Recover Faster: How Saunas Support Post-Workout Healing
Introduction
Many people believe lifting weights in the gym will be sufficient for their desired gains. They don’t focus or consider the importance of post-workout recovery. However, post-workout recovery heals tissues, reduces soreness, and prepares you to participate efficiently in the next workout session.
Among many options for post-workout recovery, one ancient practice stands out for its remarkable benefits: sauna therapy. Sauna therapy is a wellness practice that has been in use for ages to achieve recovery. It originally came from Finland but has gained recognition and acceptance all around the world.
A sauna is a type of heat therapy that involves staying in a heated room for varying durations. The room is heated to temperatures between 66 and 91 degrees Celsius or 150 and 195 degrees Fahrenheit. The body responds to the heat and undergoes several changes, which forms the basis for the benefits of a sauna. Post-workout recovery is one of the prominent benefits of a sauna bath, which involves the effects of heat on the body.
Sauna for Recovery
If you are new to the world of wellness and just got to know about sauna therapy, it might be hard for you to believe the role of saunas for recovery. You might be asking yourself, “How can a heated room improve my recovery after workouts?”
A sauna is not just a fancy practice for enjoying the temperature in a heated room; instead, it influences your body in many ways. When you expose your body to the heat of a sauna bath, it is similar to exposing your body to controlled stress. Your body initiates several changes to handle the stress and maintain its balance. These changes in the body lead to several benefits of saunas, including post-workout recovery.
To understand how a sauna bath promotes recovery, you first need to know how your body responds to saunas. It will then uncover the mechanism behind the recovery process.
Your Body’s Response to Sauna
A sauna is a type of heat therapy that uses heat to provide a number of benefits. When you expose yourself to hot temperatures, as in a sauna bath, your body responds to that by dilating blood vessels, increased sweating, and increasing your heart rate.
These changes in the body result in the well-known physiological benefits of sauna, such as muscle relaxation and improved circulation. It also results in psychological benefits, such as stress release, improved cognitive strength, and improved sleep.
All these benefits of saunas help your body in post-workout recovery. Let’s discuss each benefit of sauna in detail and see how they are linked to post-workout recovery.
Physiological Benefits of Sauna for Post-workout Recovery
While sauna causes many physiological changes in the body, their prominent physiological benefits include muscle recovery, improved circulation, and reduced inflammation.
1. Muscle Relaxation
Workouts put stress on the muscles, which promotes muscle growth. However, muscle gains are not possible if muscles don’t get the time to recover after workouts. Here comes the role of saunas for post-workout recovery of the muscles.
When your body temperature increases in the sauna, it inhibits the production of inflammatory cytokines. On the other hand, increased temperature causes an increase in the production of heat shock proteins. Both changes collectively reduce muscle damage, help in muscle repair, and prevent atrophy.
Heat also triggers vasodilation, in which the blood supply increases to the muscles. Muscles receive plenty of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood, which helps in flushing toxins from the muscles. It makes saunas a remarkable practice for post-workout muscle relaxation and recovery.
2. Improved Circulation
Another significant benefit of saunas for post-workout recovery is improved circulation. When you are in a sauna room, your body’s temperature increases. Your body increases heart rate and dilates the blood vessels to release extra heat and maintain internal temperature.
Increased heart rate and dilation of the blood vessels enhance the overall blood flow. Your tissues get more oxygen and nutrients, which helps recover damaged tissues from workout sessions.
Increased heart rate from the sauna also helps in building cardiovascular endurance. Regular saunas train your cardiovascular system to handle the increased heart rate during exercises. A study by the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport shows that saunas after exercise can improve endurance performance.
3. Reduced Inflammation
Reports show that high-intensity exercises increase the risk of injury and chronic inflammation. Inflammation is a natural response of your immune system against injuries. However, persistent and chronic inflammation from regular workout sessions can negatively impact the recovery rate.
A 2018 study shows that sauna has a positive role in reducing inflammation. Another study published in the journal Annals of Medicine also indicates that the sauna is effective in reducing inflammation. The study further says that regular sauna bathing decreases the risk of acute and chronic disease conditions due to their anti-inflammatory role.
Thus, by reducing inflammation, a sauna bath can facilitate recovery after workout sessions. However, make sure not to overdo it, as too much heat can worsen the inflammation and prolong the recovery.
Psychological Benefits of Sauna for Post-workout Recovery
Besides well-known physiological benefits, saunas also provide psychological benefits that are associated with post-workout recovery.
1. Reduced Stress and Relaxation
Stress develops tension in the muscles and can negatively affect post-workout recovery. A sauna bath helps reduce cortisol levels in the body. Cortisol is a stress hormone and low cortisol levels indicate reduced stress, which can help release muscle tension and promote recovery.
Studies show that sauna therapy also promotes the release of endorphins. Endorphins are the natural hormones in your body that respond to stress and make you feel good.
When your mind is relaxed, it can efficiently manage the functions of your body that are essential for recovery. This includes regulating inflammation, repairing damaged cells, and flushing out toxins.
2. Improved Cognitive Functioning
Cognitive functioning refers to your mental abilities, such as learning, thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning. Studies show that regular saunas positively impact mental abilities and improve cognitive functioning.
Improved cognitive functioning can influence post-workout recovery in a number of ways. For example, enhanced cognitive abilities allow you to be more mindful during workouts and pay close attention to each movement. This mindfulness helps you achieve precision in your workouts. It also helps reduce the risk of injuries and over-training, which speeds up recovery.
3. Quality Sleep for Post-workout Recovery
One underrated benefit of sauna baths is improved quality of sleep. A 2019 study about the impacts of saunas on both men and women shows that 87.3% of participants reported the sleep benefits of saunas. People who practice sauna baths on a regular basis claim to experience improvement in sleep quality.
Multiple studies show that quality sleep is necessary for recovery after intense physical activity sessions. A 2021 study shows that good sleep is essential for recovery from exercise-induced muscle injuries. Another study shows that quality sleep plays a major role in the recovery and performance of athletes.
How to Incorporate a Sauna into Your Workout Routine?
To enjoy the benefits of a sauna for post-workout recovery, you might want to add it to your workout routine. However, you should consider the following factors before entering a sauna:
Ideal Temperature and Duration for a Sauna
Ideal temperatures and durations are critically important for the benefits of sauna. The ideal temperature for a sauna ranges between 66 and 91 degrees Celcius or 150 and 195 degrees Fahrenheit. You can choose between these temperatures depending on your comfort and therapy goals.
Similarly, you can choose a duration of 5 to 15 minutes for a sauna session. Experts suggest starting with a short duration and gradually increasing your time in a sauna bath. Remember, stretching the duration does not always enhance the benefits, so you must follow moderation for the optimum experience or a sauna bath.
Immediate vs Delayed Sauna Sessions
You can go to the sauna immediately after a workout or delay the session, increasing the gap between workouts and the sauna. Immediately going to the sauna will enhance the “cool down” phase after workouts. It helps lower the body temperature and heart rate in a controlled and efficient manner.
On the other hand, waiting for a while after a workout will give your body the time to initiate natural recovery. After the natural recovery is initiated, the sauna can boost the recovery process.
Sauna Before vs After Workouts
You can achieve the benefits of saunas when you practice them after workout sessions. A sauna after a workout reduces muscle damage and improves recovery. It also positively influences mental performance and promotes relaxation.
On the other hand, a sauna before workout sessions can dehydrate you and increase your body temperature. This increase in body temperature before initiating the workout can negatively impact the performance.
Choosing the Perfect Type of Sauna For You
All saunas work on the principle of heat therapy, which means the use of heat to produce different effects on the body. However, there are two common types of saunas available today. Which type of sauna is ideal for you depends on your preferences, health conditions, and fitness goals.
- Traditional Sauna: A traditional sauna is often a small room with wooden benches and a heater. The heater warms rocks to create a high-temperature environment. You can also pour water over the hot rocks to produce steam and increase humidity, enhancing the sweating process.
- Infrared Sauna: An infrared sauna, unlike the traditional sauna, doesn’t involve heating the surrounding environment. Instead, it uses infrared heaters to emit infrared light directed towards the body. Your body warms by absorbing the infrared light.
While the procedure of generating heat is different, both types of sauna provide similar effects for post-workout recovery and overall improved well-being.
Precautions and Safety Guidelines for Sauna Use
Precautions and safety guidelines can improve the gains and prevent adverse effects of all wellness practices, and sauna is no exception. Here are a few safety guidelines for sauna use:
- Sauna therapy causes a significant loss of water through sweating. To compensate for the water loss, properly hydrate yourself before a sauna session. Proper hydration is also essential for improved cardiovascular functioning and temperature regulation.
- Decide the duration and temperature for a sauna session depending on your age. Older people and children should limit their sauna sessions as they are more sensitive to heat.
- If you have some underlying health condition, such as cardiovascular problems, you must consult your healthcare professional before planning for the sauna.
Final Thoughts on Sauna and Post-Workout Recovery
Sauna therapy is a popular wellness practice with a wide range of health benefits. One of the many benefits of saunas is their role in post-workout recovery. Fitness experts and health professionals always highlight the importance of post-workout recovery for maximum gains.
Sauna helps in post-workout recovery by initiating many physiological and psychological changes in the body. Physiological changes from a sauna, such as muscle relaxation, improved circulation, and reduced inflammation, help boost recovery after workout sessions. Similarly, psychological changes from a sauna, such as reduced stress and enhanced cognitive functioning, also promote recovery.
Evidence also shows that sauna therapy plays a role in improving the quality of sleep. Experts suggest that improved sleep can significantly improve post-workout recovery.
Before planning a sauna session for post-workout recovery, make sure that you know about the precautions and safety guidelines. The safety guidelines include keeping yourself appropriately hydrated before entering a sauna and limiting your sessions depending on your age. Also, if you have a health condition, such as a heart problem, we recommend you consult your doctor about incorporating a sauna into your workout routine.
