Increased life expectancy

The heart, brain, skin and body as a whole benefit from this practice, developed by different peoples over many centuries. Plus, it can prevent colds and even strokes. Although the term "sauna" comes from the Finnish language, the practice of health-improving and ritual baths has been known since ancient times. The Russian steam room, the Japanese mushi-buro, the Roman baths and the Aztec temazcals are some of the most famous examples. The love and interest in baths for thousands of years is due to the many benefits that medical science has helped to clarify in recent years.

Generally speaking, there are two main types of baths. There is a dry sauna, also known as a Finnish sauna, with air temperatures ranging from 80 to 90 ºC, but with a very low relative humidity of no more than 20%. Another type is steam baths, such as a Russian bath or Turkish bath, also known as a hammam. In such baths, with very high humidity up to 85%, the temperature is maintained no higher than 40-65ºC. Because of this, the bathhouse room is filled with steam.

Throughout their long history, there have been constant debates around the baths about their benefits or harm, interest in them either faded away or increased again, the baths were either banned or allowed again. What does modern medical science say about baths?

Research conducted in recent decades has confirmed at least six main positive health-improving effects of baths and saunas.

Increased life expectancy
Recent studies have found a link between frequent sauna use and longevity. A 2018 study of 2,277 men found that for those men who had healthy cardiorespiratory fitness and regular sauna use, there was a "significant reduction in the risk of fatal cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality." These results confirmed the findings of a previous 2015 study conducted by the same group of researchers from the UK, US and Finland. In any case, the authors clarify that the exact reasons for this connection have not yet been identified, and that new research is needed to determine them. One possible version is a general increase in quality of life due to the production of “happiness mediators” endorphins during sauna sessions, which leads to a decrease in psychological stress, a decrease in anxiety, tension and a decrease in depressive symptoms.

A visit to a sauna is equivalent to a workout for your heart.
Visiting a sauna is a significant physical activity, which in the long term has a positive effect similar to that of playing sports. This is because a person's heart rate in a sauna increases to the same levels as during moderate physical exercise, such as cycling. These are the conclusions reached by the authors of a study in Germany, published in the middle of last year in the specialized journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine. The team from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the Berlin Medical Center analyzed data from 19 men and women who used a sauna for 25 minutes and took an ergometric test on an exercise bike. The increase in heart rate was the same in both cases. In addition, researchers found that visiting a sauna does not lower blood pressure, as previously thought, but, on the contrary, increases it. Therefore, people with hypertension need to be extremely careful when visiting saunas and baths, and approach them in the same way as serious physical activity. If the doctor limits physical activity, then this restriction also applies to visiting steam rooms and saunas.

Regular sauna use may reduce the risk of stroke
According to the Study Group on Cerebrovascular Diseases of the Spanish Society of Neurology, stroke is the first cause of death among Spanish women and the second among men. But a sauna can be a form of prevention. A 2018 study involving the same scientists from Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg confirms that the risk of stroke is significantly reduced in middle-aged and older men and women without chronic cardiovascular disease who frequently use a sauna.

Sauna helps prevent colds
People who regularly and constantly go to the sauna get fewer colds. This was confirmed by researchers from the University of Vienna. But if someone has already developed the disease, going to the sauna will not help reduce their symptoms or shorten its course. For a cold that has already developed, a sauna may provide only temporary relief, just as a sauna causes a temporary improvement in lung function, which may provide some relief to patients with asthma and chronic bronchitis. But this effect disappears when patients return to their normal living conditions.

Sauna promotes athletic performance
Saunas also have their advantages for people who play sports. In a study, New Zealand scientists found that visiting a sauna after training improves the performance of endurance athletes. According to the authors of the work, this was due to an increase in the volume of circulating blood in the body of athletes. Another study observed improvements associated with increased plasma volume in cyclists, who also required several sauna sessions to begin performing at their best. In addition, the sauna helps muscles recover after physical activity, which increases their endurance and prevents injuries.

The sauna allows you to remove toxins through the skin Through sweat, the body removes numerous toxins, including those common in urban environments such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, and also removes sebaceous residues and dead epidermis. Thus, regular sauna use can reduce chronic heavy metal intoxication, which in the long term can also help increase life expectancy.

Contraindications and restrictions for visiting the sauna
However, in addition to these restrictions and contraindications for visiting the sauna for people with hypertension, there are also contraindications for pregnant women in the first and second trimester due to the risk of fetal damage, for older people over 60 years of age who have not previously gone to the sauna regularly. The bath can be dangerous for children under 5 years of age, who have not yet developed their thermoregulation system. Taking non-specific anti-inflammatory drugs before a sauna also affects thermoregulation in adults and can lead to the development of heat stroke. There is also the only safe mode of visiting the sauna, which is that there should be no more than 3 visits to the steam room, each lasting 10-15 minutes, with a mandatory break between them of at least 10-15 minutes.

The popular practice of diving into ice water or dousing your head with ice water is deadly because it increases the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Steam baths are most dangerous for elderly people and people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, since the oxygen concentration in the steam room can drop to 15-13%, and the effect of steam on the lungs significantly disrupts the transport of oxygen from the inhaled air into the blood due to damage to the surfactant of the pulmonary alveoli . All this leads to oxygen starvation and associated health risks, especially in homemade baths and saunas, where most often, due to the ignorance of the builders, there is no steam room ventilation system that ensures maintaining a safe composition of the inhaled gas mixture in the steam room.

Consumption of food and alcohol before, during, and immediately after sauna use also increases the risk of adverse health outcomes.

Based on materials from medical journals JAMA Intern Med, Complement Ther Med, Ann Med, J Sci Med Sport, J Environ Public Health.