Spending more time in a sauna can have benefits like lowering your dementia risk and promoting heart health. However, not everyone can benefit from sauna use.
A sauna is a heated room with wooden walls and benches, used privately or publicly. The purpose of saunas can range from physical therapy to relaxation.
The main types of saunas include:
- Traditional saunas: Traditional saunas have dry air with 10-20% humidity and are heated to at least 176 degrees Fahrenheit. People usually spend 5-20 minutes bathing each time they go.
- Infrared saunas: These saunas emit infrared waves and don’t use water or humidity. They run at lower temperatures for the same length of time you would spend in a traditional sauna.
People use saunas to relax, but they can also offer health benefits.
Promotes Heart Health
A long-term study over 14 years found that visiting a sauna two to three times weekly was associated with a 25% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to hopping in once per week. The study considered physical activity, socioeconomic status, and cardiovascular risk.
Weekly sauna use of 4-7 times decreased this risk by 77%. Longer sauna sessions were also better for heart health.
However, this study examined an association between sauna bathing and heart health, not a cause-and-effect relationship. More research needs to be done regarding the link.
May Keep Your Brain Sharp
In a study of middle-aged Finnish men, heading to a sauna two to three times a week was inversely associated with dementia by 22% and Alzheimer’s disease by 20%. Limited, short-term studies suggest that frequent sauna usage changes various biomarkers relevant to brain function including:
- Improved blood vessel function
- Lowered blood pressure
- Reduced inflammation
Can Help You Breathe Easy
One U.K. and Finnish study including nearly 2,000 men looked at the connection between sauna bathing and respiratory conditions. Participants who went to the sauna two to three times or four or more times per week were less likely to develop conditions like COPD, asthma, or pneumonia compared to those who went less.
May Boost Your Mood
Saunas can be helpful for your mood. Though the studies have been smaller, one review indicated that people have reported experiencing a decrease in depression symptoms following sauna use. The authors suggested that the antidepressant effects may result from decreased inflammation. Saunas help with inflammation, and increased inflammation has been associated with cases of depression.
Sauna bathing can be safe for the majority of healthy individuals. However, some risks associated with the practice are:
- Dehydration, which can be worsened by alcohol use during a sauna session
- Fatigue
- Loss of electrolytes like sodium and potassium
- Muscle cramps
Contraindications
If you have a health concern, talk to a healthcare provider before heading into a sauna—especially if you don’t regularly go to one. Also, people with or who have experienced the following should avoid sauna use:
- Acute illness with a fever
- Altered or reduced sweat function
- Decompensated heart failure—where the heart has functioning problems, requiring a person to seek immediate medical attention
- Inflammatory skin conditions
- Irregular heartbeat
- Low blood pressured
- Recent heart attack
- Skin problems like cuts or other wounds
- Stroke or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)
- Unstable angina—chest pain from a lack of blood or oxygen flow to the heart
Saunas During Pregnancy
Extreme heat exposure during pregnancy has been associated with birth defects related to the central nervous system (CNS). For example, one CNS defect is spina bifida—a condition where a baby’s backbone doesn’t form and close to protect the spinal cord.
However, ongoing research has found that pregnant individuals may not need to avoid saunas altogether. Researchers determined that sitting in a hot bath or a hot but low-humidity sauna for up to 20 minutes may not raise core body temperature.
Still, talk to a healthcare provider, like an OB-GYN, if you’re considering using a sauna while pregnant. They can help determine what is right for you, your health, and the health of your pregnancy.
Before you go sauna bathing, here are some tips to consider:
- Include cool-down periods during your session. Those cool-down periods might include a practice linked with sauna bathing in Finland: immersing in cold water.
- Stay hydrated. It’s essential to drink enough fluids before, during, and after the session.
- Use a sauna no longer than 10-15 minutes per session initially. You can use saunas for up to 45 minutes daily if you can participate in the practice. However, you must work your way up to that time. Researchers have suggested going up by five minutes every 2-3 days.
