Heat Therapy for Massive Health Impact

Multiple long term, large sample studies published in the Mayo Clinic, Journal of American Medical Association have show tremendous health and wellness benefits.  (Science citations below in the "Double Click!!" Section)

Sauna just 4x a week yielded a 40% decrease in overall mortality (stroke, heart attack, heart disease, cancer etc.)

Full stop right there.  That's really all you should need to hear in order to attempt to throw this 10-20 min routine into your weekly routine.  But wait there's more.  A lot more!!!

Sauna and Heat Therapy Improves Positive Outcomes Related to:

• Life Span
• Cardiovascular Health
• Metabolic Health
• Weight Loss
• Inflammation
• Sleep and sleep quality
• Stress Reduction
• Neuroendocrine System
• Circulatory System
• Blood volume
• Human Growth Hormone
• Athletic performance
• Blood pressure
• Arterial pressure
• Immune function
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Fibro myalgia
• Asthma
• Chronic bronchitis
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]
• Chronic pain
• Erectile dysfunction
• Quality of life

Sauna and Heat Therapy Reduces:

• All cause mortality
• Stroke
• Hypertension
• Sudden cardiac death  (63% decrease from 4X a week!!!)
• Stress
• Inflammation 
• Dementia
• Venous Thromboembolism
• Lung disease
• Psychotic Disorders
• Pneumonia

If heat therapy or sauna were a drug they could sell the pharmaceutical companies would be shoving this down your throats and it would be a trillion dollar business.   You - all you have to do is invest 10-20 minutes 4x a week and get all of the benefits for essentially.

Easy wins.  We talk about focusing on things that are upstream of everything else to apply leverage and a multiplier on the energy we put in to change.  We talk about using physical and physiological changes to make meaningful impacts on how you feel and our inner state.  We talk about using science backed frameworks, studies and practices to help us focus on things that will have the most significant chance of succeeding to have a positive and meaningful impact on us.  Sauna, hot-tub and heat therapy checks all of the above.  Let's get to the why and the how!

Why?

Going into the sauna is basically like exercising and getting blood flow....everywhere! 

Heat is a stressor to our body and stressors when applied in the correct dosage cause physiological adaptations.  In this case the body and blood vessels dilatate, tissue gets softer, there is increased blood flow on a systemic level.  You sweat allowing you to dispose of toxins, while your body essentially undergoes a workout while you are sitting there.  

If you wear a heart monitor, which I highly recommend, you will notice that the longer you stay in  the sauna the more your heart rate will elevate.  In fact I have found that in as little as 10-15 minutes my heart rate will elevate and stay at or near the max for my age.  (220-Your Age)  That basically means that if I sit in a sauna for 15 minutes my heart rate elevates and stays at a level I could only reach by sprinting at full speed!  

Sauna Protocol - How?

• First of all.  Remember the bigger picture here.  Because of the small time investment and broad scientifically backed impact this is a habit you want to build for the rest of your life.  You don't have to go crazy here, no need to feel like your going to throw up or pass out.  Challenge yourself to stay a bit longer once it start to feel a bit uncomfortable but most importantly build daily consistency.  You will adapt over time and get to know your body - once you have the habit you will know when to challenge yourself more
• Hydration before during and after is key!
• Consider supplementing with electrolytes as you will be sweating a lot!
• Aim for 4X a week for 10-20 minutes or until you feel challenged and slightly uncomfortable, push yourself only after you have established a comfortable baseline
• Don't forget to give yourself credit and celebrate doing this - it essentially mimics an exercise session and takes and builds mental will power and resilience!
• This is also perfect for post exercise to get those extra benefits or pre exercise to warm up - experiment! 

Not the studies showed ideal length to be 15-20 minutes in a sauna 4x a week at 175-190 degrees F .  But they found that test subjects who completed a sub-portion of this gained a proportionate improvement.  Meaning if you did 4X a week for 20 minutes - average results were about a 40% decrease in all cause mortality.  If you did sauna 2X per week the results were closer to 20% decrease.  

Because everyone is different I don't recommend using an approach based on just time and temperature.  What may be easy for someone else may be extremely hard for you.  Ideally I would go by your heart rate and tracking it through your own personal experience with sessions.  My max heart rate at 40 years old is (220-age) approx. 220-40=180.  I personally go into the sauna until I hit about 165-170 heart rate where I start to want to get out and then hold as long as I can from there.  Depending on the sauna you go to and the temperature it can take 10-20 minutes to get to that feeling of discomfort that is similar to working out and makes you want to leave!

Hot Tub

No Sauna?  If you have a hot tub at home or at the gym great!  I've found that because your head is exposed and you are loosing heat through that exposure - even though the water temperature is hotter it does not get my heart rate up as much as a Sauna.  

Think of it this was if sauna is sprinting - hot tub is like jogging.  Still really goof for you and great to get both in.  So don't overthink it!  Both are beneficial for your health.  In my experience I can usually stay in a hot tub longer then a sauna and by heart rate does not go up as high.  Both have been shown to have meaningful impact on a variety of health factors.

If you don't have a hot tub I've gotten my heart rate extremely high by just using a regular tub and hot water.  So experiment with that.  Some of you may have limitations on how much you can move.  This is a perfect way to gain some of the benefits of exercise if you have trouble with movement.  

In the end Consistency is King.  Overtime I've gotten addicted to the rush, feeling and stress release!  

GO!!! > NO Go!!!

Also consider that when your working outside in the heat it is adding an additional layer of adaptation for you!  So give yourself some props.  

Best part of this is it does not have to take a long time - and if your really feeling lazy and don't want to go for a run - well it's so much better then doing nothing.

Studies show sauna post exercise increases all the benefits of exercise including fat loss.

If your interested in the details check out the below:

Sources Used

• Mayo Clinic Journal
• Journal of American Medical Association
• High Intensity Health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e57cfwhmYkU
• Dr. Rhonda Patrick

Source: Mato Clinic - Does the Combination of Finnish Sauna Bathing and Other Lifestyle Factors Confer Additional Health Benefits?  A Review of the Evidence

Mayo Clin Proc: 2023.98(6):915-926

doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2023.01.008

"In a pre-post interventional design in which 77 participants with at least 1 cardiovascular risk factor were exposed to 15 minutes of aerobic exercise on a cycle ergometer followed immediately by 15 minutes of sauna exposure, there wee positive alterations in mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure, and augmentation index, which were retained after a 30 minute recovery period."

"...regular or frequent sauna bathing reduces the risk of vascular and nonvascular diseases, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, sudden cardiac death, stroke, dementia, venous thromboembolism, all cause mortality, lung disease, and psychotic disorders;"

"frequent sauna baths were associated with a decreased risk of pneumonia."

"improves the severity of musculoskeletal disorders (such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibro myalgia), VOCID-19, and lung conditions (such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]; and extends life span."

"...adverse outcomes have been linked to its blood pressure reducing, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cytoprotective, and stress-reducing properties and its synergistic effect on neuroendocrine, circulatory, cardiovascular and immune function."

"Evidence suggests that frequent sauna bathing is an emerging protective risk factor that may augment the beneficial effects of other protective risk or lifestyle factors,"

"Such as physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness, or attenuate or offset the adverse effects of other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, systemic inflammation and low socioeconomic status."

"The combination of endurance and sauna provided the greatest reductions in blood pressure."

Source:  Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and ALL-Cause Mortality Events

Laukkanen T. Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA.

Journal of American Medical Association - JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(4):542-548

• 39 year ongoing study
• Sauna 4X a Week
• 63% Reduction in sudden cardiac death
• 40% Reduction in all cause mortality

Sauna bathing is associated with reduced cardiovascular mortality and improve risk prediction in men and women: a prospective cohort study. BMC Med 16, 219

BMC Medicine - Open Access Journal

Laukkanen T. Khan H,S.K., Khan, H. et al. Sauna

"Decrease in blood pressure, Inflammation (CRP), TC, LDL-C Triglycerides, HDL-C, Reactive Oxygen Species (free radical species), Arterial stiffness, Intima media thickness, decreases stress."

"Increase in arterial compliance, immune system functionality, cardiorespiratory function, endothelial function, NO bioactivity, HDL-C, cardiac output, vaginal activity, endorphins, lung function, vital capacity and volume."

"Improved outcomes for: Cardiovascular disease,  Pneumonia, psychotic disorders, depression, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, quality of life, mortality, lifespan, Stroke, sudden cardiac death, heart failure, hypertension, cognitive disease, venous thromboembolism, COPD, asthma, chronic bronchitis."

Source: Kunutsor SK, Laukkanen JA. Does the Combination of Finnish Sauna Bathing and Other Lifestyle Factors Confer Additional Health Benefits?  A review of the Evidence

Mayo Clin Proc: 2023;98(6):915-926

"In a prospective study based on 30,076 participants aged 40 to 59 years with no history of CVD or cancer at baseline followed up from 1990 to 2009,"

"having hot tub baths almost daily or every day vs 0 to 2 times per week was associated with risk reductions in cardiovascular outcomes ranging from 23% to 43%"

Source: Sakurai R, Fujiwara Y, Saito K, et al. Effects of a comprehensive intervention program including hot bathing, on overweight adults: a randomized controlled trial.  Geriatr Gerontol Int.

2013;13(3):638-645

Group A - Exercise / Diet / Hot Bathing Intervention

Group B - Exercise and Diet Intervention

Group C - Hot Bathing Intervention

Group D - Control Group

"Group A had significant improvements in anthropometric measures compared with the hot bathing intervention or control group only."

"And the lower extremity function (i.e. walking speed) had greeter improvement in the participants in groups A and B compared with groups C and D."