5 Reasons Why You Need to Add a Sauna to Your Fitness Routine

There are several varieties of saunas out there, some with cultural roots. The main types you will often hear about include:

• Wood burning. These saunas are usually low humidity and high in temperature because wood is used to heat the room and rocks.
• Infrared room. Special lamps are used to heat a person’s body, not the entire room. Infrared saunas run around 60 degrees Celsius, which is cooler than other sauna types.
• Electrically heated. Similar to wood-burning saunas, the temperatures are high but the humidity is low.
• Steam room. Though these are not traditional saunas, the effects are closely related. Steam rooms have high humidity and moist heat.

A few examples of cultural saunas:

• Turkish bath (or hammam).
• Russian steam bath (or banya).
• Finnish sauna. The most popular type of Finnish sauna is one with dry heat. Many people have saunas in their city apartment which use electricity instead of smoke, which is still popular in other countries around Europe.

Now that you know some sauna variations, it is time to talk about the benefits of using a sauna.

Increased Hormone Production

One of the biggest benefits that athletes gain from the sauna is the elevated levels of natural growth hormone production. It was found that sauna sessions between 15-20 minutes in length, at a temperature between 80 to 100 degrees Celsius increased the level of growth hormone by 2-5 fold. This level persisted even after the sauna session was finished. The other plus is that exercise and hyperthermia have a synergistic relationship, meaning that a higher heat increases growth hormone production. So, if you increase your core temperature while working out, and then you decide to sit in the sauna for 15 minutes, you are creating substantial gains.

Cardiovascular Improvements

Some of the best-known research about far infrared (FIR) saunas was from 2009. The research found that FIR saunas may help normalize blood pressure and treat congestive heart failure. Another way saunas help with improving circulation has to do with the heat. When the body warms up in a sauna, the blood vessels dilate and the heart rate increases (to almost 150 beats per minute). This increases overall circulation, which helps transport nutrients and oxygen throughout the body.

Lastly, saunas play a role in hyperthermic conditioning, or increased plasma volume and blood flow to the heart. The result is decreased cardiovascular strain during vigorous exercise.