Is There Scientific Evidence For The Wisdom Behind Traditional Sauna Use?

Is there scientific evidence for the wisdom behind traditional sauna use?

I grew up in a culture where saunas and banyas are ubiquitous. As a boy, I didn’t like them at all – couldn’t understand the fun of sitting in an insanely heated room and then having someone hit you with birch branches.

To make the torture complete, someone would, every now and then, toss cold water on the red-hot rocks producing billows of steam rising to the ceiling and biting your ears.

With time, however, the shining smiles, glowing faces, and the renewed energy of those who just came out of that 200-degree purgatory made me think there must be something to it.

When I questioned the sauna-lovers about their experience, they would unanimously say: “Well, while you are in it, you are stressed, but when you go out, it makes you feel pretty darn good.”

Little did I know that there was science behind it. The sauna is a stressor, but not all stress is bad. What our ancestors felt intuitively using sweat lodges, saunas, and banyas regularly has been confirmed by various studies.

Is there scientific evidence for the sauna?

The most famous study from Finland followed 2315 middle-aged subjects for 21 years and found that those who used the sauna 2-3 times per week reduced their all-cause mortality by 24 percent while those who used the sauna 4-7 times per week saw a whopping 40-percent reduction in all-cause mortality!

This correlates well with studies on flies and worms – exposing them to high temperatures for 15 minutes increased their life spans by 15%.

Of course, our ancestors didn’t know anything about the effects of sauna on longevity, but they got four things right:

1.      They extended their time in the sauna by having several 15-minute rounds with cold plunges in between (studies have shown that there is a dose-dependent correlation between time spent in the sauna and longevity).

2.      They used the sauna regularly because of its felt benefits for mental health.

3.      They realized that having heat stress intermittently was a good idea – they would either splash water on the hot rocks to get that occasional wave of heat, or they would whip themselves with birch branches to increase the overall body temperature.

4.      They discovered that there is a strong social element to the healing power of the sauna.

What are the benefits of heat shock proteins?

It turns out that every time the body experiences heat stress, it activates the so-called heat shock proteins. Heat shock proteins prevent and reverse cell damage caused by daily stress.

In other words, the stress we accumulate from living our daily lives is decreased every time we expose ourselves to heat stress.

According to Dr. Rhonda Patrick, heat shock proteins last in our body for up to 2 weeks, cleaning up the cell damage 24/7.

This is where the intuitive wisdom of the past ages comes into play and becomes almost palpable – in traditional cultures, such as Finland, Russia, Estonia, and Sweden, most people go to the sauna “to unwind.”

The sauna has been used as a powerful tool to help you switch from “fight and flight” mode to “rest and digest.”

The parasympathetic effects of the sauna are augmented by sprinkling essential oils on the rocks and drinking herbal teas in between the sessions.

Does the sauna improve mood?

Sauna’s ability to improve mood and reduce depression is phenomenal. It is another reason why traditional cultures have made it such an integral part of life and turned it into an intricate ritual.

In northern climates, where winters are long and the sunlight is scarce, people have always felt that heating up your body regularly helps you to get through those dreary dark months without getting too weary.

And there is scientific evidence for the wisdom behind traditional sauna use.

One study showed that 20 minutes in the sauna triggers the release of dynorphin, an opioid that, for a short time, makes you feel dysphoric, stressed, and uneasy, but very soon your body balances it out by producing beta-endorphins – the chemicals that elevate your mood.

So, by the time you leave the sauna, the dynorphins are gone and beta-endorphins kick in.

This is why the sauna has been traditionally associated with going to euphoria through stress. In folklore, this paradox is captured in many proverbs and sayings:

“A bath-broom in the banya is worth more than money” (the stress of being whipped by the birch branches is well worth it).

“The banya is like a second mother” (you go through the “pains of childbirth,” but you come out renewed).

Are saunas spiritual?

The parasympathetic effects of the traditional sauna have strong social and spiritual aspects. In traditional societies, the idea of rest has always been intertwined with the idea of deep connectedness.

Over the centuries, the sauna has been the place where you connected with other people, Higher Power, and yourself.

The ancients intuited the healing powers of connection and beautifully expressed it in the sauna ritual where people – literally and metaphorically – strip themselves of all layers of pretense and experience oneness on the soul level.

The intervals in between the sauna sessions are precious – you get together around a table with other naked, red-faced, relaxed individuals who tell jokes, sip herbal tea with honey, or share their stories.

No clothes, no hiding behind cell phones or tablets – just real flesh-and-blood people and that profound sense of connectedness that brings profound healing.

As the Finnish saying goes, “all people have been created equal, but nowhere more so than in a sauna.”