8 Sauna Bathing Facts
1. Sauna Bathing Promotes Chemical and Toxic Metal Cleansing
Pollution is everywhere these days, filling our environment with synthetic chemicals. If you tested almost anyone, you’d find some man-made chemicals in their bodies. These harmful substances tend to stick around because they’re fat-soluble, meaning they can linger in your body and even pass through critical barriers like the blood-brain and placental barriers.
However, sweating can help cleanse these toxins. Saunas encourage sweating, which can aid in detoxifying harmful substances such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, copper, nickel, manganese, sodium, chloride, ammonia, and urea.
In 1978, L. Ron Hubbard (yes, the Scientology founder) created a detox protocol involving exercise, sauna bathing, and nutritional support. This regimen was adopted by medical practices in over 20 countries. Additionally, the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona, reported that regular sauna use helps mobilize fat-soluble toxins.
If you’re skeptical about the views from a Scientologist or naturopaths, consider the University of Southern California School of Medicine. Researchers studied firemen exposed to PCBs who experienced neurobehavioral impairments. After three weeks of a detox program including diet, exercise, and sauna use, they saw significant improvements.
Similarly, St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto reported on a patient exposed to toxic solvents for over twenty years. Sauna bathing helped balance her condition, allowing her to discontinue all previously prescribed medications for her symptoms.
2. Sauna Bathing Should Not Be Mixed With Medication or Chemicals
While sauna bathing has its benefits, it’s important to note that the heat exerts stress on your body. Mixing this with other stressors like alcohol or drugs can be risky. One common concern involves combining sauna use with blood pressure medication, which can lead to low blood pressure after a session. Most frequently, the problem arises when people consume alcohol while in the sauna. This practice has been linked to high blood pressure, arrhythmia, and sudden death. Middle-aged men are particularly at risk, often drinking in the sauna, passing out, and suffering burns or worse.
3. Sauna Bathing Promotes Mental Health
Ask any regular sauna bather what they love most, and they’ll likely say it’s the relaxation. Research backs this up. According to the Tampere University Hospital in Finland, sauna use helps reduce stress. Japanese researchers have found similar benefits, noting improvements in mood, tension, anger, fatigue, and confusion.
4. Sauna Bathing May Not Boost Athletic Performance
If you’re gearing up for a desert marathon, don’t count on the sauna to help you adapt to the heat. The Finnish Defense Forces advise against using the sauna for this purpose. While it’s not great for enhancing performance, they do recommend it as a way for athletes to cleanse their bodies, refresh their minds, and relax. Other studies have shown that sauna use can actually have a negative impact immediately afterward. The Department of Physiology at the University of Granada found that sauna-induced dehydration significantly decreases leg strength in women. Men aren’t exempt; the University of Sydney found that muscular endurance decreased significantly in ten athletic men after sauna exposure.
It’s worth noting that these studies found strength reductions after sauna bathing, which is similar to the temporary fatigue experienced after exercise.
5. Sauna Bathing May Boost Athletic Performance
However, there’s some conflicting evidence. The University of Otago in New Zealand conducted a study on male distance runners who used the sauna after training for three weeks. They found that the runners’ performance, specifically run time to exhaustion, improved. This was likely due to an increase in blood and plasma volume resulting from sauna use.
6. Sauna Bathing May Offer Support for Certain Health Conditions
Heat exposure helps blood vessels widen and open up. This effect has been found to benefit several health conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome, congestive heart failure, and fibromyalgia.
7. Sauna Bathing May Offer Nothing to Some Health Issues
Sauna bathing isn’t a cure-all. In Finland, it was traditionally believed that people should avoid the sauna after surgery when sutures were still in place. However, a 2003 Finnish study involving 79 patients with fresh surgical sutures found that sauna use didn’t affect wound healing.
Additionally, a 1983 German study examined 213 male psoriasis patients and found that after sauna use, 10% of the patients showed improvement, 1% worsened, and the majority, 89%, showed no change in their condition.
8. It’s Best to Use the Sauna Sensibly
According to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre, sauna bathing is generally safe as long as it’s done responsibly. This means not staying in the sauna for an excessively long or uncomfortable period and avoiding extreme temperatures.