If You Want To Improve The Health Of Your Heart, You May Be Wondering How Going To A Sauna Can Help. There Are, In Fact, A Number Of Good Reasons To Use A Sauna. Some Of Them Are A Lower Risk Of Arteriosclerosis And Lower Blood Pressure And Cholesterol Levels.
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Infrared Saunas
Infrared Saunas Are A Good Way To Live To Lower The Risk Of Heart Disease (Cvd). It Is Easier To Deal With Lifestyle Risk Factors And Improve Overall Heart Health Than To Work Out.
Using An Infrared Sauna Can Be Good For The Heart And Other Parts Of The Body In A Number Of Ways.
Improved Heart Function Is One Of The Most Obvious Effects Of Infrared Sauna Therapy. Studies Have Shown That Using A Far-Infrared Sauna Can Lower Inflammation, Raise Blood Pressure, And Improve The Way The Vascular Endothelium Works.
No One Knows For Sure Why These Things Are Happening. But A Few Studies Have Shown That Infrared Saunas Might Be Good For People With Heart Problems Like High Blood Pressure And Heart Failure.
For Example, A Study From The University Of Missouri Found That Men And Women Who Used Saunas Regularly Had Lower Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressure. This Made It Less Likely That Someone Would Die Of A Heart Attack Suddenly.
Another Study Found That People Who Use Infrared Saunas Have A Lower Chance Of Getting Congestive Heart Failure. Researchers Have Also Found That Infrared Saunas Can Help Relieve Pain And Inflammation.
Even Though Infrared Saunas Have Many Benefits, Some People May Feel Uncomfortable Or Get Too Hot When They Use Them. Before Using An Infrared Sauna, People With Long-Term Health Problems Or Weak Heart Muscles Should Talk To Their Doctor.
A Low-Temperature Infrared Sauna Is Used For A “Passive Aerobic Workout” Called An Infrared Sauna. This Heat Gets Deep Into The Body And Makes The Sweat Glands Work Harder.
Users Are Told To Drink Water And Take A Warm Shower After A Session. It’s Important To Drink A Lot Of Water To Make Up For The Water You Lose When You Sweat.
Many Researchers Think That People Who Don’t Move Much Can Benefit From Infrared Saunas. But The Results Of This Research Haven’t Been Looked Into Very Much.
Cut Down On Blood Pressure
If You Have High Blood Pressure, You Might Be Interested To Know That Taking A Sauna Bath Can Make You Less Likely To Get Heart Disease.
Regular Sauna Use Has Been Shown To Lower The Risk Of Death From Heart Disease And Ischemic Stroke. Regular Sauna Use May Also Lower The Risk Of Heart Problems And Improve How Well The Heart Works.
Hypertension, Or High Blood Pressure, Is A Common Health Problem. It Happens When Your Heart Beats Too Hard Against Your Arteries. Most Treatment Plans Include Taking Medicine And Eating Well.
People Think That Using A Sauna Has The Same Effect On Blood Pressure As Moderate Exercise. But Scientists Still Don’t Know How The Effect Works.
A Study That Was Published In The Journal Of Physiology Found That Sauna Therapy Affected Vascular Function In Many Different Ways. For Example, People With High Cholesterol Who Went To The Sauna More Than Once Had Better Blood Vessel Function.
Another Study Found That Going To The Sauna On A Regular Basis Lowered The Chance Of Getting Coronary Heart Disease. It Also Lowered The Chances Of Having A Stroke With Bleeding Or Dying From Heart Disease.
Men Who Went To Saunas Had A Lower Chance Of Getting High Blood Pressure. People Who Used Saunas Four To Seven Times A Week Were 46% Less Likely To Get High Blood Pressure.
Even Though More Research Needs To Be Done To Confirm These Results, The Early Results Look Good. One Study Even Says That Taking A Sauna Bath May Be A Safe And Effective Way For Men To Lower Their Blood Pressure Without Any Side Effects.
The Good Effects Of Sauna Use On Heart Health Weren’t Thought To Come From The Activity Itself, But From The Heat And Relaxation. There Was A Link Between Sauna Use And A Lower Chance Of Having An Ischemic Stroke, Sudden Cardiac Death, Or Dementia.
Cut Down On Cholesterol
If You Have Cardiovascular Disease (Cvd) Or Are At Risk Of Getting It, You Might Be Interested To Know That Using A Sauna Can Lower Your Cholesterol. Cholesterol Is A Fat That Is Important For Making Cells In The Body.
But Having Too Much Cholesterol Can Be Bad For Your Health. The Good News Is That Going To The Sauna Regularly Is A Safe And Effective Way To Lower Cholesterol.
Researchers Did A Study To See What Would Happen After 30 Minutes In A Sauna.
A Sauna Bath At Temperatures Between 113 And 312 Degrees Fahrenheit Has The Same Effect On The Body As Moderate-Intensity Cardiovascular Exercise.
For The Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease (Kihd) Study, Which Was A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study In Rural Areas Of Eastern Finland, People Were Asked To Take Part. Men And Women From Middle Age To Old Age Took Part In The Study.
The Average Age Of The People In The Study Group Was Between 53.4 And 73.8.
The People In The Study Were Kept Track Of For A Mean Of 15.0 Years. During The Trial, The Researchers Checked The Blood Pressure And Heart Function Of The People Who Took Part. They Also Looked At Body Composition And Biochemical Parameters.
According To The Study, Taking Regular Sauna Baths Lowers Cholesterol And Triglycerides. This Happens Because Heat Makes The Blood Vessels Loosen Up.
Also, Sauna Time Makes Arteries And The Endothelium, Which Is The Innermost Layer Of Cells That Line The Heart, More Flexible. Then, These Arteries Let More Blood Flow, Which Can Be Good For People With Heart Disease.
After Just One Session In The Sauna, The Participants’ Cholesterol Dropped By A Lot. But The Cut Was Only For A Short Time. After A Few Days, It Went Back To Where It Was Before.
Also, People Who Used Saunas Saw A Seven-Point Drop In Their Blood Pressure. Also, Their Arteries Become Less Stiff.
Even Though Using A Sauna Might Be Good For People With Heart Disease, They Should Be Careful If They Are Also Taking Blood Pressure Medicine. Before Using A Sauna, People Who Already Have Heart Problems Should Talk To Their Doctor.
Arteriosclerosis Is Less Likely To Happen.
Several Studies Have Shown That Taking Sauna Baths Lowers The Risk Of Heart Disease And Dementia. Even Though There Is Still A Lot To Learn About The Benefits Of Saunas, These Results May Help Prevent Vascular Disease In The Real World.
The Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease (Kihd) Study Was A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study That Looked At A Number Of Risk Factors And Looked Into How Often And For How Long People Used Saunas Affected Their Heart Health.
Researchers Looked For Men And Women In Their Middle Years In Eastern Finland. Participants In The Study Were Kept Track Of For 15 Years.
Both A Decrease In Inflammatory Markers And An Improvement In Lipid Profiles Were Linked To Going To The Sauna More Often. They Didn’t Depend On Age Or Systolic Blood Pressure Either. But These Links Were Stronger At Higher Doses.
A Lower Risk Of Dying From Cvd Was Seen In People Who Used Saunas More Often. People Who Went To The Sauna At Least Four To Seven Times A Week Had A Much Lower Risk Of Dying From Cvd Than Those Who Never Or Rarely Went To The Sauna.
Both The Systolic And Diastolic Blood Pressures Were Much Lower In Sauna Users. This Is Important Because High Blood Pressure Is A Good Indicator Of Heart Events. Hypertension Is When The Systolic Pressure Is At Least 130 Mm Hg And The Diastolic Pressure Is At Least 80 Mm Hg.
Taking Saunas In Finland Was Linked To Fewer Deaths From Heart Disease And Less Inflammation Throughout The Body. A Large Number Of Diseases, Including Atherothrombosis, Have Inflammation As A Key Cause.
Leucocyte Count Is One Of The Most Important Parts Of The Path To Inflammation. Also, Sauna Bathers Had Less Gamma-Glutamyltransferase (Ggt), Which Is A Sign Of Oxidative Stress.
Long-Term Interventional Studies Are Needed To Figure Out How Sauna Use Might Improve Heart Health.
How To Be Safe?
In Its Most Basic Form, The Sauna Has Long Been Thought To Be Good For Your Health. Besides Being A Relaxing Thing To Do, It Has Been Shown To Reduce Some Of The Risks Of Cardiovascular Disease (Cvd).
It Has Also Been Suggested As A Functional Medicine Alternative To Medicines Like Ace Inhibitors And Beta Blockers.
In Fact, A Recent Study Of 19 Healthy Adults Found That A Single Session In A Steamy Sauna Could Be As Good For Your Heart As A Moderate Cardio Workout.
Even Though The Study Was Small And The Results Could Have Been Affected By Age, Gender, And Health, It Does Show What The Future Of Sauna Medicine Might Look Like.
In The United States, Saunas Have Been A Niche Product For The Most Part. In The Last Few Years, Though, A Lot Of New Products Have Changed This. Some Newer Ones Even Let You Control The Humidity In Your Sauna.
The Best Ones Have Heat Controls That Let You Keep The Temperature Steady. Some Of Them Can Get As Hot As 200f.
Like Any Other Form Of Exercise, Using A Sauna Has Both Pros And Cons. One Of The Problems Is That You Might Not Drink Enough Water. Make Sure To Drink Water Before And After You Go To The Sauna.
Even Though A Sauna Bath Is Generally Safe, Pregnant Women And People Who Have Just Had A Heart Attack Should Not Go In.
Even Though Not Everyone Likes Saunas, They Can Be Used To Their Full Potential. With A Few Tips And Tricks, You Can Get The Health Benefits Of A Sauna Without Putting Yourself In Danger. So, Before You Jump In, You Should Talk To Your Doctor First.