7 Amazing Sauna Health Benefits
Saunas have been used for centuries, for both spiritual ceremonies and health, in cultures as far apart as sacred and Finnish.
Saunas are little rooms that provide either moist (Turkish-style) or dry heat (traditional Finnish) and enable the body to sweat deeply. In Finland that is modern, nearly a third of adults enjoy saunas.
Scandinavian immigrants introduced to America the sauna of today, and saunas are getting to be increasingly more popular. They are found in many sports facilities and gyms. The promise of health benefits because ancient times of the sauna is now being proved by science. Claims include:
• High blood pressure. Regular use of a sauna can help save you from developing high blood pressure, one of the most important risk factors for heart disease. According to researchers from the University of Eastern Finland, the threat was halved in men who had a sauna at least four times when compared to people who had one sauna a week.
The analysis, which was printed recently in the American Journal of Hypertension, included 1,621 middle-aged Finnish men. Research participants included men without increased blood pressure, or with diagnosed with hypertension (140/90 mmHg or higher) at the beginning of the long-term research.
During an ordinary follow-up of 22 decades, the risk of hypertension was 46 percent lower among men who had a sauna 4-7 times per week, and among men using a sauna frequency of 2-3 times every week.
• Dementia. A study published in the journal Age and Ageing found that the researchers reported utilizing saunas, the lower their risk for dementia. Study participants were divided into three groups -- individuals who used a sauna 2 to three times every week, those who used a sauna four to seven times weekly, once a week, and those who only used a sauna.
Researchers found that those who consumed exerts the most reduced their risk of any form of dementia by the risk of Alzheimer's and 66 percent by 65 percent when compared to people who consumed a sauna only once per week.
• Longevity. Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland followed 2,300 middle-aged guys who employed saunas for an average of 20 years and spent an average of 14 minutes every trip sweat in 175°F warmth. 49 percent of guys who used a sauna died, compared to 38 percent who went two to three times every week. But only 31 percent of the guys who traveled four to seven times each week died. The study was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
• Chronic pain. In a study published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, patients with chronic pain had a daily sauna for 14 days. Pain decreased significantly in patients experiencing chronic pain when compared with patients who didn't have saunas, and 77 percent of these returned to work compared to 50 percent in the control group.
• Athletic endurance. Two 30-minute sessions weekly for three weeks following a workout increased by 32 percent the total amount of time volunteers can run till they were tired, according to a study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. In another study which was published in the European Journal of Sports Science, saunas improved athletes' tolerance to heat -- in prep for desert-based rivalry -- almost as much as exercising in high temperatures.
• High cholesterol. When healthy young male subjects underwent ten sauna sessions, their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol decreased substantially throughout the research. Cholesterol levels returned to periods. The study, which was published in the International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, mentioned that the result was similar to that obtained through moderately intensive exercise.
• Pneumonia. A study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology found that regular sessions in a sauna can reduce the chance of developing pneumonia by 27 percent when compared to people who rarely or not used them. Those who had at least four saunas cut their risk of this fatal illness by 42 percent. Regular saunas also reduced the risk of asthma and other chest issues.
