Sauna has many benefits for many people
People love sauna; it helps us feel better and sleep well, boosts our mood, decreases chronic pain, reduces inflammation and supports our mental wellbeing, often helped by ‘sauna talk’. Regular saunas can improve cardiovascular health for everyone, including those with tough training regimes.
Athletes: sauna boosts recovery after training
For people who play sport or train at a high level, a good sauna session can boost post-exercise recovery, help performance, endurance capacity and strength goals as well as boost immunity(1). Tired muscles get a rush of fresh blood as the circulation system picks up a gear, and this can help muscles recover and grow(2). Using a sauna after exercise can be great as a recovery tool, to help bring blood to your muscles and speed up the recovery process as nutrients are delivered quickly to the muscles, helping repair them. This should decrease the amount of time athletes spend feeling tired and sore after a tough training session. Endurance and performance can also be enhanced by using sauna after training(3).
Sports physiology behind sauna
Hormetic Stress – good for everyone
Exercise and sauna both push your body into ‘good stress’, or hormetic stress, which means applying acceptable levels of pressure to help build resilience of body and mind. Sauna acts on the body in a similar way to exercise – raising heartrate, blood flow and core temperature. It gives your circulation system a workout, making you sweat out about 500g in a 30-minute sauna. This is mainly water – remember to hydrate well before, during and after sauna – but can also bring out toxins(4).
Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) – good for those recovering from injury
HSPs are proteins that move between your cells. These little heroes are activated by whole body heat like exercise and sauna, and they help to deliver support to your cells, to fix damage proteins, and move along troublemaking proteins – they are associated with intense exercise and sweating(5). For injured athletes, or those who can’t exercise, sauna might be one way of tapping into the usefulness that HSPs provide(6), under the guidance of their doctor.
Contrast therapy: cold with heat
Using a cold plunge with sauna can bring added benefits for the brave. Reducing muscle inflammation is key with cold immersion, by limiting the flow of inflammatory cells to your muscles, thereby allowing your body to heal better. Cold water followed by heat helps your body to pump out, or flush through, all those waste products like lactic acid. Getting rid of this efficiently should help you to feel less sore.
Sauna – brilliant for recovery, team building and improving performance
On top of all the benefits sauna gives us, sportspeople specifically can use sauna to improve recovery after intense training, and to boost performance. Team building in a sauna environment can be great fun too, where you get a chance to sit and relax, and catch up with each other whilst continuing to exert your bodies, investing in future results.
Anna Galbraith, Personal Trainer and HIIT to Hot coach says:
“A sauna is a great way to extend your workout and training regime, bringing extra benefits to athletes and those trying to increase their fitness levels, especially if you can also tap into a cold plunge. I love a sauna post workout too because there is time to relax with your training buddies and know your body is still being put through its paces! You might also have an easier day the next day after giving your muscles a boost”.
References
(1) The Fitness Group . The surprising benefits of sauna. Accessed October 2024
(4) Emma O’Kelly (2023). Sauna: The power of Deep Heat. Chapter 1 Good Reasons to Roast. Wellbeck Publishing Group.
(5) As note 1
(6) Heat Stress and Cardiovascular, Hormonal, and Heat Shock Proteins in Humans – PMC
