The Anti-Aging Benefits of Sauna

Health Is PowHer Podcast Episode 80

Anti-Aging Benefits of Sauna

The evidence for sauna bathing is definitely on the rise when looking through the literature.

Sauna use or sauna bathing is when you are exposed to short-term high temperatures between 115 deg F to 200 deg F. It increases your body’s core temperature and this creates a cascade of thermoregulatory responses that alters the nervous system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and protective mechanisms in the body.

There are the regular dry saunas heated by wood fires, coal, or electric heaters.

There are infrared saunas that produce thermal radiation typically at lower temperatures.

It’s more typical to find infrared saunas here in United States and a session typically lasts from 15-30 minutes.

However, the research showed that staying in the sauna for at least ~19 min vs under 19 min.

Many studies have found that it can reduce risk of cardiovascular complications, age-related disease, immune dysfunction, metabolic derangement and neurocognitive decline.

Cardiovascular:How sauna works is that it acts very similar to aerobic exercise, increasing cardiac output! Regular sauna use can also decrease blood pressure and improve heart and vascular health. One interesting study by Pitch et al 2014, demonstrated that sauna reduced total cholesterol from 172 to 164 mg/dL in women.Healthy Aging:Sauna may also increase expression of heat shock proteins that exist in our body. These proteins play a role in immune function and maintaining homeostasis or a “healthy balance”. These proteins can also repair damaged proteins in our body as well. This action may promote healthier aging and protect against Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or Parkinson’s Disease.

In Finland, they actually showed that men who used sauna several times a week (4-7x/wk) reduced their risk of Alzheimer’s by 65% compared to men who used sauna once weekly (Laukkanen et al. 2015).

Antioxidant response:Sauna may also protect against inflammation and oxidative stress through upregulating NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor) and decreasing C-reactive protein.

Mental Health:A randomized controlled trial of 28 participants showed that a month of sauna reduced depression and anxiety symptoms (Masuda et al. 2005).

Cautious use and Considerations: Pregnant women or individuals wanting to get pregnant should exercise caution when using sauna as heat stress can affect the fetus and male sperm counts.Individuals who have less heat tolerance, including elderly and children or people with chronic kidney disease, risk of dehydration, heart failure, arrhythmia, etc… may need to avoid sauna.

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