Sauna Use and Mental Health

Dating back to around 2,300 B.C, heat bathing is recognized as an ancient practice first developed by groups in the Eastern European countries of Estonia, Latvia, Russia and Finland for the purposes of self purification, cleansing and healing.

The practice is defined as short term passive exposure to extreme heat. The result is the induction of a mild hypothermic reaction, where the bodies core temperature rises causing a thermoregulatory response that engages neuroendocrine, cardiovascular and cytoprotective mechanisms which align to restore homeostasis and condition the body to adjust for future heat exposure (Patrick, 2024). Health benefits are ‘dose dependent’, and optimal sauna use is observed as having a heat of 78.9°C (174°F) for at least 20 minutes 4-7x per week

(Patrick, 2024).

Frequent sauna use is credited with a myriad of mental health benefits. Heat stress is found to increase the presence of neurotrophic factor BDNF, a protein that promotes the growth of new neurons, and modulates neuroplasticity while reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Sauna use combats cognitive decline by increasing blood flow to the brain and peripheral nervous system. For those engaged in use 4-7x per week, they experience a 65% reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (Patrick, 2024).

Increased heat exposure through sauna use is also shown to decrease symptoms of depression.One randomized controlled trial found that after 4 weeks of sauna use, participants were observed with reduced symptoms of sadness, improved appetite, reduced body aches and lessened anxiety as compared to the control group. Another double blind study discovered that after just one use of the sauna, participants experienced an acute antidepressant effect within one week which persisted for six weeks post treatment. In addition, through increasing norepinephrine, a hormone and neurotransmitter produced in the brain, and prolactin, a hormone released by the pituitary gland, sauna use is shown to improve focus, attention and processing speed  thus enabling mental aptitude and attention span (Patrick, 2024).

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By: Elijah Thompson

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ET-Therapy.com

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