It seems like saunas are very much in the news lately and for good reasons. Mounting evidence from credible studies continues to show that saunas aren’t just for spa days and that in fact, regular saunas can help improve your overall health and wellbeing while reducing the risk of many ailments and diseases.
We’ve been gathering the evidence and reading loads of great stuff about the health and well-being benefits of regular saunas that we thought we should condense the highlights and share with you ‘The Top 5 Benefits regular sauna bathing can have on your body and your brain’.
1. Top of the list is always going to be relaxation.
As simple as it sounds, the sauna is the ideal place to completely unplug, switch off and remove yourself from the ‘senses overload’ of everyday life.
The warm, dry heat of the sauna penetrates your body helping your muscles loosen including those in your neck, eyes, and head. This allows you to really unwind and lower your stress levels.
Today’s fast-paced way of life and the pressure to remain permanently switched on can increase stress and anxiety which over sustained periods can lead to depression and burn-out.
Saunas really can help you to embrace slow living with just 20 mins every day can give your body and your mind the time and the space to properly switch off.
2. Regular saunas lower the risk of heart problems.
There have been many studies over the years reporting a significant increase in better heart health for sauna users. Some haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly why and others have put it down to the relaxation benefits naturally lowering blood pressure and stress, but more recently studies have drawn more conclusive links.
‘In 2018, a team of Finnish researchers published a review of the health benefits of sauna bathing in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Several studies link frequent sauna use (four to seven times a week) to lower blood pressure and a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, including sudden cardiac death and stroke.’ As reported in Harvard Health Edu.
3. Boosts brain function and reduces the risk of dementia.
In August this year, The Telegraph published an article ‘Why Saunas are good for your brain.’ In short, it examined the benefits of heat therapy on the brain, claiming that ongoing studies in the States, were producing some very positive results. Taking their lead from the Europeans where
In Scandinavia links between sauna use and a reduced likelihood of dementia are widely recognised. One observational study in Finland spread over 20 years, compared middle-aged men who use the sauna once a week with those who used it 2-3 and 4-7 times per week, who had, respectively a 21% and 66% lower risk of dementia. To learn more, you can read the full review of the article here.
4. Reduced pain from arthritis and ailments like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
The heat from the sauna can help relieve severely aching muscles, chronic pain and stiffness in your joints thanks to the increased blood flow pumping around your body that relaxes the blood vessels. Several studies have shown that sufferers from chronic pain and fibromyalgia have experienced significant relief and better mobility from regular heat therapy provided by consistent and regular sauna use.
5. Saunas can improve your sleep.
Much like taking a hot bath before bed, the nature of warming the body from the inside out, and then letting it cool over a couple of hours induces a sleepy and relaxing experience. But, recent research shows that, unlike a bath, regular saunas can help to improve your quality of sleep and even help those with insomnia in the long term.
“In 2019 researchers in Australia conducted a global survey of sauna bathers with 83.5% of participants reporting improved sleep after using the sauna.” Science Direct.
Whatever your reasons for taking a sauna, 10,000 years of historical evidence, anecdotes and more recently in-depth studies and research show that the benefits of regular exposure to regulated heat therapy in a sauna can not only help improve the health and mobility of your body, but we’re just releasing the possibilities it may have for our brains and our memory.