Facts and Fables about Sauna

Kauppinen, K

doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1997.tb51764.x

Cited by 31 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Sauna bathing, a well-known form of whole-body heating, is well-tolerated by most healthy individuals, both young and old between childhood and old age [10,16,18]. Repeated sauna bathing influences endogenous regulatory mechanisms, mainly acute and transient cardiovascular and hormonal changes, by maintaining a balance between fluid composition and the distribution of circulating blood [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sauna-induced body mass loss in physically inactive young women and men

Podstawski

Boraczyński

et al. 2016

Biomedical Human Kinetics

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SummaryStudy aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between basic somatic features (body mass and height) and body mass loss in physically inactive young women and men exposed to thermal stress in a dry sauna. Materials and methods:The research was conducted in 2015 on 685 first-year full-time students (333 women, 352 men), aged 19-20 years old. Nude body mass was measured after the students dried off before and after using the sauna.Results: An analysis of regression equations indicated that an increase in the body mass of women and men leads to a significant increase in sauna-induced body mass loss. On the other hand, body mass loss decreased with an increase in height in women and men, but to a smaller extent. From among the tested somatic features, body height and body mass, body mass had a decisive influence on body mass loss. Body height had a minimal and statistically non-significant impact on body mass loss. Conclusions:The results of this study indicate that heavier individuals have an increased risk of dehydration and hyperthermia. Therefore, they should pay close attention to replenishing fluids lost in the sauna. The determination of body mass loss values after a visit to a dry sauna has practical significance because it supports the estimation of the fluid volume required for the maintenance of correct water balance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sauna-induced body mass loss in physically inactive young women and men

Podstawski

Boraczyński

et al. 2016

Biomedical Human Kinetics

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“…Normalization of body temperature and cessation of sweating after the usual hot-cold cycles of sauna have been reported to occur after about half an hour [2]. A similar time has been shown to be sufficient for HR and BPs to, respectively, decrease and increase back to control values after mist but not after dry sauna [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The sequence of treatments of the spa-course adopted in this study does resemble the usual ritual of Finnish sauna, that traditionally consists in 2-3 stays of 5-20 min in the sauna, interspersed with cooling-off periods and recovery at room temperature with intake of fluids [2,5]. In our protocol, three periods of exposure to high temperature, namely sauna, steam bath and Mediterranean bath, were administered, each of them followed by a cooling maneuver and a rest phase.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the end of this spa-course, no subject reported any problem or discomfort. Thermal treatments indeed have been shown to be well tolerated by healthy adults as well as by patients, for instance subjects with cardiovascular pathologies [2,3,[5][6][7].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thermal bathing is an ancient tradition in some countries as a standard health activity: sauna in Finland, steam bath in Turkey, hot water bath in Japan are very popular practices to relax and recover from both physical and mental fatigue [1][2][3][4]. These treatments are well tolerated by healthy people and have been documented to be safe also for most patients, including chronic heart failure and hypertensive subjects [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of spa treatment on cardiac autonomic control at rest in healthy subjects

Corsini¹,

Capogrosso

Perini

2015

Sport Sci Health

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Purpose Heart rate variability (HRV) was analyzed after a spa-course to test the hypothesis that cardiac autonomic modulation can reflect the feeling of relaxation and wellbeing induced by the treatment. Methods Twenty healthy males were administered a spacourse, consisting in classic sauna (15 min), steam bath (10 min), and soft sauna (10 min), each of them followed by a cooling-off and a rest period. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured at rest in supine position before and after the treatment. HRV was analyzed in time and frequency domains and by Poincaré plot. Results After the treatment, systolic and diastolic BPs were decreased by about 13 and 6 mmHg, respectively (p \ 0.05 vs. before), while HR was unchanged (55 ± 7 b/ min). HRV time domain and Poincaré parameters were significantly higher after than before the spa-course: SDNN, rMSSD, SD1 and SD2 increased by 31-35 %, NN50 and pNN50 by 64 %. The ratio SD1/SD2 was 0.6 ± 0.1 in both conditions. No modification was found in normalized power of spectral component and in their ratio (LF/HF = 1.3 ± 1.1, overall mean). Conclusions The increase in HRV with no change in markers of sympatho-vagal interaction observed after the spa-course would suggest an enhanced vagal modulation of HR, possibly reflecting the relaxing effect of the treatment.HRV analysis could be a useful tool to monitor changes in individual psychophysiological condition.

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Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events

et al. 2015

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IMPORTANCE Sauna bathing is a health habit associated with better hemodynamic function; however, the association of sauna bathing with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality is not known. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of frequency and duration of sauna bathing with the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), fatal coronary heart disease (CHD), fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD), and all-cause mortality. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We performed a prospective cohort study (Finnish Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study) of a population-based sample of 2315 middle-aged (age range, 42-60 years) men from Eastern Finland. Baseline examinations were conducted from March 1, 1984, through December 31, 1989. EXPOSURES Frequency and duration of sauna bathing assessed at baseline. RESULTS During a median follow-up of 20.7 years (interquartile range, 18.1-22.6 years), 190 SCDs, 281 fatal CHDs, 407 fatal CVDs, and 929 all-cause mortality events occurred. A total of 601, 1513, and 201 participants reported having a sauna bathing session 1 time per week, 2 to 3 times per week, and 4 to 7 times per week, respectively. The numbers (percentages) of SCDs were 61 (10.1%), 119 (7.8%), and 10 (5.0%) in the 3 groups of the frequency of sauna bathing. The respective numbers were 89 (14.9%), 175 (11.5%), and 17 (8.5%) for fatal CHDs; 134 (22.3%), 249 (16.4%), and 24 (12.0%) for fatal CVDs; and 295 (49.1%), 572 (37.8%), and 62 (30.8%) for all-cause mortality events. After adjustment for CVD risk factors, compared with men with 1 sauna bathing session per week, the hazard ratio of SCD was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.57-1.07) for 2 to 3 sauna bathing sessions per week and 0.37 (95% CI, 0.18-0.75) for 4 to 7 sauna bathing sessions per week (P for trend = .005). Similar associations were found with CHD, CVD, and all-cause mortality (P for trend Յ.005). Compared with men having a sauna bathing session of less than 11 minutes, the adjusted hazard ratio for SCD was 0.93 (95% CI, 0.67-1.28) for sauna bathing sessions of 11 to 19 minutes and 0.48 (95% CI, 0.31-0.75) for sessions lasting more than 19 minutes (P for trend = .002); significant inverse associations were also observed for fatal CHDs and fatal CVDs (P for trend Յ.03) but not for all-cause mortality events. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Increased frequency of sauna bathing is associated with a reduced risk of SCD, CHD, CVD, and all-cause mortality. Further studies are warranted to establish the potential mechanism that links sauna bathing and cardiovascular health.

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Facts and Fables about Sauna

Cited by 31 publications

References 21 publications

Sauna-induced body mass loss in physically inactive young women and men

Sauna-induced body mass loss in physically inactive young women and men

Effects of spa treatment on cardiac autonomic control at rest in healthy subjects

Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events

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