Spending some time in a sauna is a habit that many people are starting to take up, especially with the arrival of these services in conventional gyms that choose models where the spa has an important weight. The best part is that many people choose gold because they have heard that it has a long list of benefits for our health, but the reality is that there is a myth in this belief.
The Finnish miracle. Almost all of the spectacular statistics circulating about saunas come from one place, the KIHD Cohort Study. In this study, they followed 2,315 Finnish men aged 42 to 60 for more than two decades, and the results indicated that those who went to the sauna between 4 and 7 times per week had a 63% lower risk of sudden cardiac death than those who went only once.
But it didn’t stop there, as other studies also showed a 65% lower risk of developing dementia, such as stroke, which was reduced by 61%, or a significant 47% reduction in high blood pressure. A priority, everything was excellent and would recommend that we all go to a sauna.
Poor team. Shortly after this article was published, problems arose with these results, which were of reverse causality. This means that going through 80ºC is no walk in the park, but requires the cardiovascular system to work harder to dissipate the heat. Therefore, it is very possible that it is not the sauna that extends life, but only those who are already very healthy able to tolerate frequent sauna sessions.
For example, a man with early heart failure or general health problems will stop going 4 times a week because he doesn’t feel well and obviously, that won’t show up in the statistics. From this point of view the sauna can be another sign of good health, since you need to be physically fit to have a good time here.
Clinical trials. With this tool we can solve this problem, and here we did a small trial with 47 sedentary adults from 2022 that showed that adding 15 minutes of gold after exercise reduced ‘peak’ blood pressure by 8 mmHg more than exercise alone. However, this was not true for heart rate variability.
In addition, in 2023 the Montreal Heart Institute subjected 41 patients with stable coronary heart disease to 4 weekly sessions at 79°C for two months. But no improvement in endothelial function, arterial stiffness or blood pressure was observed.
Some benefits (with butts and buts). What we achieve in the short term is a physiological change that vasodilates the entire vascular system, pumping the heart with more blood in an attempt to cool us down, mimicking the effort of low or moderate intensity vascular exercise. But in addition, a recent study shows that a 30-minute session is capable of intensively mobilizing immune cells, momentarily strengthening our defenses.
The problem is that this thermal effect is harmless, and it has been shown that three months of twice-weekly saunas reduce sperm count and motility in healthy volunteers. The good news is that this is an effect that can be reversed if you take a break from the sauna for a few months.
Picture | hmm
In Xataka | Science Reveals How Sauna “Hacks” the Brain: It Reduces the Risk of Alzheimer’s in the Future by 65%
