When most people think of saunas, they simply think of a hot room where you sweat to reduce stress and help your muscles to relax.
However, saunas can offer so much more for the body, including flushing out toxins through your skin, which also works to clear your pores from dirt and excess oils for healthier skin.
Besides that, the dry heat of saunas can even leave you feeling energized, because of the way it will stimulate your blood flow and reduce pain.
But does sauna help with inflammation?
Yes, saunas can be a great solution for those who deal with persistent inflammation.
In this article, we’ll go over the details.
Does Sauna Help With Inflammation?
Your body is an incredible piece of biological equipment that goes through many processes, including how it reacts to sickness or injury. For instance, if you twist an ankle, then the area around it will feel painful and begin to swell.
This biological process is known as inflammation.
Inflammation is an immune response that occurs when your body is either healing an injury or fighting bacteria. And although this is a great thing, it does bring with it pain and discomfort while the area that becomes inflamed is healing.
Types of Inflammation
There are two kinds of inflammation — acute and chronic.
Acute Inflammation
Acute inflammation is when you have an injury like a bone break or wounding, where the white blood cells from the immune system will protect the injury by creating the swelling we all experience.
The same thing happens when you get sick with a cold, to give another example of acute inflammation. The immune system’s white blood cells will enter your throat and sinuses, which causes swelling. This is why you’ll find it difficult to swallow or breathe through your nose.
Chronic Inflammation
The other type of inflammation is known as chronic inflammation. This is a much slower process of inflammation that can last for several years in some cases. The degree of severity will depend on the cause of the illness, how long you’ve been suffering from it, and how strong your immune system is.
Diseases associated with long-term chronic inflammation include Alzheimers, asthma, cancer, Crohn’s disease, HIV, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, and type 2 diabetes.
Symptoms of chronic inflammation include abdominal, chest, and lower back pain, chronic fatigue, poor balance and joint pain, fevers, and skin rashes.
In fact, if acute inflammation from an infection or injury is left untreated for far too long, then it can eventually contribute to developing into a chronic inflammation problem.
So, you may be pleased to hear that whether you’re dealing with a chronic inflammation issue, or have recently had an injury that’s caused some acute inflammation, having a sauna treatment will be of immense benefit for your body overall.
You may be pleased to hear that whether you’re dealing with a chronic inflammation issue, or have recently had an injury that’s caused some acute inflammation, having a sauna treatment will be of immense benefit for your body overall.
How Saunas Benefit Inflammation
Relaxing for at least 20 minutes in a sauna has amazing benefits for not only your body, but also your mind, which is why many people make it a regular part of their healthy lifestyle routine.
Sitting in the concentrated dry heat that a sauna creates has the ability to stimulate your blood flow, which helps to alleviate pain by reducing swelling and inflammation. This is why you’ll find saunas in some gyms, because there are many healthy people who understand the benefit of healing the muscles in this way before or after a hard workout.
Saunas also help lower oxidative stress in the body, which is another potential source of inflammation. In addition, they allow your body to release endorphins, which are the hormones that your body creates as natural painkillers.
Therefore, if you have chronic inflammation, it would be a good idea to include sauna treatments as part of your regular self-care regime.
A sauna-cold plunge routine would be even better, but you need an ice bath or Finnish lake on hand for that!
Something that you may not be aware of is the types of dry saunas that you can use to have your treatment. There are two types — the traditional Finnish sauna, and the infrared sauna, a more technical kind of sauna that has shown to work very well at alleviating and healing chronic inflammation conditions.
Finnish Saunas
Very popular in bathhouses and spas all over Europe, the traditional Finnish sauna is what you probably think of when visualizing a sauna. Fun fact: although Finland only has a population of about 5.5 million, the country has more than three million saunas, so they take their sweat seriously!
Finnish saunas are wooden lined rooms that are kept at a dry temperature of around 180 degrees Fahrenheit, with only 5-20% humidity. This is opposed to the total wetness of a steam room, which people often confuse with saunas.
The 5-20% humidity comes from the löyly (it’s Finnish!), which is the box of hot rocks that sit in the corner with a wooden bucket of water. Pouring water on the hot rocks provides a bit of steam and humidity. Please be aware though, that some Finnish sauna stoves are electric, and some types aren’t compatible with water.
Most people generally spend between 10-20 minutes relaxing in a Finnish sauna, depending on how much heat they can take. Some will also take time out for a cold shower or ice plunge, before returning for another short session.
Infrared Saunas
Infrared saunas are the new kid on the sweating block, and use infrared technology to help the body to heal. The infrared light wave causes the heat in the room to not rise above 155 degrees Fahrenheit, which means you won’t feel as hot sitting in this type of sauna.
But be prepared to sweat!
The infrared waves penetrate your body’s tissue more effectively than simply sweating in the hot room of a Finnish sauna, and it’s this penetration that creates the sweat. The ability to penetrate your body’s tissues also helps to break down toxins in the bloodstream, which you eliminate through your sweat.
This is why infrared saunas have been proven to help lower inflammation markers in the body within minutes. Besides helping with inflammation, infrared saunas can be used to help tackle detox, weight loss, and autoimmune conditions like Lyme disease.
Other Ways To Alleviate Inflammation
If you’re suffering from inflammation, as well as adding sauna treatments to your wellness routine, there are some other changes you can make to help your body heal from this painful condition — before it turns into a disease you would rather not have.
If you’re suffering from inflammation, as well as adding sauna treatments to your wellness routine, there are some other changes you can make to help your body heal from this painful condition — before it turns into a disease you would rather not have.
To begin, changing your diet to include inflammation-busting foods will help to heal your gut and combat gas, bloating, and indigestion, instead of reaching for the Pepto Bismol. Mother Nature’s own medicine includes fruits and vegetables that contain omega-3 fatty acids like walnuts, flax seeds, and salmon.
Other powerful anti-inflammatory foods to include in your diets include artichokes, avocado, grapes, blueberries, broccoli, celery, garlic, olive oil, raspberries, sweet potatoes — and dark chocolate, but it has to be at least 70%, so you’ll have to get used to the bitterness.
Staying well hydrated is another easy way to help reduce inflammation in your body. Most of us don’t drink enough fresh, clean water every day to flush out toxins, choosing instead to drink sugary sodas, energy drinks, or coffee to keep us going.
However, these beverages not only deplete our energy, they also dehydrate our cells, which is why drinking water is so important. If you can’t bear the thought of just drinking water, infuse it with sliced fresh lemon or cucumber, or mint leaves to add a bit of natural flavor.
Finally, it goes without saying that many of us have been leading very sedentary lives, which is one of inflammation’s friends.
Therefore, moving your body each day, even if you build up from starting with a five-minute walk around the block, will work to reduce chronic inflammation in your body along with your sauna treatments.
Final Thoughts
Yes, sauna does help with inflammation that you may have, and adding a treatment or two (or as many as you like!) into your weekly self-care routine will help you heal your body, especially if you’re dealing with a chronic situation.
You can also boost your health by increasing anti-inflammatory foods in your diet, keeping well hydrated with clean water, and making sure you move your body at least once a day, even if it’s just for a five-minute walk around the block.
Inflammation need not be something that you have to suffer from — whether it’s acute or chronic. It’s your body’s natural way of healing, and if you work with this process, and use a sauna to help with inflammation, you’ll be feeling better in no time.
