6 Benefits of Sauna

We all know the multiple benefits of exercise. When we exercise we sweat, our heart rate goes up, our blood pressure goes up and respiration goes up. This is good stress and we are stronger from it. A sauna has some of the same or very similar effects on our bodies.

1. Longevity

A sauna used 3x per week has Been demonstrated to increase life span. A Finnish study demonstrated that over a 20 year time span participants had a 24% decreased likelihood to die in that time frame. WHY? A. Improve arterial flexibility. The blood vessels were able to expand and contract more which allows blood to move better throughout the body. B. Autophagy. That is the body breaking down the cells in your body that are the weakest and reusing their parts to burn as fuel. Survival of the fittest type of senecio. C. Production of Heat shock proteins. These are designed to super repair the body.

2. Mental acuity and mood

Increased norepinephrine. The flight or fight hormone. This turns on the brain making you more aware of your surroundings. Next prolactin is released and this combination causes an improvement in Myelin. This is the insulation around nerves. When this is improved nerve conduction is enhanced and our nerves send better signals throughout our body. Also opioids are released that link to endorphins that make you feel really good.

Exposure to high heat improves your ability to cool the body. Being cooled off during performance allows you to perform at an optimal temperature and that allows you to continue to exercise without exhaustion. A Study was done on athletes who did a sauna 30 min 2 x per week for 3 weeks and they were able to demonstrate that they had a 32% increase in time to exhaustion. This means they went from let’s say 3 minutes to exhaustion to 4 minutes following the sauna 3 week sessions. Further blood work showed This was because of an increase in blood plasma volume 7.1 % and a red blood cell count increase of 3.5%. More oxygen.

4. Recovery

Heat shock proteins clean up cells that are weak and broken down. Increases insulin levels, enhances immune system and. Speeds muscle recovery. Saunas also increase growth hormone. This hormone is the hormone of youth. Growth hormone is a major factor in health. It is strongly connected to muscle and bone formation, insulin and glucose relationship, fat metabolism and heart function.

5. Pain Management

Pain management. Healing is very connected to oxygen. Saunas will increase blood flow which Improves oxygen saturation to the muscles and joints speeding repair. In addition to this the release of endorphins and opiates decreases pain perception. An alternative or adjuvant to pain medicine.

6. Detox

Simply put, the skin is your 3rd kidney. When you increase the rate of the skin to push out sweat which is related to what is released when we urinate and rid ourselves of numerous waste products.