What Does Using a Sauna Do for Your Body?

People worldwide from various cultures have used saunas for their many health benefits. Heating the body in a controlled space has existed since the ancient Finnish sauna to the modern infrared sauna. But what exactly does this bathing therapy do for your body?

This article will talk about the sauna benefits to your physical and mental health. You will also learn some safety precautions to do it right and avoid potential risks.

Health Benefits of Sauna

Heat—either steam or infrared—is generated in small rooms or enclosed spaces known as saunas. Making a sauna heats a room to roughly 158° to 212° Fahrenheit (70° to 100° Celsius).

Usually, dry, traditional Finnish saunas have a humidity ranging from 10 to 20 percent. There is also more wetness in some types of saunas. In Turkish-style baths, for instance, humidity is higher. A sauna uses heat that may reach 104° Fahrenheit, or 40° Celsius.

Making you sweat is the fundamental goal of a sauna; this is beneficial for your health in many different ways.

1. Better Sleep

The higher body temperature you get from the sauna may help your circadian cycle get back to normal. People say they sleep better the night after doing anything that involves heat, even baths. But more study is needed to know how saunas affect the way people sleep.

2. Body Detoxification

As part of a detox program, some people use saunas. Specifically, saunas can help get rid of toxins and other harmful substances that live in your fat. A sauna can also help you get rid of drugs from your body. There are a lot of legal and illegal drugs that are kept in body fat. It's possible that sweating in a sauna could help get rid of these chemicals.

But more studies are needed to find out if this does improve people's health. Still, some people say they feel a lot better after a sauna detox program.

3. Breathing Improvement

Saunas can improve breathing and lung function for most people. Many with bronchitis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on the other hand say saunas help with breathing. Moreover, studies reveal that sauna use enhances lung capacity. Even though the changes are minor, they feel like they're improving.

4. Ease Joint Pain

Saunas could assist with more than just weary muscles. Patients with pain and with limited range of motion in their joints and muscles could find relief. Rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis sufferers claim less pain and improved range of motion. Those with low back discomfort and fibromyalgia claim less ongoing pain.

Perhaps most intriguingly, people with joint pain report an improved quality of life after utilizing the sauna. Even if you don't have any of these documented pain issues, sauna use may help you feel less sore and fatigued.

5. Heart Health

Numerous studies reveal that consistent sauna bathing could benefit the circulatory system and heart. This is most likely the result of saunas' effects on the nervous system, arteries, and cells—all of which affect heart conditions.

Here are some of the possible cardiovascular benefits of taking regular sauna baths:

• If you have heart failure, you can feel better and be able to do more exercise with scheduled sauna sessions.
• Regular sauna use can help those with coronary artery disease (CAD) increase the oxygen availability to the heart muscle. This could thus reduce the possibility of the condition aggravating.
• People with peripheral artery disease, which makes it harder for blood to get to the legs, can walk further for longer periods.
• Overall cholesterol levels are better.

6. Improves Blood Pressure

Although a sauna session would momentarily raise your heart rate and blood pressure, studies reveal that, over time, it will lower your blood pressure as would exercise. Saunas also help persons with high blood pressure. Furthermore, for those who do not already have high blood pressure, it can reduce their chance of later in life having it.

7. Less Virus-related Sickness and Colds

Using the sauna once or twice a week could help you avoid colds and viruses. Regular sauna users have about half as often colds as people who never use one.

8. Dementia and Alzheimer's Risk Reduction

Regular sauna use could help reduce your dementia and Alzheimer's disease risk. Men who sauna four to seven times a week had more than half less risk of Alzheimer's or dementia, said one study.

9. Psoriasis and Skin Issues Relief

Most people's skin is not greatly changed by frequent sauna use. But sauna use can help reduce the number of plaques and scales on your skin if you have psoriasis.

10. Sore Muscles Recovery

A chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which helps muscles repair, can be triggered by sauna heat. Heat also increases blood flow to your muscles, thereby facilitating mending.

11. Stress Reduction

Going to the sauna can help you feel less stressed generally. Cortisol, the stress hormone, may even go down because of different studies. People with depression who use a sauna daily may feel more relaxed and have an increased appetite.

12. Weight Management

You may have seen that you're a few pounds lighter on the scale after going to the sauna. This is likely because you sweated off water weight. While losing water weight is transient, a sauna will assist you over time in losing weight.

More research is required, though, to ascertain whether saunas might assist in weight loss. More body heat could enable greater metabolism and calorie burning. That is the essence of hot yoga. The extra effort your body must do to cool down increases your calorie-burning rate.

There isn't enough evidence to say what will happen to weight loss if you use a sauna regularly. But there’s nothing to lose if you still try to incorporate this therapy into your weight management plan.

Potential Health Risks

A sauna seems to be safe for most people to use in moderation. On the other hand, someone with heart problems and other health conditions should first talk to a doctor to ensure safety.

Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure might rise if you go from the heated sauna to the cool water of the pool. Low blood pressure individuals should discuss with their doctor to ensure the sauna is safe. Even those who just have a heart attack should first consult their doctor to prevent a deteriorating condition.

Dehydration

Losing fluids via sweating could cause dehydration. Therefore, you are more prone to get dehydrated if you already have some health issues such as renal illness. The rising temperatures could also make you feel queasy or lightheaded.

Male Infertility

There is evidence that daily sauna use lowers the production of sperm. Luckily, this effect can be reversed if you stop using the sauna.

Who Should Avoid or Limit Using a Sauna

A lot of people can handle the sauna without any problems. Some, on the other hand, could have unpleasant symptoms such as sensitivity to severe temperatures or claustrophobia. But both of these complaints might get better if you use the sauna often.

Some common reasons why you shouldn't use a sauna are the following:

• Advanced or poorly controlled heart failure
• Heart disease that causes chest pain (angina pectoris)
• Orthostatic hypotension
• Pregnancy (may cause birth defects)
• Recent heart attack and/or stroke
• Severe aortic stenosis or having a constriction of the main heart valve

Precautions When Taking a Sauna Bath

To keep your health from getting worse, you should also take the following precautions if you want to take a sauna:

Avoid Alcohol

Drinking alcohol and submerging yourself into a hot bath increases your likelihood of dehydration, low blood pressure, arrhythmias, and quick death. 1.8% of Finnish deaths abruptly revealed in a year-long study had visited a sauna during the past three hours and another 1.7% within the past twenty-four hours. Many of these folks had been sipping alcoholic drinks.

Drink Plenty of Water

Whatever type of sauna you use, the replacement of fluids lost through sweating is vital. You should so sip two to four glasses of water after visiting the sauna.

Limit Time Spent in a Sauna

One should not spend more than twenty minutes at once in a sauna. Those who have never used it previously should spend five to ten minutes at most. As your body gets used to the heat, you can slowly make the time last up to twenty minutes.

Stay Out of the Sauna When Sick

If you are sick, you should also avoid saunas until you feel better. As mentioned above, pregnant women and others with health issues like low blood pressure should consult their doctor before going to the sauna to avoid consequences.

Children Supervision

Children six years of age and above should use a sauna; but, they should be observed while using it. Their stay should not last more than fifteen minutes at once.

Embrace Sauna for Holistic Health

From better cardiovascular health and detoxification to more mental clarity and stress reduction, using a sauna has several health benefits. Incorporating regular sauna sessions into your routine can contribute to overall wellness.

If you want to improve your health and relax your body, buy a home sauna today. Take advantage of the several benefits of sauna treatment to help you on your path toward holistic well-being.