Sauna Culture
Why Sauna ?
There are many possible answers to this question.
Sauna and other modes of making the body sweat have been practiced around the world for millennia. And bathers’ motives have varied widely over time: from cleansing toxins from the body and boosting the immune system to strengthening community and conducting diplomacy, inducing trance states and performing spiritual rites, and simply relaxing in deeply penetrating warmth.
For many of us in the modern world, the practice of taking a sauna bath is closely linked with the relief of aches, pains, and many other physical ailments as well as with the alleviation of mental and emotional stress.
Traditional wisdom on the health benefits of sauna has long since been backed by scientific studies endorsing the effectiveness of regular sweats.
Physical And Mental Health Benefits Of Sauna
Beneficial effects of regular sauna bathing have been studied comprehensively with regard to reducing the symptoms of the following ailments. Sweating has also been shown to help with the prevention of contracting some of the diseases in this list.
Common Flu
Hypertension
High Blood Pressure
Cardiovascular Disease
Impaired Lung Function (asthma, chronic breathing problems, pneumonia)
Dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease
Blood Pressure Ailments
Rheumatic Diseases
Systemic Inflammation
Fibromyalgia
Depression
Lyme Disease
Below, we list a number of articles and academic research papers on the effects of sauna bathing on the human body.
Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of
Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence
Beyond pleasure and relaxation, emerging evidence suggests
that sauna bathing has several health benefits, which include
reduction in the risk of vascular diseases such as high blood
pressure, cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and neurocognitive
diseases; nonvascular conditions such as pulmonary
diseases including common flu; mortality; treatment of specific
skin conditions; as well as pain in conditions such as rheumatic
diseases and headache.
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30275-1/fulltext#sec4
Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events
Increased frequency of sauna bathing is associated with a reduced risk of Sudden Cardiac Death, Coronary Heart Disease, Cardiovascular Diseases, and all-cause mortality. Further studies are warranted to establish the potential mechanism that links sauna bathing and cardiovascular health.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2130724
Let’s repeat this: “Reduced risk of […] All-CAUSE MORTALITY” – Sign me up ! (Link to BOOK PAGE)
Sauna use linked to longer life, fewer fatal heart problems
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland tracked 2,300 middle-aged men for an average of 20 years. They categorized the men into three groups according to how often they used a sauna each week. The men spent an average of 14 minutes per visit baking in 175° F heat. Over the course of the study, 49% of men who went to a sauna once a week died, compared with 38% of those who went two to three times a week and just 31% of those who went four to seven times a week. Frequent visits to a sauna were also associated with lower death rates from cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Effects of thermal therapy combining sauna therapy and underwater exercise in patients with fibromyalgia.
Researchers at the American College of Rheumatology conducted a 12-week long study where patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia underwent a combination of sauna therapy and under-water exercise. All participants reported significantly lower levels of pain and other symptoms as a result of the treatment. The reported reduction in pain was as much as 77%, and the improvements in the participants’ health remained rather stable even six months later when a follow-up study was done.
From: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21742283
Regarding Lyme Disease:
Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum: a comparison of functional genomics, environmental adaptations, and pathogenic mechanisms
“The low tolerance of spirochetes for high temperatures is well known and may explain in part the restricted distribution of B. burgdorferi to temperate latitudes and its absence in the tropics, where infected ticks may be exposed to high temperatures detrimental to spirochete survival.
Interestingly, the thermal sensitivity of T. palladium was exploited in the early 1900s prior to the discovery of penicillin by using fever therapy with malaria or relapsing fever infection to treat patients with general paresis.”
Read the entire article in the Journal Of Clinical Investigation at: https://www.jci.org/articles/view/12484
Antibiotics and Increased Temperature against Borrelia burgdorferi in Vitro
We cultured Borrelia burgdorferi at different temperatures, alone and in combination with antibiotics. The susceptibility of all strains to penicillin and ceftriaxone was increased up to 16-fold by an elevation of temperature from 36 degrees C to 38 degrees C.
These in vitro data suggest that elevated body temperature may be beneficial during antimicrobial treatment of Lyme disease. This may be particularly important in tissues where high concentrations of antibiotics are difficult to achieve. [Note: 38C = 100.4F]
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00365549609049067
Mental and Cognitive Health Benefits
Sauna Use May Lower Your Risk of Dementia
In an age when Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia, is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.,4 simple tools to help with prevention are crucial. Sauna use, it turns out, may be one such option.
Finnish researchers evaluated medical records from more than 2,300 men who were part of the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease (KIHD) study, tracking their health for an average of 20 years.
Men who used the sauna four to seven times a week had a 66 percent lower risk for dementia, and a 65 percent lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease, compared to men who used the sauna once a week.5 The average length of each sauna was about 15 minutes.
Are Saunas good for your brain? https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/12/sauna-health-benefits.aspx
Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged Finnish men.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27932366
Can Sitting in a Sauna Ease Depression?
If you struggle with depression or anxiety, have you ever wondered why that sauna or hot bath seems to make you feel better?
Or have you ever marveled at how many people seemed to be almost addicted to doing yoga in unbelievably hot and stuffy rooms (i.e. hot yoga)?
Our research team thinks we have discovered an answer to both these questions. And the answer is simple: Short periods of elevated body temperature (hyperthermia) can be an antidepressant.
https://blogs.webmd.com/mental-health/20160707/can-sitting-in-a-sauna-ease-depression
How To Use Saunas To Manage Chronic Pain
One way saunas may benefit people with fibromyalgia is by improving elasticity in muscle tendons, according to research by Dr. Peter Rowe, director of the Chronic Fatigue Clinic at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. This increased elasticity could help people with chronic pain feel more agile.
https://arizonapain.com/how-to-use-saunas-to-manage-chronic-pain/
Why Saunas Are Ridiculously Good for You
A visit to the sauna is more than just relaxing; it seems to have real heart and cardiovascular benefits, as well. A group of researchers from the University of Eastern Finland—who previously found that people who regularly used saunas had lower rates of hypertension, cardiac death and dementia compared to infrequent users—now find in a new study that sauna bathing can have a direct effect on blood pressure, heart rate and vascular health.
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.