For most people, a sauna is nothing more than a heated wooden closet in the corner of some gym locker rooms.
Maybe we should take a note from the citizens of Finland, because they love their saunas. In fact, it’s not uncommon to find private ones in their homes and apartments, as well as a number of communal ones where you can casually sweat while catching up on the neighbourhood gossip.
The Finns are certainly onto something, as some sauna time can afford a number of health benefits:
Saunas are a workout
No, it’s true. Researchers in Germany found that a 25-minute sauna session can be just as exhausting as a moderate workout.
In their study, they found participants’ heart rates and blood pressures rose while in the sauna, and dropping below baseline when they exited. The results were mirrored those who rode a stationary bike at moderate intensity. Basically, the heat puts stress on the heart the same way exercise does.
Saunas boost your immune system
When it’s cold and flu season, time in the sauna can do your immune system some good. A quick 15-minute session can increase white blood cell, lymphocyte, neutrophil, and basophil counts, all of which stimulate and reinforce the immune system, according to a 2013 study done by researchers in Poland. These effects were even more prominent in athletes; the stress put on the body from the sauna’s heat gives the immune system a little jolt.
Related: A viable alternative to exercise is…a hot bath?
Saunas lower your stroke risk
Men and women who enjoyed four to seven sauna sessions a week were 61 per cent less likely to have a stroke than those who went once a week, says a 2018 study by Dr. Lauukkanen and colleagues published in the journal Neurology. Even with a controlled group for stroke risk factors like diabetes, high BMI, and alcohol consumption, the link was strong. Researchers still aren’t sure why this is though.
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