Mayo Clinic — sauna as healthful as regular exercise

The Mayo Clinic Proceedings has published a paper reviewing sauna research — they're as healthful as regular exercise!! The Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the Washington Post reported it, among other news outlets.

Of course, this is no surprise to regular sauna-goers. But what's special is that our own Mayo Clinic has endorsed the practice in a paper, “Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence.”

Their conclusion is that sauna bathing may be linked to reducing the risk of:

Sauna helps people relax.

• vascular diseases like
  • high blood pressure,
  • cardiovascular diseases and
  • neurocognitive diseases,
• non-vascular conditions such as
  • pulmonary diseases,
• mortality,
• amelioration of conditions such as
  • arthritis,
  • headache and
  • flu.

WOW!!

Over the years, physicians and researchers have tested — and documented — a wide variety of health benefits, such as reducing the risk of dementia or high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, allergic rhinitis, chronic fatigue, exposure to methamphetamines or environmentally-induced diseases, depression or rheumatoid arthritis. In previous posts, I've summarized many studies, long range and short, testing men or women, healthy and ill — with proven evidence. The studies may have not been large, but there have been many.

The Mayo Clinic Proceeding publication looked at all studies through February 2018.

• The subjects spent from 5 to 20 minutes in saunas which were heated from 175 to 210 degrees. (That's a considerably shorter time span and hotter temperatures than I recall reading about in other studies.)
• The sauna was followed with a swim, shower or other return to room temperature.
• Exposure to the sauna pumped up the subjects' heart rates to 120 to 150 beats per minute and increased blood flow to the skin similar to moderate exercise.

Several large studies linked sauna bathing to lower blood pressure and decreased artery stiffness. And frequent sauna bathers (4 to 7 times a week) have 60% lower rates of heart disease and stroke than once-a-week-ers.

Which would you rather do — work out or sauna? For me, when it's 8 p.m., that's time to turn on the sauna stove. But it's always even better after a bike ride or ski afternoon.

Saunas helps in reducing high blood pressure?

In a long-range study conducted in Eastern Finland, regular sauna-ing translates into less likelihood for hypertension. Yippee!

An article in the American Journal of Hypertension (13 June 2017) reported a study of 1,621 men ages 42-60 with normal blood pressure. They were followed an average of 25 years, and only 251 developed hypertension.

The study compared the number of sauna sessions with the incidence of hypertension.

          4-7 visits a week: risk reduced by 47%

          2-3 visits a week: risk reduced by 24%

The study also controlled for body mass index, resting heart rate, cardio-respiratory fitness, alcohol consumption, smoking, family history of hypertension, socioeconomic status and other variables.

The observation doesn't prove cause and effect. According to the senior author, Dr. Jari A. Laukkanen, professor of medicine at the University of Eastern Finland, the warmth of the sauna improves flexibility of blood vessels which eases blood flow. Warmth and cooling induces relaxation, helpful in moderating blood pressure. And sweating removes excess fluid, acting as a natural diuretic and one of the oldest methods of treating hypertension.

“A healthy thing that is pleasant to do, and involves no sacrifice,” Laukkanen said. 

What a wonderful choice compared to the meds with multiple side effects. 

(Thanks to Tom Nelson for finding this info and sharing it on Facebook.) 

Sauna emojis—plus others that celebrate summer

In December 2015, This is Finland unveiled nearly three dozen emojis, poking fun at themselves with a wry sense of humor. No other country has followed suit.

Since making them available one each day for a month in an “Advent calendar” style, they have added another dozen and a half.

Of course “sauna” (with both genders) was included — it’s the one word from the Finnish language that’s part of our dictionary. Both sauna-goer emojis show the individual steaming up on a wooden bench, holding a ladle with a handy bucket of water nearby. They look fairly alert — maybe because they’re only on the first round of their three-round löyly.

The country has 3.2 million saunas for its 5.4 million people. Every one of them has her/his own way of going to sauna, which will cleanse both body and mind and body. Spirit too, amazingly — sauna is a holy place as well for Finns.

Sauna whisk (which I wrote about on this blog in great detail from June 29, 2014, through August 10, 2014, — nine posts altogether!)




Because it’s summer, here also are:

Forest — the longing for fresh air and silence.
With millions of forested acres with mushrooms and berries, people are allowed to pick at will. “It’s called ‘Everyman’s right.’ ”


Dad’s favorite superfood — Blueberries, 

White nights — in the land of the Midnight Sun,

 

Out of office — lazing in the lake,

and
Pesapallo (see my entry for August 14, 2015, on the Finns’ way to make this game uniquely theirs.)

And don’t forget sisu, which they describe as the feeling of perseverance.

“In Finland, as the saying goes, we ‘go through even a grey rock.’ Arctic nature has given us guts — or ‘sisu’ as we call it. It’s about not giving in — even when it might be wiser to do so…”

I do identify with this trait, probably to the chagrin of my loved ones.

These emojis are so much fun, I will share more of them in later posts. They’re free to download — check your app store for “Finland emojis.”

#1 of this series — there’s a lot more to share!

Nikki

“The Best Part of a Sauna”

Sheryl Peterson knows what the best part is. She's written a delightful children's book, “The Best Part of a Sauna,” which won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award. 

Her story kept me guessing (though I was sure I knew the best part for me). But — what would kids like best — building the fire? Making water sizzle on the rocks? Jumping in the lake?

And what would their grandparents like best (because in this book a child goes to sauna at their cabin) How did they introduce sauna to this young visitor? What were their customs?

It's so smoothly told it makes me want to write like that.

The book“The Best Part of a Sauna” was illustrated by Kelly Dupre, who asked Sheryl to photograph the sunset very often so she could see how to incorporate the waning hours. Other nifty touches — pay attention to how the boy's hat changes and how many of her paintings have ravens.

“The Best Part of a Sauna” (hardcover is $17.95, softcover is $9.95, plus taxes and postage) was published by Raven Words in Ely, Minnesota. To order one, click the link or call 218-365-3375.

Nikki

Sauna Wise heats up

I had lots of fun while researching for Some Like It Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories. A dozen times a day I’d interrupt my very best sweetie with “Bill, listen to this.” I’d read him touching, unique, zany and wonderful stories gleaned from letters, interviews and books. There were too many great anecdotes and studies at that time to include in the book’s nearly 200 pages, and it frustrated me to have to set that material aside.

Now, with this blog, I finally can update. I hope to share both the news and the stories that make it personal. I’m eager to start researching again, to find out what’s changed.

Readers from all corners of the sauna world — help! Please share your lore and stories once more —  humorous and serious and anything else. 

I hope you subscribe to this blog or come back and visit often. 

Nikki