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Sauna Health BenefitsSome enthusiasts claim that sauna health benefits include relief from the common cold, arthritis, headaches, hangovers and many other ailments. Some claims are a little exaggerated, but there appears to be a good amount of research that proves that there are real health benefits to be gained from sauna bathing. I learned a lot about sauna health benefits from reading Dr. Lawrence Wilson’s book Sauna Therapy. Read on… Sweating & Health Sweating is as important to your health as eating and breathing. Yep, that’s right! Sweating!
1) It helps your body dump waste material, We live in a very sedentary age and many people just don’t sweat much. This highlights the importance of taking saunas and steam baths. Without sweating, our skin pores become clogged up by stuff like antiperspirants, artificial environments, smog, and synthetic clothing. During a 15-minute sauna, about a liter of sweat is excreted (depending on the individual). Here’s something I read that’s pretty amazing… During a 15-minute sauna, sweating can perform the heavy metal excretion that would take the kidneys 24 hours! I admit not knowing how true that is, but many health and wellness professionals agree that taking saunas can excrete harmful material from your body. I’ve even read that some physicians recommend home saunas to supplement kidney machines because sweating is such an effective detoxifier. Your Skin Is Your 3rd Kidney You may have heard that skin is sometimes called the "third kidney." If your skin and its sweat passages become completely smothered, death by accumulated toxins can occur in just hours. Heat Effects On Various Systems & Organs Kidneys. During sweating, blood is sent away from your kidneys and toward your body’s surface. This helps unburden your kidneys and may help purge toxins through sweating. Liver. Again, because of blood being shunted toward the surface, congestion of blood in your liver is reduced while you take a sauna. This may improve the detoxification ability of your liver. Cardiovascular System. Dr. Lawrence Wilson writes... “During a sauna, both your pulse and stroke volume increase. Surface vessels dilate as blood is shunted from internal organs to the surface. Blood pressure usually remains the same or decreases during a sauna session. Repeated sauna use helps decrease elevated blood pressure by enhancing elasticity of the arteries, removing toxins from the kidneys and helping to reduce excessive sympathetic nervous system activity.” Immune System. Heating your body several degrees can enhance white blood cell activity and destroy heat sensitive microorganisms. Nervous System. Using a sauna inhibits your sympathetic nervous system while strengthening your parasympathetic nervous system. This means a sauna has a strong calming effect on your nervous system. Digestive System. If you’ve ever felt the need for a bowel movement while in a sauna or afterward, elimination of toxins from your liver and gall bladder might be the cause. Detoxification - An important sauna health benefit You’ve probably read that saunas are good for detoxification. But why is this so? First of all, heating your body several degrees dramatically increases circulation. According to Dr. Wilson, this helps remove toxins from hard to reach places like bones, sinuses, and teeth. Many forms of bacteria are heat sensitive, so a sauna’s heat may weaken or kill some of them. Dr. Wilson also says that cells damaged by toxic metals and chemicals are weaker than normal cells. Their death can be accelerated by heating them up. This assists your body in removing any metals or chemicals that were trapped inside those damaged cells. Sweating Sweating is a great method for removing toxins. Many substances eliminated through your kidneys can be eliminated through your skin instead. In this way, sweating helps unburden your kidneys. In Sauna Therapy “Since sweat is manufactured from lymph, toxins present in the lymph fluid will exit the body through sweat. Because the liver and kidneys are not required for this process, these organs are largely unburdened by hyperthermic therapy and toxins are able to leave the body even when liver or kidney function is impaired.” If you think sweating from exercise is the same is sweating in a sauna, think again. Dr. Wilson had this to say: 1. Saunas conserve your body’s energy by providing external heat. This leaves energy for detoxification. 2. Sweating with exercise activates your sympathetic nervous system, which reduces the activity of the eliminative organs (liver, kidneys, colon). Circulation Improvement Better circulation means more blood is forced through your eliminative organs. This can help eliminate toxic minerals and chemicals that build up in areas of poor circulation. Parasympathetic Nervous System Enhancement Stress from any source increases sympathetic nervous system activity. For the best detoxification results, your body should be as parasympathetic (relaxed) as possible. Why? Because detoxification requires parasympathetic activity. Parasympathetic activity activates your liver, kidneys, and other organs to help eliminate toxins. Enhancing Oxygenation Saunas help enhance oxygenation of your tissues by sending more blood toward your skin and enhancing circulation to your lungs (and throughout the rest of your body) as well. This is significant because inefficient oxygenation of your tissues interferes with detoxification mechanisms that involve oxidation reactions. Deep Tissue Penetration Heating tissues from the inside helps facilitate detoxification at deeper tissue levels. Infrared saunas heat tissues from the inside. Conclusion I hope this article helped shed more light about sauna health benefits. If you have any health conditions, please remember to consult your doctor before using saunas on a regular basis.
Sauna Therapy  - Dr. Lawrence Wilson's comprehensive look at many aspects of sauna
The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy - Dr. Sylver's comprehensive book on the topic of sauna therapy. Includes photos, charts, and extensive bibliography.
Sauna Benefits - another look at sauna health benefits Home Saunas - a look at the various residential sauna options Infrared Sauna Health Benefits - article highlighting a couple of unique infrared sauna benefits Go from Sauna Health to the home page
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