News — Going to the sauna offers the prospect of a cozy wooden space, where both mind and body can shelter from the pressures of daily life. The enjoyable aspects of this centuries-old ancestral practice have are known around the world.
Now scientists have confirmed what tradition has long held to be true: the benefits of saunas go far beyond mere relaxation in a warm environment. These benefits include lower blood pressure, higher energy levels and improved sleep – in sum, better physical and mental health.
That’s the finding of a new study done in Sweden by a team that includes Earric Lee, a post-doctoral researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute’s EPIC Centre, headed by Daniel Gagnon, a professor at Université de Montréal’s School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences.
The study compared the demographic characteristics, health status and lifestyle habits of sauna users and non-users. People who frequented saunas one to four times a month had fewer diagnoses for hypertension. They also reported less pain, higher happiness and energy levels, and more satisfying sleep.
Similar to moderate exercise
Frequent sauna use may therefore be linked to improved overall health, due in part to the effect of heat on the cardiovascular system. Moreover, these manifestations are similar to those observed during moderate-intensity physical exercise.
When people are in a sauna, their core temperature rises so they sweat more to cool down, a process facilitated by increased blood flow. They also have a higher heart rate and higher blood pressure. All this appears to have multiple positive effects.
When blood vessels are exposed to sustained heat for several minutes, they dilate to boost blood flow, thereby removing heat from the body and cooling us down.
"In time, this dilation mechanism helps to increase blood vessel elasticity and may thus explain the lowering of blood pressure," Lee said.
After exposure to heat, the body begins to cool but does not merely return to the baseline homeostatic temperature; it actually drops even lower. As a result, sleep quality increases, as people enter the same state as when they start to fall asleep and their body temperature drops.
Endorphins are also released into the bloodstream when the body is exposed to heat.
"This may be one of the reasons why we feel so good after a sauna, said Lee. “That same sensation of well-being may mask our aches and pains. They may not disappear completely, but we do feel better.”
Potential for heart patients
The evidence appears to suggest that regular sauna use leads to improved health. At the EPIC Centre, Lee wants to take things a step further and find out whether sauna use may also benefit cardiac rehabilitation patients.
The idea is to place patients suffering from heart disease in a sauna immediately after exercise, and to determine based on their response whether heat multiplies the positive effects of physical activity.
"While I was doing my doctorate in Finland,” said Lee, “we conducted a study with sedentary individuals presenting cardiovascular risk factors. Even though the study period was only eight weeks long, we noted a decrease in blood pressure, improved cardiovascular condition and lower cholesterol levels.”
He’d now like to revisit this protocol and apply it to cardiac rehabilitation patients for a longer period – 12 weeks – to see whether they reach improved outcomes compared to individuals who only follow the cardiac rehabilitation program without going to the sauna.
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