Sauna Benefits

Have you ever wondered why the heat therapy is so beneficial? The sauna helps to stimulate hormone production, improve cardiovascular health, and speeds recovery/injury rehab. Heat also stimulates heat-shock proteins, which plays a role in organizing other proteins to aid in the growth of muscle tissue.

Sauna sessions also increase production of white blood cells, enhancing immune function. In fact, regular sauna sessions have been shown to reduce the chance of catching a cold.

How long should someone stay in the hot box? The principal of “more is better” doesn’t apply to the sauna or steam room. Start with five minutes and then add a minute each week until you are able to tolerate a 15 minute session. The goal is to reach a point where the heat becomes uncomfortable, but not push it to a point where you reach the verge of passing out.

Once a threshold is hit, you can step out and get in a cold shower or pool. Cooling down quickly is as important as the heat exposure. Also, without cooling down quickly, cortisol levels may continue to rise and individuals may feel fatigued for much of the day afterwards. If you feel overly tired following heat therapy, try cooling off faster with a colder shower. You should feel refreshed, not worn out from the sauna.

What exactly does Detoxification mean? The sauna is well-known for its ability to support detoxification. The sauna is superior to the steam room for detoxification because people sweat more, due to the lower humidity and higher temperature. A large amount of everyday toxins are released through sweat. This can be especially beneficial for those losing large amounts of weight. The body stores toxins in fat cells as a way to isolate them from the rest of the body’s cells.

As someone loses body fat, the toxins are released as well. Sweating helps to remove them from the body and of course that doesn’t mean exercise and nutrition don’t play a substantial role in this process.

What about the steam room vs. the sauna? The steam room is much more humid and has a lower temperature. Because of its high humidity, most people cannot tolerate being in the steam room as long as they can the sauna.

The differences in temperature and humidity do create some differences in effects in the body.

With the low humidity level, the sauna allows for a greater amount of sweating. This is why people can normally stay in the sauna longer. Because they can sweat more, they’re able to cool themselves better than they could at higher humidity.

Even though the temperature is higher in the sauna, the humidity in the steam room causes a faster rise in core body temperature. The high level of humidity in the steam room does not allow for efficient perspiration. Sweat cannot evaporate because of the high humidity.

The sauna or steam rooms both enhance recovery, support immune function and provide cardiovascular benefits. These changes occur as a result of the body becoming overheated.

People often reach a threshold faster in the steam room, where the humidity makes it difficult to cool one’s self.

The sauna is probably a better option, as it allows for more sweating, which supports detoxification, and is more tolerable, which helps with relaxation.