10 Scientific Reasons Why

1. Sauna relieves stress and relaxes.

Saunas provide a unique sense of rejuvenation (perhaps this effect is more pronounced in a Russian bathhouse, although it depends on how well the sauna or bathhouse is heated and how the washing ritual is performed). In fact, intense heat acts as a significant stressor for your body and can cause some discomfort. However, this discomfort strangely brings pleasure - physical stress somehow relieves mental and physical tension after leaving the hot room.

Partly, this happens because visiting the sauna is a catalyst for the release of a large amount of endorphins in the brain, giving you that good feeling and elevated mood.

How else does the sauna affect your psychological state? Steaming in the sauna also promotes self-analysis and provides a sense of mental reboot, especially if you are in it alone. The sauna is an excellent way to regularly disconnect from life's disturbing distractions.

People who have regular access to saunas or bathhouses know that this pastime is a wonderful moment for contemplation and self-reflection. Productive thoughts often originate here.

When your body truly warms up, you will feel like you lose the ability to think conventionally as you are accustomed to. You will enter a kind of meditative state from which you can draw important insights.

In the end, you will feel squeezed like a lemon but happy.

2. Sauna Can Improve Cardiovascular Health

Visiting a sauna not only provides you with the pleasure of completing a marathon; research shows that sauna also offers similar benefits for cardiovascular health—increased blood pressure and decreased cholesterol levels. There is a general recovery of the cardiovascular system, which means a reduced risk of acquiring or developing heart disease.

There is stimulation of the heart muscle's work. Heat increases the heart rate. During sauna sessions at moderate temperatures, the pulse rate can increase to 100 beats per minute; in hotter sessions, it can reach 150 beats per minute—just as much as during running. Along with a higher heart rate, calorie burning also increases.

It is often thought that blood pressure drops in the sauna because heat expands blood vessels, but in reality, when you are in a heated sauna, blood pressure rises and then drops below the initial level when you leave the heated room.

Over time, sauna visits have a beneficial effect on blood pressure. One study showed that men who visit the sauna 4-7 times a week have half the risk of high blood pressure compared to those who visit the sauna once a week.

3. The sauna can reduce chronic inflammation

When we are sick, inflammation occurs, which helps the healing and recovery process after an illness. However, prolonged inflammation is harmful. Chronic inflammation makes us feel unwell and can contribute to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and (as we will see below) depression.

One of the ways doctors detect chronic inflammation is by analyzing the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood. Elevated CRP levels indicate the strength of inflammation.

One study of Finnish men found a connection between more frequent sauna visits and a reduction in the level of C-reactive protein. Furthermore, research shows that sauna use can also increase the level of an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin 10 (IL-10).

4. Sauna and steam bath can help reduce the level of depression.

Chronic inflammation in the body can be one (of many) causes of depression. In addition to tissue damage, chronic inflammation puts our body under stress. Research has shown that many people with severe depression also have chronic inflammation. It's unclear whether the inflammation caused their depression or if their depression caused inflammation, but if you reduce inflammation, often the level of depression also begins to decrease. Perhaps that's why several studies have shown that regular sauna visits can improve your mood.

5. Sauna, just like a bath, can help boost immunity.

For example, one study showed that people who sat in a sauna at a temperature of 95 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, and then took a 2-minute cool shower after the session, experienced a noticeable increase in leukocytes. The immune-boosting effect can (partially) explain why regular sauna-goers get sick less often with colds and may even avoid pneumonia under otherwise equal conditions.

6. The sauna can increase human growth hormone levels.

Human growth hormone is exactly the hormone we needed when we were children. However, as adults, we still need this hormone to keep our bodies in great shape. A decrease in growth hormone leads to a decrease in muscle mass, an increase in fat deposits, fatigue, sleep problems, and a decrease in libido. In addition to regular strength training and proper nutrition, sitting in a sauna can help maintain the level of growth hormone at an optimal level throughout adult life. Studies show that people who spend time in a moderately hot sauna subsequently experience an increase in the level of this hormone. For example, one study showed that people who sat in a sauna at a temperature of 80°C for two 20-minute sessions, separated by a 30-minute break, immediately experienced a fivefold increase in growth hormone levels. Combine regular sauna visits with regular strength training, and you'll get a powerful, healthy, and natural cocktail of hormones, including growth hormone.

7. Sauna can increase insulin sensitivity.

If you are struggling with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, the sauna can become another weapon in your arsenal to control elevated blood sugar levels. Although the research conducted here is still somewhat speculative and has only been done on mice so far, it tells us that whole-body hyperthermia can help increase muscle sensitivity to insulin. However, additional research is needed to confirm this conclusion.

8. Sauna and Improved Athletic Endurance

If you're an endurance athlete – a runner, cyclist, or swimmer – regular sauna visits can enhance your endurance. One study showed that athletes who spent 30 minutes in the sauna twice a week could run longer without reaching the point of exhaustion compared to athletes who didn't visit the sauna.

This advantage can be particularly noticeable if you're running in hot weather (or planning to participate in competitions in a hot climate). Several studies have shown that regular sauna visits can increase the body's resistance to heat and help you adapt to training in hot conditions.

9. Sauna can help maintain and increase muscle mass

Several studies have shown that people who regularly visit the sauna lose less muscle mass and, in some cases, increase muscle growth compared to those who do not use the sauna. Why does this happen? As mentioned above, the sauna can increase the level of growth hormone, which plays an important role in protein synthesis, which our body uses to create and maintain muscle tissue. Another way the sauna can help preserve and increase muscle mass is by increasing the amount of heat shock protein (HSP) in our body. When our muscles experience stress, heat shock proteins help reduce muscle loss, aiding in the recovery of damaged muscles and folding proteins during protein synthesis. Physical exercises can increase the level of HSP, just like visiting the sauna.

10. Sauna is solitude

It is important for people to be alone sometimes. As they say, with themselves. And where can this be done with such benefit and pleasure as in a sauna?