I F***** LOVE the sauna. This is my THIRD one, the first one was in the early 2000’s. It was called a “health mate”, this one is the lowest EMF (electromagnetic field) sauna I could find at the time and the Co I got it off is here in NZ in Christchurch. ….I have managed to screw myself up and can’t do any high impact YANG training – I’ve damaged bones in my back and the bone bruising and slight disc bulge needs to heal. I’m OVER it. Most of the time I’m cool about it, but it’s the way I can release tension and my extra stress. It’s a small thing, in the big picture I know it’s teaching me patience. That works sometimes, other times I reeeeaaaaalllly need to get a hit of endorphins or eat chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate.

The sauna has been a lifesaver. Not only physically, but I feel like a FREAKIN ROCK STAR after an uncomfortable 20-25 mins sweating my ass off in this thing. It is one of the best investments I have made for my mental and physical health. “Hormesis”…. This is the technical term for how a small amount of stress can condition the body to be prepared; this process is good for us!!! Polyphenols in fruits and red wine or sulforaphane found in broccoli sprouts are a little bit toxic for our bodies… These compounds induce a stress response and a conditioning process which in the end is beneficial to us.

Hormesis; Endorphin Rush After Stress:

Why people feel good after being introduced to a bit of anxiety? When anxiety is felt, the body upregulates the mu opioid receptor. Thus, making us more sensitive to endorphins. The anxiety is stressful, but you get very relaxed once it is over.

– The up-regulation of the mu opioid receptor can be found in many other activities including working out, eating spicy food, and the sauna.

I have had a fascination with sweating and the detoxification benefits for YEARS. Little did I know many other benefits of exposure to heat sauna’s heat “hyperthermic” boosters:

  • Sweating – reduces toxin burden
  • Skin
  • Cardiovascular benefit – I have been able to get my heart rate up to 140s per minute sucking it up in the heat in this bad boy.
  • Reduced anxiety – see below for more – I feel able to cope with so much more after a sauna and the effects last for days for me.
  • Boost in mood – as above!
  • Growth hormone can be increased through exercise and the sauna (dry). This is great for injury as well. HIGH FIVE!
  • Dynorphins (the counter to endorphin) are released when experiencing discomfort; they signal the brain to create more receptors that bind to beta-endorphins which are released when you exercise or expose yourself to heat. This process is the mechanism behind feeling good after something like a workout or a sauna session. 

All-Cause Mortality

– A particular study published from the University of Eastern Finland investigated the association between sauna bathing and the risk of sudden cardiac death, fatal coronary heart disease, fatal cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in a group of 2,315 middle-aged men (42 to 60 years old) from eastern Finland.

There is a link between sauna usage and a decrease in all-cause mortality. Men who used the sauna frequently (4-7 times a week) showed a 40% decrease in all-cause mortality. When you’re in heat, your heart starts to beat between 100-150 bpm and this means your heart is receiving plasma and blood flow. Along with this cardiovascular benefit, there is a stress benefit; the sauna can activate heat shock proteins through activation of the heat shock genes. Heat shock proteins reduce the build-up of byproducts that we get from daily bodily functions; things like plaques and dysfunctional proteins (think beta-amyloid and Alzheimer’s). People with a variation of the heat shock gene that allows themselves to constantly make these helpful proteins, without the assistance of additional heat, are more likely to be a centenarian. It’s pretty clear that there is a link between the sauna and longevity.

Results show that during a median (midpoint) follow-up of nearly 21 years later, the risk of sudden cardiac death was 22 percent lower for those using the sauna 2 to 3 sessions per week and 63 percent lower for 4 to 7 sauna sessions per week. The risk of fatal coronary heart disease events was 23 percent lower for 2 to 3 bathing sessions per week and 48 percent lower for 4 to 7 sauna sessions per week compared to once a week.

For all-cause mortality, sauna bathing 2 to 3 times per week was associated with a 24 percent lower risk and 4 to 7 times per week with a 40 percent reduction in risk compared to only one sauna session per week.

The amount of time spent in the sauna seemed to matter too. Compared with men who spent less than 11 minutes in the sauna, the risk of sudden cardiac death was 7 percent lower for sauna sessions of 11 to 19 minutes and 52 percent less for sessions lasting more than 19 minutes. Similar associations were seen for fatal CHDs and fatal cardiovascular diseases but not for all-cause mortality events.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5941775/

http://www.customnutritionguelph.com/journal-1//hormesis-heat-shock-proteins-the-benefits-of-heat-therapy

https://biohackersummit.com/2016/10/15/dr-rhonda-patrick-health-benefits-of-sauna/