Photo: Mr. Tempter (Shutterstock)
A sauna session can feel good, but it can also bring a little suffering; Because if the weather outside is the same as in a sauna, you probably want to hide in the air conditioning all day. There is something about uncomfortable physical experiences that makes us think they must be somehow good for us, and so the sauna has built a healthy reputation for itself that it doesn’t quite deserve. Here’s an overview of what a sauna can and can’t do for you.
Saunas do not burn fat
It is technically correct that you can lose weight by sitting in the sauna, but that’s not because your body is burning fat; it’s because you sweat, and sweat is made up of water, and water weighs something. As soon as you rehydrate – which you should – the scales will revert to the original value.
Finally, as we discussed during the exercise, we have Sweating doesn’t mean you’ve exercised well or burned calories. It just means that you were hot.
People who sell saunas and sauna services love to talk about their calorie burning benefits, but there’s no evidence that you burn significantly more calories in a hot room than you would on your couch at home. Some more skeptical websites give a modest number of 1.5 to 2 times the calories you would burn if you were sitting at room temperature, but without quoting. If that’s true, that’s roughly the difference between sitting and standing – so you can skip the sauna trip and just stand around for half an hour.
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Saunas do not “detoxify” them
It’s 2021 and we as a society should be over this “detox” conceptthat has been exposed again and again. Common inconveniences like fatigue are sometimes not due to secret toxins poisoning you all the time, and even if you have health problems due to toxins, get medical attention and don’t expect smoothies or saunas to cure you.
Saunas do not replace training
Sauna and exercise heat up your body and make you sweat, but other than that, there isn’t much in common. Remember that exercise makes us stronger and improves our cardiovascular endurance (giving us a higher VO2max, for example). Sweating in a hot room doesn’t do that.
Even this review from a movement science researcher, which draws parallels between walking and sitting in the sauna in its headline, contains the following disclaimer:
Before considering canceling your gym membership and investing the savings in a hot tub, know that regular saunas or baths cannot replicate all of the health benefits of exercise, such as losing fat and increasing muscle mass. The use of hot baths or saunas should not be viewed as a substitute for exercise.
Saunas can be good for your blood vessels
What this researcher points out after the disclaimer is that there are some lesser-known benefits of exercise that appear to be related to increases in body heat and heart rate, rather than the more obvious strain on our lungs or muscles.
As your body temperature rises, the blood vessels near the surface of the skin expand (widen) and this process can aid cell growth and repair. In other words, simply increasing your body temperature can be good for your blood vessels – something we don’t normally think about, but healthy blood vessels are part of a healthy cardiovascular system
Relaxation is real
If you find saunas relaxing – and many of us do – it can be a health benefit in itself. This is not as concrete an advantage as it is sometimes claimed; You will not cure your depression or reverse your heart disease just by relaxing in the sauna every now and then. But if you enjoy your sauna sessions, they can certainly help lower your stress levels and improve your mental health. Pro tip: A. hot bath can have many of these effects too, and cheaper.
Heat has advantages and disadvantages
For other illnesses and sports applications, the advantages and disadvantages of a sauna depend on the advantages and disadvantages of the heat itself. Heat often feels good when sore muscles, so athletes often enjoy saunas.
Some skin conditions respond well to the dry air of a sauna, while others can be made worse by dry air but might feel better with the moist air of a steam room. Use your common sense and consult your doctor if you would like to use a sauna to treat a health condition.
Saunas also involve risks
When we talk about health benefits, it’s only fair to discuss risks too. Saunas are reasonably safe, but people with medical conditions are often advised to stay away or speak to a doctor before deciding whether to go to the sauna. This could include if you are pregnant, have abnormally high or low blood pressure, have epilepsy, or are taking stimulants, sedatives, or mind altering drugs.
Spending time in the sauna also has has been associated with temporarily decreased fertilityy because heat affects sperm production.
The greatest danger in a sauna is that you could overheat or become dehydrated; heavy Heat sickness and dehydration can both be life-threatening, and people have died in saunas. Alcohol makes you more vulnerable; half of the people who died in saunas, according to a Finnish study, were under the influence of alcohol. (The authors argue that the greatest danger is not the alcohol itself, but allowing a drunk person to be alone in the sauna.)
So if you do choose to spend time in a sauna, be smart. Drink well, don’t go alone, and don’t expect the sauna to do things that saunas can’t.
