be relaxing and detoxifying for your body.
benefits of cleansing, relaxation, and weight loss. In Finland, for example, there
are roughly 2 million saunas for the country’s 5.2 million people. Sauna use in
Scandinavian countries starts in early childhood.
Current research about the benefits of saunas is mixed. If you’re considering
adding the sauna to your health and wellness routine.
Are saunas good for you?
Much of the information about sauna safety comes from Finland. A 16-month
study of 1,631 heart attacks in Helsinki found that just 1.8% developed within 3
hours of taking a sauna. In another investigation of all 6,175 sudden deaths that
occurred in one year, only 1.7% occurred within 24 hours of taking a sauna —
and many of those were related to alcohol.
In Finland, taking saunas is a national pastime. So, do these results apply to
people in other parts of the world who sometimes use saunas?
Canadian researchers investigated sauna safety in 16 patients with well-
documented heart disease. They compared the effects of a 15-minute sauna with
a standard treadmill stress test. None of the patients developed chest pain,
abnormal heart rhythms or ECG changes with either type of stress. Heart scans
did show impaired blood flow to the heart muscles of most patients, but the
sauna-induced changes were milder than the exercise-induced abnormalities.
Saunas appear safe for patients with stable coronary artery disease. A small study
from Japan suggested that two weeks of daily saunas may even improve
vascular function in patients with mildly damaged hearts that cannot pump blood
normally (stable heart failure).
Still, heart patients should check with their doctors before using saunas. People
who can perform moderate exercise, such as walking for 30 minutes or climbing
3 or 4 flights of stairs without stopping, will likely get an okay. But patients with
poorly controlled blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, unstable angina and
advanced heart failure or heart valve disease will be advised to stay cool.3
Sauna health benefits
The dry heat has profound effects on the body. Sweating begins almost
immediately. The average person will lose a pint of sweat during a brief sauna.
However, it evaporates so quickly in the dry air that a person may not realize
how much he is perspiring. Skin temperature soars to about 104° within minutes,
but internal body temperature rises more slowly. It usually stays below 100°.
Changes in body temperature are easy to understand, but the heart's responses to
heat are even more important. The pulse rate jumps by 30% or more. As a result,
the heart nearly doubles the amount of blood it pumps each minute.
Most of the extra blood flow is directed to the skin; in fact, the circulation
actually directs blood away from the internal organs. Blood pressure may rise or
fall. All of these changes resolve quickly after a person cools down.
Although a sauna may help you relax, your heart is working hard while you sit on your bench. Is that safe?
What does a sauna do?
The modern sauna is a simple unpainted room with wooden walls and benches.
A rock-filled electric heater keeps the temperature at about 90° at floor level and
boosts it to about 185° at the top. Unlike Turkish baths, Finnish saunas are very
dry. Humidity levels are just 10% to 20%. Water drains through the floor to keep
things dry. In a good sauna, an efficient ventilation system exchanges the air 3 to
8 times an hour.
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