Rhonda Patrick’s New Speech on Sauna Benefits

Dr. Rhonda Patrick is a rising star in the world of health.  Known for her her Found My Fitness website as well as appearances on programs such as the Joe Rogan podcast.  When she was invited to speak at the 20th Annual Heart Summit in Little Rock Arkansas, she decided to focus her 30 minute speech on one major change people could make to improve their health: incorporating regular sauna use.

Introduction

“When I was told I was going to give a talk at the healthy heart conference I got very excited because I saw an opportunity to talk about something that I am very passionate about and convinced will be part of standard of care in the next ten years for prevention and treatment of a variety of different cardiovascular conditions.  So I decided, instead of talking about 20 different things that may help you stave off the aging process and live healthier, I thought I would do a deep dive into ONE thing that I think will stave off the aging process and help you live longer but also has a very robust effect on cardiovascular health. So for the next 30 minutes or so I’m going to try to convince everyone here today that you should be sitting inside a hot box for 20 minutes a day.”

Sauna on heart health

She listed off the list of studies suggesting sauna bathing helps overall health including the famous  involving a few thousand people over 20 years in Eastern Finland. The finding specifically looking at a group of 2300 men with health risk factors a major finding was that men who use sauna two to three times a week has 22% lower sudden cardiac death compared to men who used it one time a week.  Men who used the sauna 4-7 times a week had a 63% lower sudden cardiac death rate compared to men who used it once a week.

There was also a factor of the duration on time spent in the sauna.  Sauna sessions of at least 11 minutes showed a 7% lower risk of sudden cardiac arrest while 20 minute sessions showed a 50% reduction.  This took into account outside factors such as exercise and health habits as well as physical factors such as cholesterol, hypertension, economic status, etc.

 Similar evidence demonstrated a similar relationship with stroke risk.   Using the sauna 2-3 times a week showed a 14% lower stroke risk and 4-7 times a week showed a 60% lower stroke risk.  

Hypertension was also affected, with those using the sauna 4-7 times a week showing a 50% reduction in hypertension.  

Traditional Finnish Sauna vs. Infrared Sauna

While these studies involved the use of a traditional Finnish sauna, Rhonda Patrick mentioned that Infrared Saunas will likely produce similar effects. As Dr. Patrick mentioned, the major difference between them is that traditional saunas heat the ambient air and infrared saunas heat the body directly.  In her speech Dr. Patrick pointed out that studies have shown that Infrared Sauna therapy has helped patients more than standard care.  

Sauna and Exercise

There is an awful lot of overlap between sitting in a sauna and exercise.  You sweat, your heart rate increases, cardiac output increases. Studies have shown that 25 minutes on the exercise bike mirrored 25 minutes in the sauna.  

According to Rhonda Patrick one advantage saunas have over getting vigorous physical exercise is that sedentary people are more likely to begin regular sauna use than begin physical exercise.  Although people that are already physically active there is an additive beneficial effect.

Additional Benefits

Lower Alzheimer’s risk [15:05]

Importance of Heat Shock Proteins [15:05]

Combating Inflamation [21:55]