Love a good sauna session? Well get in there more and consider it part of a healthy routine just like the Finns do.

Over the last couple years there has been some intriguing and important research coming out of the sauna capital of the world, Finland, on the health benefits from regular sauna use. You may have heard the headlines flash through the news: lowered risk of alzheimer’s and dementia, reduced risk of cardiovascular death, live longer!! Those are some bold findings that got my attention. And the more I dug into it, the more intrigued I was.

In 2015 Finnish researchers published a study that tracked middle aged adult men for an average of 20 years. The men were categorized based on how often they used a sauna each week. On average the men spent 14 minutes in the sauna at 175 degrees. 49% of men who used the sauna once a week died, compared to 38% of men who used the sauna 2-3 times per week and just 31% of those who used the sauna 4-7 times per week. Frequent sauna use was also linked to lower death rates from cardiovascular disease and stroke.

In 2016 the same research group published that those same men who used a sauna 4-7 times a week had a 66 percent lower risk of any form of dementia and specifically the risk of alzheimers disease was 65 percent lower than those men taking just one sauna a week.

In both published studies, there was a clear dose dependent relationship. Translation: the more frequent the sauna use, the greater the benefit. Sounds pretty simple…want to live longer? Have a healthy ticker? Improve your long term cognitive health? Use the sauna and use it often!

I have always enjoyed using the sauna (and steam room) after a workout. But this research changed my perspective from it being a luxury when I have time, to a necessity to schedule it in appropriately.

I should clarify that these researchers claim that their results cannot be directly applied to steam rooms, hot tubs and some other types of sauna’s. I fully appreciate their claim. It’s always risky to over generalize research findings…however, I take this claim with a grain of salt and suspect that some of the proposed benefits of the traditional dry Finnish sauna also exist in steam rooms (and maybe even infrared saunas). Hot tubs may be a different can of worms as your ability to sweat is significantly affected by the surface contact of water.

Having both heart disease and Alzheimer’s in my family history, this sparked a conversation about how much we could all benefit from having one at our family cottage. We started our sauna plan last year and are finally working on the finishing touches. Check out our 2018 cottage project, the Schenkel Sweat Shack: a wood fired, Finnish inspired, stand alone sauna.

Need more than a healthy heart and mind to get into the heat? Other potential benefits of daily sauna use:

• detoxification of chemicals and heavy metals
• better recovery from training sessions
• improved cardiovascular performance
• short term relief from stiff and achy joints
• better sleep
• improved stress resilience

Check out this post from Ben Greenfield for more details on these.

I wish you all many many sweaty sauna sessions…and if you’re ever near Miller Lake stop in at the sweat shack.