Your blood pressure does not drop during a sauna visit – it rises, as does your heart rate. This increase is even comparable to the effect of a short, moderate workout. This is the result of a new study. For their study, the researchers placed their participants in a sauna as well as on a bicycle ergometer.
The scientists conducted their study by recruiting 19 volunteers to measure the immediate effects of sauna use on the cardiovascular system:The participants were exposed to a 25-minute sauna session, while their blood pressure and heart rate were measured. Both blossomed immediately during the sauna visit. After the sauna session, both blood pressure and heart rate began to drop below the participants' baseline levels measured before the sauna session.
In the second part of the study, participants completed a short exercise program on a stationary bike while also assessing their blood pressure and heart rate. By comparing the two conditions, the participants' blood pressure and heart rate reached the same levels during the sauna session as they did during the exercise test with a load of about 100 watts. This shows that a sauna session is a kind of burden on the body. Still, even people with low blood pressure can have a shvitz every now and then, as the researcher says:“Saunas can actually be used by anyone who can tolerate moderate physical stress without discomfort, but people with low blood pressure should be careful afterwards, because their blood pressure can fall below the levels registered before the sauna visit.”
The researchers' observations are supported by previous studies that mainly focused on the long-term effects of sauna use, demonstrating positive effects on the cardiovascular system, for example. “A sauna session is a physical strain, the long-term positive effects are comparable to sports activities”. Nevertheless, healthy sweating does not contribute to weight loss:“The effect is too low because there is no muscle activity. Although we lose weight in the sauna, these are just the fluids we sweat. One has to rehydrate after a sauna session,” concludes the researcher.
