Health benefits of Sauna - The Science

BobTbay

BobTbay

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Health benefits of Sauna - The Science

Hi I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which has the highest population of Finlanders anywhere in the world outside of Finland. They love their saunas and all of them claim numerous health benefits and it turns out they might actually be right, scientific studies agree.

If you don’t have time to watch the video, two things that really stuck out at me were that

1. Sauna’s mimic cardio and increase athletic performance.

-8:30 into video

- Runners who sauna’d twice a week after training for thirty minutes each time increased time to exhaustion tests by 32% after only three weeks.

2. People who sauna live longer.

-1:20 into video

-21 year duration study of 3500 people
-Daily sauna users decreased all cause mortality by 40% and heart attacks by 48% over the study duration.

Mild to moderate periodic heat stress appears to be good for your health and wellness.

Here’s the video that turned me on
 
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I've got a fair bit of faith in whatever Dr. P has to say. Been wishing I had a sauna and an ice bath since I first heard about some of these studies, before that I guess I thought it was mostly myth born from tradition.
 
Glad I used the search function before posting my sauna thoughts. Good video(y)

My grandma was a Fin, they had a sauna at their house and camp (cottage), we did as well; most of my friends had one at their camp/cottage too. I like to have a steam post workout and it keeps my heat rate in zone 2 with zero effort. Also feel less muscle soreness the next day. I was a Tbay kid myself and left 20+ years ago to find work; terrible nepotism back then.
 
When I was at my absolute best shape of my life , in my early twenties , before I ever used gear, I used to go to the steam room daily. I was also running and doing weights at the time. I mean I was in peak physical condition. As a natty still able to squat 3 plates and bench 3 plates and deadlift 4 plates . And run 7 minute miles .
I was training hard all the time . I remember I went to the doctor and my doctor was blown away because my resting heart rate was like 34 beats per minute.
I feel like the heat also really distressed your muscles, I trained harder than , than I do now and was never sore or tight anywhere .
May I have to start doing this again.

Somewhere along the line I fell out of it because I chase the hardcore gyms with the biggest dudes but now it may be a good time to take a step back and find an all encompassing gym with those extra amenities


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Andrew Huberman has some awesome insight into Sauna and cold soaking..Cold soak 11 mins per week as cold as you can stand and sauna around 190F for specified duration that is escaping me at the moment. Huberman is great to listen to, i say it weekly at least...lol
 
ironwill said:
Andrew Huberman has some awesome insight into Sauna and cold soaking..Cold soak 11 mins per week as cold as you can stand and sauna around 190F for specified duration that is escaping me at the moment. Huberman is great to listen to, i say it weekly at least...lol
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Sounds about right. We used to run it so hot the heat resistant light bulb would break. (Wood fired sauna) We would do about 20-30 minutes before it hurt to breathe and then jump off the dock into the cold lake.

Now it’s as hot as the gym allows and into a cold water shower. if it doesn’t make you gasp for air…neither hot nor cold enough
 
BobTbay said:
Health benefits of Sauna - The Science

Hi I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which has the highest population of Finlanders anywhere in the world outside of Finland. They love their saunas and all of them claim numerous health benefits and it turns out they might actually be right, scientific studies agree.

If you don’t have time to watch the video, two things that really stuck out at me were that

1. Sauna’s mimic cardio and increase athletic performance.

-8:30 into video

- Runners who sauna’d twice a week after training for thirty minutes each time increased time to exhaustion tests by 32% after only three weeks.

2. People who sauna live longer.

-1:20 into video

-21 year duration study of 3500 people
-Daily sauna users decreased all cause mortality by 40% and heart attacks by 48% over the study duration.

Mild to moderate periodic heat stress appears to be good for your health and wellness.

Here’s the video that turned me on
Click to expand...

I have used steam rooms in the past, the gym near my house had an excellent and clean sauna that members hardly used.

Can't quantify the health benefits but it was the most amazing feeling and almost another boost of energy after a 60 min workout.

Since I have moved, been thinking about putting a sauna in the basement.

Does anyone here have saunas/steam rooms in there homes?
 
fcinter said:
I have used steam rooms in the past, the gym near my house had an excellent and clean sauna that members hardly used.

Can't quantify the health benefits but it was the most amazing feeling and almost another boost of energy after a 60 min workout.

Since I have moved, been thinking about putting a sauna in the basement.

Does anyone here have saunas/steam rooms in there homes?
Click to expand...
I am in process of installing an infra red sauna, with VOC free wood and no VOCs in the glues etc. AS well as low EMF output. Two very important parts to consider when purchasing a unit like this. Some of the offgassing from wood treatments and glues utilized may offset any and all health benefits and in turn create issues. Just be aware and research as i mentioned these two items to consider when shopping.
Ours is going into a dedicated spa room my wife and i are creating in our basement of our home right next door to our Basement home Gym, we love the process.
 
ironwill said:
I am in process of installing an infra red sauna, with VOC free wood and no VOCs in the glues etc. AS well as low EMF output. Two very important parts to consider when purchasing a unit like this. Some of the offgassing from wood treatments and glues utilized may offset any and all health benefits and in turn create issues. Just be aware and research as i mentioned these two items to consider when shopping.
Ours is going into a dedicated spa room my wife and i are creating in our basement of our home right next door to our Basement home Gym, we love the process.
Click to expand...
Ok I am very interested in knowing how things turn out for you!

Thanks for highlighting the offgassing and glues part as it wasn't on my radar. I have been waiting for a while now to have enough room in the house, hoping to find a good long-term solution. My current gym doesn't have one and the next closest one is 30 mins drive.
 
When I was in Thailand when you go to the steam rooms they have eucalyptus in there. I highly recommend you guys try this out.
You hack out and sneeze out anything inside you when you live you can feel the difference in your breathing


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Lumberjock said:
Sounds about right. We used to run it so hot the heat resistant light bulb would break. (Wood fired sauna) We would do about 20-30 minutes before it hurt to breathe and then jump off the dock into the cold lake.

Now it’s as hot as the gym allows and into a cold water shower. if it doesn’t make you gasp for air…neither hot nor cold enough
Click to expand...
Lol, I do this daily at work. Go into the cooler and freezer in the morning and freeze my ass off, then jump into a preheated smokehouse (set for 65 c) and warm up, lol.

I get weird looks from new staff when I walk out of the smokehouse red as a lobster, lol. (Btw, if you do not run the smoke or steam its just a dry heat, I smell like smoke every day anyways so no difference, lol)
 
ajfromab said:
When I was in Thailand when you go to the steam rooms they have eucalyptus in there. I highly recommend you guys try this out.
You hack out and sneeze out anything inside you when you live you can feel the difference in your breathing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
My one buddy had an old school sauna where you actually pour water on the rocks, he would mix in lemon with the water he was pouring and its the most refreshing thing ever. I would love to try Eucalyptus next time.
 
Funny this thread popped up.. Over the Christmas break my plan is to mill enough lumber to build an outdoor wood fired sauned.. Homemade wood stove out of a propane bottole with some rocks on top..

I'm currently researching the best wood I have available to mill and use.. And then I need to figure out if and how I can treat the wood for longvetiy.. And then finally, figure out what rocks are the proper ones to use..
 
animal-inside said:
Funny this thread popped up.. Over the Christmas break my plan is to mill enough lumber to build an outdoor wood fired sauned.. Homemade wood stove out of a propane bottole with some rocks on top..

I'm currently researching the best wood I have available to mill and use.. And then I need to figure out if and how I can treat the wood for longvetiy.. And then finally, figure out what rocks are the proper ones to use..
Click to expand...
Cedar is best, smooth / finished surface. Tonge and groove edges to allow for hidden fasteners (hot nails) and permits expansion/contraction during high - low humidity conditions without separation of boards. Framing can be standard lumber and exterior can be any wood if treated for weather.

Wood fired is cheapest but requires maintenance and dry fuel. Heat rating is also near unlimited with wood..just add more wood. Rocks are critical, pouring cool water over the wrong type of rocks will make them explode.
 
animal-inside said:
Funny this thread popped up.. Over the Christmas break my plan is to mill enough lumber to build an outdoor wood fired sauned.. Homemade wood stove out of a propane bottole with some rocks on top..

I'm currently researching the best wood I have available to mill and use.. And then I need to figure out if and how I can treat the wood for longvetiy.. And then finally, figure out what rocks are the proper ones to use..
Click to expand...

The right rocks to use you can tell because they are porous . So like the rocks that are smooth don’t handle heat they break and can even explode under heat , I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You want rocks that are from a volcano they have lots of holes in them they look almost like cheese graters. Best place to find them is along the river beds in BC


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4+ times per week cuts down heart attack risk by something like 80% according to Rhonda. It lowers chances of hypertension by 40%.
 
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