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Regular Sauna Users May Have Fewer Chronic Diseases (reuters.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: People who visit the sauna frequently may be less likely to develop heart and lung diseases or to get the flu than those who rarely go, a research review suggests. One study in the current analysis, for example, found that going to the sauna at least four times a week was associated with a roughly 50 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease. This study included 2,315 people and also linked regular sauna use to a 40 percent lower risk of premature death from all causes. Another study in the analysis compared the effects of using the sauna for 19 minutes versus 11 minutes. In this study, longer sauna sessions were linked to a 17 percent lower risk of premature death from all causes, as well as a 36 percent lower chance of death from heart disease.
In a third study in the analysis, with 1,621 participants, using the sauna at least four times weekly was tied to a 47 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure than going once weekly. Yet another study linked at least four weekly sauna visits with about 66 percent lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease than going just once a week. Two other studies found going to the sauna at least four times a week associated with a 41 percent lower risk of respiratory diseases and a 37 percent lower chance of pneumonia than going once weekly. The authors reported their findings in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
In a third study in the analysis, with 1,621 participants, using the sauna at least four times weekly was tied to a 47 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure than going once weekly. Yet another study linked at least four weekly sauna visits with about 66 percent lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease than going just once a week. Two other studies found going to the sauna at least four times a week associated with a 41 percent lower risk of respiratory diseases and a 37 percent lower chance of pneumonia than going once weekly. The authors reported their findings in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Finnish (and Scandinavian, Baltic and Russian) saunas are quite different from American saunas. The maximum allowed temperature in American saunas is 194F or 90C, and the common temperature is much lower than that, often in the 120F/50C range. With people wearing bathing suits.
Meanwhile a Finnish sauna is typically kept around the boiling point for water, and unless water is poured on the rocks, it can be in the 230F/110C range. And, of course, people go naked in Finnish saunas. You have to be, and not bring any towels that aren't cotton or linen.
Oh, and Americans don't whip themselves with birch twigs in the sauna, nor roll in the snow afterwards either.
I wonder what's the effect of including those who use saunas as a cultural tradition, such as Finns? Are they less likely to fall ill overall, contributing to the numbers?
Sauna fatalities is a real thing in Finland, but it's often related to alcohol, and doing stupid things like falling asleep, or for traditional fire driven saunas, not checking the smokestack for leaks regularly.
The article states they focused on Finnish saunas. This implies looking at a place where sauna usage is not even slightly niche, but the article also says they didn't particularly try to do anything useful with the data like filter out lifestyle types.
That said...isn't a 50% reduction in multiple chronic health problems so huge a result as to reflect an almost guaranteed causation? Like, you don't even need a well designed study to find out aspirin is almost a panacea.
First, the lead author of this study is Dr. Jari Laukkanen of the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. I assure you that it's not only wealthy white people who use saunas in Finland. Although now that I think about it, Finland is a very white, very prosperous society, since they represent the "Nordic model" of hybrid socialism which makes for the happiest, most prosperous countries.
So maybe you're right. The unwashed, cheetoh-eating Trump voters aren't really made for the sauna. Sweating isn't going to help type 2 diabetes and morbid obesity. Further, I've been to Finland on several occasions, once for a summer, and I don't remember seeing cheetohs in the stores. Lots of booze though. The Finns can drink. A lot. I tried to keep up with some Finns once and almost got alcohol poisoning. And these were pretty well-respected academics, knocking back hard liquor like it was gatorade.
You are welcome on my lawn.
If you are implying that only rich people have saunas that's incorrect in Finland. EVERY house has sauna and in apparments they have community saunas. Actually it's hard not to find sauna close by in Finland :) And yes I'm a finn and I love to go sauna every week :)
{...} to comfortably exercise in other ways (though if this applies to you, I suggest trying swimming / pool exercises)
This.
Thousand time this.
Due to the weightlessness-like caused by the water, you can actually swim/do pool exercies even if you're completely hopeless for any other type of physical exercises.
Even if you're weak to the point that you can't walk around, you can still swim (Though in that case don't attempt it on your own the first time without specially trained supervision). There's a reason why swimming pool is used in physical rehab: it's really that good/useful.
If you need exercice, go to the pool (and optionally consider registering for gym at the pool).
Then it's followed by biking and then a little bit further down by rowing (Either the actual out-door sport, or on devices), as your weight is distributed over more points (on a bicycle, your weight is distributed over 5 points, you don't put so much stress on single joint like when, e.g., running) and the effort is spread over more muscle groups (in case of rowing you basically extend your whole body), and you can also adapt the level of efforts (light pace on flat, instead of pedaling like a maniac trying to beat the pack uphill).
As some scale, simply walking (instead of taking the car) or climbing the stairs (instead of taking elevators/escalators) is a good light exercise.
Consider eventually introducing bike to work (consider using e-bike to pedal-assist to be less sweaty), well at least when you live on the side of the Atlantic where "going to the groceries" doesn't mean "2 hours car trip".
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
So many are wrongly commenting that this only proves that rich persons are healthier than poor. These studies were made in Finland. In Finland we have about 3 million saunas and a population of about 5 million. It means we have pretty much one sauna for each household. We in Finland are crazy about our saunas and both rich and poor go to sauna. You have to search for a very long time to find even one house without sauna or access to a sauna. All new houses do have saunas and the older houses often have a separate sauna building on the back yard.
In Finland we do not have much homeless people at all. Those very, very few we have are it by own choice because our social system makes sure everybody got a place to live. Finland it quite unique in this regard, even among the Nordic countries. If you have problems (drugs, alcohol, unemployment, depression, whatever) and you are not able to pay for own living, you get it for free. It is like the motto would be "first a place to live, then we try to fix your other problems".
In Finland sauna is nothing you happen to visit just after some exercise. Instead it is a way to relax and both fat and thin, young and old are going to sauna just because it feels so good.