Written by Amal Allam
Sunday, March 12, 2023 10:51 AM
Researchers at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Poland found that regular sauna use is directly linked to a decrease in cortisol, a stress-related hormone that helps stabilize a person’s mood. Bathing in a sauna stimulates the brain to produce more ‘happy hormones’, such as serotonin. Dopamine and oxytocin, according to the website south china morning post.
The researchers also found an association between sauna use and an improvement in the profile of white blood cells, which are an essential part of the body’s immune system and help fight infection and other diseases. saunas It also improves sleep quality by increasing the secretion of melatonin, which is one of the hormones necessary for sleep. It relaxes the mind and body and helps relieve any lingering pain. Saunas have also been shown to help combat depression, a condition that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. around the world.
Research conducted by Dr. Charles Rayson, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US and co-author of the book The New Mind-Body Science of Depression Short bursts of saunas raise core body temperature and rapidly produce powerful antidepressant effects.
And the site said, regular use of the sauna is also associated with a reduced risk of heart disease – including cardiac arrest – and pneumonia, now there is evidence indicating that sauna use may also reduce the risk of developing dementia, a disease that affects more than 55 million people globally. .
A research paper published by Finnish academics in the medical journal Preventive Medicine Reports in 2020 examined the relationship between exposure to heat during sauna bathing and subsequent risk of dementia. The study included 13,994 men and women between the ages of 30 and 69, all of whom were initially diagnosed as without Dementia: During the 39-year follow-up studies, 1,805 of these people — less than 13 percent — were diagnosed with some type of dementia.
The authors conclude that regular sauna bathing — 9 to 12 times per month — was associated with a lower risk of dementia. They suggest that this may be because regular sauna bathing is associated with reduced risk factors that may contribute to dementia, such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and infections. .
The site indicated that the sauna protects against many diseases of the heart and blood vessels. “The sauna lowers blood pressure and improves vascular function,” said Gary Laukanen, a cardiologist and author of the study, head of the Institute of Clinical Medicine at the University of Eastern Finland.
The site explained that the saunas are compact rooms covered with wooden panels with wooden benches, where the radiant heaters maintain the temperature between 70 and 100 degrees Celsius (158-212 degrees Fahrenheit)..
Saunas come in other forms – including dry saunas without steam, and more recently infrared ones that use radiation waves of heat to heat your body directly. A traditional Finnish sauna uses heat to stimulate sweating.
The site added that almost everyone, about 95 percent of Finns, uses a sauna at least once a week, and the vast majority have a sauna in their homes, adding that the health benefits of using a sauna regularly, from 3 to 5 times a week, are documented in studies.
