures, the body’s reaction is to try and cool you off – blood flow changes. Blood flow is increased to the skin, muscles, and bone marrow to increase sweating and cooling. Repeated exposure to hot temperatures, like a sauna, can even create similar adaptations as exercise (Heinonen and Laukkanen 2017).

Increases Blood Flow to Muscles

Sauna increases blood flow to muscles which improves the muscle’s ability to contract and recover from resistance training. This increase in blood flow can even eliminate some of the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting (Racinais et al. 2016). Even more impressive, increased blood flow to muscles from sauna use can improve glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetics.

Research also shows the benefits of sauna after a workout. Whether it be an endurance workout or a strength workout, there are benefits to jumping in the sauna afterward. One study found that sitting in a sauna after an endurance workout improved endurance performance and increased blood volume after just three weeks. Furthermore, another study found that sitting in a sauna (this study looked at infrared sauna which penetrates more deeply than traditional sauna) improved recovery after a workout.

Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Similar to exercise, heat exposure from sauna improves endothelial function, improves arterial stiffness, and lowers blood pressure (Laukkanen et al. 2018). Healthy blood vessels deliver a double boost to health by reducing the risk of both cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease. Even more important, regular sauna use (4-7 times per week) can reduce Alzheimer’s disease risk by 66% and cardiovascular disease risk by 62% (Laukkanen et al. 2017).

Increases Longevity and Improves Immune Function

In addition to lowering disease risk, regular sauna use increases longevity. While it is yet to be determined exactly how this happens, there are a few sauna health benefits proven to contribute to a long and healthy life. In addition to improving blood vessel function, regular sauna use also improves total cholesterol along with blood lipid levels (Pilch et al. 2010). It improves heart rate variability, a crucial measure of stress (Gayda et al. 2012). It boosts immune function and can even lowers susceptibility to colds and infections (Pilch et al. 2013). Furthermore, sauna use gives the overall system a boost by increasing antioxidant enzymes and lowering oxidative stress, a significant contributor to aging and disease (Pilch et al. 2014).

Don’t want to wait for years to experience the benefits of the sauna? In addition to the many long term benefits, there are also immediate sauna health benefits. Heat exposure can stimulate neurogenesis, the growth, and development of new neurons, improving cognition now while protecting against dementia down the road (Matsuzaki et al. 2009).

How To Implement

Start with something you will stick with. Just one session can give you the sauna health benefits. Start with 5-20 minute sessions. The good news is that your body will adapt and your heat tolerance will improve over time. The most important thing is to stick with it.

How Long to Stay in Sauna?

The ideal time to stay in the sauna is 20 minutes, 4-7 times per week. This is the sweet spot most researchers find the best results with. But you may need to work up to staying in the sauna for a full 20 minutes. Start with the goal of staying in for 5 minutes and as your body adapts and your heat tolerance improves, increase your time in the sauna.

For an extra boost in longevity and disease prevention, combine sauna use with exercise. This combination appears to have an additive effect. This study found that those who did both cardio exercise and used the sauna had a lower risk of death than those who either just exercise or just use the sauna.

Is it Healthy to Use Sauna Every Day?

While using the sauna every day is not necessary to experience the benefits, it is generally safe to use every day. Most studies found the health benefits of sauna with use only four times per week.

What are the Risks of Sauna?

Sauna use is generally safe for everyone. However, use caution if you have unstable coronary artery disease or ischemic heart failure. Sauna use can also cause a drop in blood pressure and dehydration. To minimize these risks, avoid alcohol use while using the sauna; this can increase the risk of dehydration, blood pressure drops, and arrhythmia. Limit your time in the sauna and work up to a full 20 minutes. Drink plenty of water and avoid using the sauna if you are not feeling well.

If you are looking for another way to improve health by stressing the system, check out my article on fasted exercise. Nothing quite stresses the system like pushing through a tough workout without eating first.