Saunas have been extensively studied and continue to be. Some claims around a sauna have been proven untrue while others have been found to be accurate to a tee. On the subjects of heart health and lifespan, saunas have been shown to help in a very significant way. Where industry meets science, here’s the real, testable biomedical science on saunas and the health impact.
For saunas to produce maximum benefit on heart and lifespan, frequent sauna bathing is necessary. Studies have shown this is 4-7 times a week, for roughly 20 minutes, and at 174 Fahrenheit.
Using a sauna under these conditions, studies have found a 50% lower risk for fatal heart disease, a 60% lower risk in a sudden cardiac death, a 51% lower risk for stroke, and a 46% lower risk for hypertension. Although this doesn’t happen overnight, these health improvements are absolutely amazing. You may be able to save someone’s life simply by adding a sauna to their weekly routine.
Even a single sauna session has an effect on the body and gets you on the fast-track to heart health support. Science has shown one session lowers blood pressure, improves heart rate variability, and improves arterial compliance.
Why we think a sauna is so good for the heart is because of the heat. Applying heat, there’s up to 70% redistribution of blood flow away from a body’s core and to the skin to allow for sweating. At the same time, heart rate increases to 150 bpm approximately just like if you were performing moderate-intensity physical exercise. As this happens, the amount of work the heart must perform to move oxygen through the body will increase by 60-70%.
All that happens to your heart in a sauna but what happens afterwards – well, resting blood pressure and resting heart rate comes down lower at baseline than before. At the end of a few months of this routine, you end up with a healthier heart and a more efficient response system in the body. This is how a sauna provides a person with more energy, a stronger immune system, overall better health, and potentially a longer lifespan.
Now a lot factors into mortality however multiple studies have shown some promising facts on death and saunas. Using a sauna 2-3 times a week has been found with a 24% lower all-cause mortality risk while using it 4-7 times a week has been associate with a 40% lower all-cause mortality. Saunas used 4-7 times a week has also been shown to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 60%. This is undisputable. Multiple studies have come up with more or less the same results. Though we continue to study saunas, we know by this data that in the average person, using saunas may help extend lifespan.
A lot of us suspect the benefits of a sauna tie to an increase in heat shock proteins (HSPs). This is one of the body’s adaptive and protective responses to heat stress. HSPs have been shown to prevent and slow down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, slow down muscle atrophy, and is generally associated with a longer lifespan. Studied on flies and worms, some research found heat stress increased lifespan by as much as 15 percent.
This is just some of what biomedical science is saying about sauna’s impact on overall health, lifespan, and the heart. As we continue to study the effects of infrared saunas and heat stress, it will be interesting to see where the science leads in the years to come.