What is it about?
Sauna bathing or 'whole-body thermotherapy' is gaining interest with the lay public as well as the medical community as an emerging lifestyle intervention with potential therapeutic uses. We summarize the recent medical findings from clinical trials investigating the health effects of repeated (more than one session) of dry sauna bathing. Although improved cardiovascular health outcomes dominate the discussion, there are other potential health reasons to consider regularly using the sauna, with the risks relatively low but requiring further research.
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Why is it important?
We conducted the first-ever systematic review of the 'dry sauna bathing' medical literature, concluding the need for more higher quality clinical interventional studies to be done before meaningful meta-analysis of the results could be conducted. This will lead to better defining the risks involved and pave the way for design of therapeutic protocols.
Perspectives
I hope this article inspires the interested public and medical community to look at 'sauna bathing' with fresh eyes, and not just as an indulgence but more as a lifestyle therapy with potential to reduce our reliance on sole pharmacological approaches to our increasingly chronic health conditions.
Joy Hussain
RMIT University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Clinical Effects of Regular Dry Sauna Bathing: A Systematic Review, Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, January 2018, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,
DOI: 10.1155/2018/1857413.
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