What if we replaced a gym session from time to time with a sauna session with friends? According to a study published on the website of the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, sweating there would be very good for your health! Almost as good as sports.
After examining the health of the hearts of 2,315 Finns over 20 years (they are known to go to the sauna often), the researchers found that 190 of them died of a heart attack, 281 coronary artery disease, 407 cardiovascular problems and 929 other causes.
After adjusting their results for other factors, such as the subjects' smoking, age, weight or sports activities, they found that the more people went to the sauna, the less risk they had of develop heart problems. In short:taking a sauna would be excellent for the heart.
Indeed, those who sweat there between 2 and 3 times a week have a 23% less chance of developing heart problems, those who go there between 4 and 7 times...48% less chance (and 40% less less chance of dying from "other diseases" too), say the researchers.
In question ? Heat raises our blood pressure, beats our heart and makes us sweat! We eliminate toxins and muscle the heart (but only the heart, huh). Plus, it's very relaxing. That's good!
Want to optimize your sauna sessions? The longer you stay there, the better it will be for your heart (from 2 minutes to 90 minutes max), say the researchers.
