Some form of sauna bathing has been around since ancient times. It is a traditional heat therapy for the Finnish people. Saunas are everywhere in Finland and are considered a spiritual and social ritual, according to AAA’s March 1997 issue of VIA Magazine. Saunas are enjoyed in most countries around the world for the many health and relaxation benefits.
Respiratory Benefits
Saunas are good for the respiratory tract. A study published in the February 2001 issue of the the American Journal of Medicine found that sauna bathing provides relief to patients with chronic bronchitis and asthma.
Cardio Benefits
Taking a 20-minute sauna provides the same cardiovascular benefits as aerobic exercise, according to the National Institutes of Health. Therefore, it is possible to get the same cardiovascular benefits without the sweat of exercise but with a good sweat in the sauna. For physically impaired patients, the sauna can be used as thermal therapy and an alternative to exercise training.
In a 1991 study at the Institute National de la Recherche Scientifique at the University of Montreal in Quebec, researchers found that 20 minutes of sauna bathing increased the metabolism equivalent to 45 minutes of bicycling or swimming.
Common Cold
An article in the November 1989 issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reports that breathing humid, hot air is good for the respiratory tract and effective in treating the common cold.
Dangers
Though rare, cases of sudden death in the sauna do happen. Most of the sudden death cases in the sauna are attributed to alcohol use while sauna bathing. In Finland, 20 to 25 sauna deaths occur a year with alcohol as a contributing factor, according to 1988 clinical research by the Research Laboratories of the Finnish State Alcohol Company.
Between 1992 through 2003 another study was conducted in Sweden by the Section of Forensic Medicine at Umea University. Researchers found that of 77 sauna-related deaths, 23 percent died of heart attack, 44 percent were alcohol-related and the rest were attributed to drugs, oxygen deprivation, carbon monoxide poisoning, burn injuries or other undetermined causes.
