Benefits of Using a Dry Sauna
Saunas and similar sweat baths or lodges have been used by many cultures throughout history, including by the Finnish, First Nations people, nomadic tribes in Central Asia, Ancient Romans, and the Japanese, to name a few (Swedish Finn Historical Society, n.d.). Various cultures have used saunas and similar sweat lodges for physical, medicinal, and even spiritual purposes. A dry sauna is a wood-filled room (often made of cedar) that is heated between 150-175 degrees Fahrenheit. Traditional Finnish dry saunas use a stove called a kiuas, which transfer heat into the rocks placed upon it (Lamb, 2009). Sauna users can then pour ladles of water over the heated rocks to increase the humidity of the sauna, although humidity is typically kept below 20%. In the modern day, saunas have been reported to have a number of benefits, and early research supports this idea.
Reported Benefits Include (Andonian, n.d.):
Alleviation of joint and muscle pain
Reduced stress
Improved sleep - possibly linked to lower cortisol levels
A feeling of rejuvenation
Increased cardiovascular health
Decreased chronic pain
A systematic review of existing research and literature examined studies from 2000-2018 reporting on the health effects of regular dry sauna bathing, and found encouraging results. The review looked at forty clinical studies, of which 13 were randomized controlled trials (Hussain & Cohen, 2018). The review supported the idea that regular dry sauna use has health benefits, including (Hussain & Cohen, 2018):
Improved cardiovascular health
Reduced risk of cardiac events
Reduced overall mortality
Decrased incidence of dementia
Saunas were shown to be beneficial for people with rheumatic diseases, chronic fatigue, and chronic pain syndromes
It’s important to note that further research needs to be conducted to corroborate these findings, as many of these studies involved small sample sizes and the study design was not randomized.
References
Andonian, N. (n.d.). The 13 sauna benefits for your health and body . GoodRx. https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/alternative-treatments/sauna-benefits
Hussain, J., & Cohen, M. (2018). Clinical effects of regular dry sauna bathing: A systematic review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1857413
Lamb, R. (2009, September 14). How saunas work. HowStuffWorks. https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-treatments/sauna2.htm
Swedish Finn Historical Society. (n.d.). The sauna. Swedish Finn Historical Society. https://www.swedishfinnhistoricalsociety.org/the-sauna/