We found a replacement for physical education

Lying down is no worse than running: scientists have found a pleasant and easy replacement for physical exercise

It turned out that warming the body in a sauna has almost the same beneficial effect on health as moderate-intensity exercise.

Researchers at Coventry University (UK) published the results of their research into various ways to keep the body in good shape - and managed to surprise the scientific community: they claim that a sauna brings the same benefits as a grueling jog.

The author of the article in The Conversation magazine, doctoral student Charles James Steward, noted that approximately one in four adults in the world does not reach the minimum recommended level of physical activity - 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week.

In the UK, the figures are even worse: 34% of men and 42% of women are sedentary. In official documents of the National Health System, this factor is named as the cause of about 11.6% of premature deaths recorded annually in the country.

In search of products and procedures that can replace the lack of physical activity in the human body, a team from Coventry University focused on the benefits of the sauna. They proceeded from the fact that “water-heat therapy” has been used by humanity throughout its history and has acquired traditions and rituals in several cultures - which means that there is definitely an effect, it just requires study.

In recent decades, several studies have emerged showing that regular use of saunas and hot tubs helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The earliest laboratory experiments on this topic took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s. One of them shows that visiting a sauna or taking a hot bath five days a week, 1-2 times a day, strengthens the walls of the heart in patients with chronic heart failure and improves the functioning of the heart muscle in general.

Around the same time, a study was conducted on the effect of infrared saunas (unlike traditional ones, they warm the body from the inside using radiation at a temperature of 50-60°C and, as a rule, do not involve an increase in humidity). Its authors claimed that these saunas, after four weeks of regular use, normalized blood pressure, increased the body's endurance for physical activity, improved physical fitness and reduced the risk of hospitalization. A study of the effect of daily “passive heating” in a hot tub for three weeks showed that blood glucose levels decreased in patients with type II diabetes over this short period of time.

Now, scientists from Coventry University have been able to prove that these water treatments can provide health benefits comparable to low- and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise: walking, jogging and cycling on a flat road.

“At first glance, comparing a sauna with running seems, to put it mildly, counterintuitive: the former is usually considered relaxing, while the latter is considered tiring. But they are more similar than you think,” British researchers intrigue.

Staying in a sauna leads to “passive heating” of the body, which begins with a pleasant feeling of warmth, and then causes a feeling of heat and provokes profuse sweating, accompanied by a slight increase in heart rate. Ultrasound scanning of the volunteers’ arteries, carried out in the bath and sauna, showed that their blood flow increased due to warming up. The body produces the same reactions during physical activity, although it, of course, burns energy much more efficiently.

The beneficial effect is also achieved due to the rush of blood to the surface of the skin; it occurs under the action of the thermoregulation mechanism, with the help of which the body facilitates the “removal” of heat when the body warms up. Increased surface blood flow, in which vessels and capillaries noticeably expand, helps accelerate intracellular processes in the circulatory system, for example, launches “programs” for the restoration and strengthening of vascular walls.

Of course, the sauna cannot be considered as a complete replacement for exercise in terms of its impact on health: it cannot influence the processes of fat loss and muscle gain to the same extent. If your goal is to lose weight, you can't do without fitness. Therefore, the authors of the study advise not to replace physical activity with “passive heating”, but to combine one with the other to enhance the beneficial effect.

Sauna in the gym A sauna can greatly make life easier for those who suffer from physical exertion due to certain chronic diseases. For example, many people have poor peripheral circulation and insufficient blood flow to muscle tissue. When the muscles are actively working, the lack of blood causes severe pain. Warming up can not only reduce pain, but also, by increasing blood flow, have a therapeutic effect on the disease as a whole.

You don't have to warm up too much: data collected by researchers from the University of Liverpool indicates that raising your core body temperature by just 0.6°C three times a week for six weeks triggers positive processes in the body - increasing insulin sensitivity (and This means that glucose is used more efficiently), blood vessels are strengthened and physical endurance increases.