A good sweat is one of my favorite forms of self-care and stress relief. When I was lucky enough to have access to a steam room followed by an ice cold shower, I felt my tolerance to the cold of winter increase when I emerged from those 20-30 minutes of escape and bliss. Outside of those subjective benefits, sauna has been shown to positively impact many areas of wellness, including overall longevity. MyCeliated Wellness is pleased to provide our clients with access to these benefits in the form of an infrared sauna with chromotherapy. In this article you will find the scientifically proven benefits to sauna. We welcome you to experience them yourself at our office!

Increased Cardiovascular Fitness 

• Studies on individuals with CHF were found to have improved 6 minute walking distances, reduced cardiothoracic ratios on chest X-ray, and reduced classification of disease after 2 weeks of sauna therapy 
• In people with CHF and PVCs, sauna use was shown to reduce the number of PVCs after 2 weeks of sauna use 
• Sauna use has been shown to help with peripheral artery disease 
• For individuals with chronic total occlusion arteries with failed or rejected intervention 3 weeks of sauna use was found to improve the scoring indices of defect reversibility on myocardial perfusion scans. 
• Sauna use has been found to have a 63% risk reduction for sudden cardiac death 
• 45 minute sauna sessions were found to improve cholesterol levels after 2 weeks of use. 

Faster Recovery 

Better Sleep 

Pain Reduction 

• Four weeks of sauna sessions was found to reduce pain and stiffness for those with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, results were dependent on sauna use
• A study on individuals with fibromyalgia that used 12 weeks of combined far-infrared sauna and underwater exercise therapy found reduction in pain and improved quality of life for sauna users. 
• Sauna use improved pain, depression/anxiety symptoms, and fatigue for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis
• 6 weeks of sauna use improved the experience of those with chronic tension headaches with a 44% reduction in intensity of headache 
• In a study on chronic pain and sauna use, participants were found to have a decreased anger score in the 4-week sauna use group. 

Brain Health 

• Sauna use has been found to have a 66% risk reduction of dementia and a 65% risk reduction of Alzheimer’s disease, this could be due to an increase in blood flow to the brain related to sauna use 

Mental Wellness 

• 4 weeks of sauna sessions on a group of 28 people experiencing mild depression reported improved somatic complaints, improved hunger scores, and improved relaxation scores.

Respiratory Relief 

• For individuals living with COPD, sauna can improve FEF50, decreased pulmonary artery pressures during exercise, increased exercise times after sauna exposures, reduction in symptom scores, and improved oxygen saturation during exercise. 
• Improved peak nasal inspiratory flow rates and improved forced expiratory volume at 1 sec (FEV1) in individuals with symptomatic allergic rhinitis.

Stress Relief 

• Lower cortisol levels in sauna users. 

Enhanced Immune System 

• Saunas can reduce oxidative stress in the body 

Reduction of Toxin Burden 

Sources: 

Blum N, Blum A. Beneficial effects of sauna bathing for heart failure patients. Exp Clin Cardiol. 2007 Spring;12(1):29-32. PMID: 18650976; PMCID: PMC2359619.

Hussain J, Cohen M. Clinical Effects of Regular Dry Sauna Bathing: A Systematic Review. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 Apr 24;2018:1857413. doi: 10.1155/2018/1857413. PMID: 29849692; PMCID: PMC5941775.

health.clevelandclinic.org/infrared-sauna-benefits/

goodhealthsaunas.com/health/is-it-safe-to-use-a-sauna-after-a-heart-attack/

healwithheat.com/chromotherapy-and-its-effects/

thefloatspace.com.au/chromotherapy/

sunlighten.com/products/chromotherapy#color-explained