10 Incredible health benefits of saunas & Korean bath houses

10 Ways Saunas are Incredibly Beneficial to Your Health

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10 Ways Saunas are Incredibly Beneficial to Your Health
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1. Lowers Chances of Developing High Blood Pressure
Spending time in the sauna regularly may help lower your chances of developing high blood pressure, say the authors of a recent study in the American Journal of Hypertension. In the study, Finnish men who used the sauna four to seven times a week for about 19 minutes each time cut their risk of high blood pressure nearly in half, compared to those who visited just once a week.
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2. Reduce Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke & Dementia
In a 2015 study by the University of Eastern Finland, it was found that regular sauna users also suffered significantly fewer deaths from heart disease or stroke. Scientists are still uncertain how saunas help reduce heart disease, but one theory is that it could be because it helps reduce high blood pressure - one of the major risk factors of heart disease. The study, which recorded the sauna bathing habits of 2,300 men and their health for over two decades, also found that regular sauna sessions dramatically reduces the risk of dementia.
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3. Improves Arthritic Conditions
Taking saunas has also been linked to an improvement in the pain and symptoms associated with musculo-skeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The heat of saunas also releases endorphins which have a mild numbing effect and can reduce ache pain and muscle soreness. Your body temperature also rises, causing a dilation in your blood vessels and increase in blood circulation – which speeds up the healing of minor injuries like bruises or cuts.
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4. Relieves Chronic-Tension Headaches
If you’re one to suffer from regular bouts of intense chronic headaches, paying regular visits to the sauna might be the solution. Findings from an experimental study revealed that regular sauna bathing dramatically improves the intensity of chronic-tension headaches.
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5. Improves Asthmatic Conditions
Sauna bathing has also been proven to reduce the occurrence of common colds, and even improve lung function and breathing among patients with lung diseases such as asthma and chronic bronchitis.
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6. Reduce Risk of Common Colds & Pneumonia
The same researchers from Bristol and Eastern Finland, which recently studied a population of 2,210 Finnish middle-aged men and their health for over 25 years, found that men who enjoyed frequent sauna sessions were less likely to develop pneumonia. Though it is still uncertain how, the theory is that heat from the sauna reduces congestion in the lungs, improves ventilation and also relieves inflammation and oxidative stress.
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7. Natural Stress Relief
With its warm, typically tranquil space, saunas can prove to be especially relaxing. The heat from the sauna relaxes the muscles, improves blood circulation and stimulates endorphin release, giving you that post-sauna sense of peace and glow.
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8. A Hangover Cure
With the festive season coming up, and the various tipples you might be downing as a result, you might want to pay a visit to the sauna to relieve yourself from that excruciating holiday hangover. Saunas are able to flush out toxins in your body, which are removed when you sweat profusely. Even if you’re not suffering a hangover, detoxing your body is still essential to keep everything in check.
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9. Healthy Skin and Hair
One of the oldest beauty tricks in the book, saunas can help cleanse both your skin and hair. Deep sweating cleanses the skin, replacing dead skin cells as well and rinsing bacteria out of the epidermal layer and sweat ducts. Additionally, the heat from saunas activates the sebaceous gland, which helps moisturise your locks - making your hair look healthy and shiny!
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10. Better Sleep
If you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, unable to get back to sleep saunas can help you to have a more relaxing sleep. The slow release of endorphins is key to a relaxed and deep sleep.

If you thought saunas and Korean bath houses were just an indulgent affair with no actual medical benefits, think again.

Recent studies have revealed that visiting a sauna regularly can be extremely beneficial for your healt h – even dramatically lowering and preventing your chances of developing chronic diseases like heart diseases, stroke, dementia and more. Although the supposed health benefits of saunas have been touted for a long time, these were all merely anecdotal claims with no solid evidence – that is, until today.

A two decade-long study published in 2015 found the more regularly Finnish men and women visited the sauna per week, the longer they lived and the lower their risks of developing various chronic diseases. (Get this: let it be known that the Finnish have the highest life expectancy in the world).

From preventing chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke and dementia to relieving chronic headaches and arthritis symptoms, who knew the sauna could be so incredibly beneficial to your health? For more surprising health benefits of saunas, Korean bath houses, Turkish baths and the likes, browse the gallery above!

Sarah Khan

Photos: Getty Images

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