Sauna and Benefits to Your Mental Health

It’s estimated that 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness, defined as a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and daily functioning. Mental illnesses are some of the most common health conditions in the country, ranging in severity and complexity. 

If you’re one of the millions of Americans living with depression or anxiety, you may find relief from symptoms when using heat therapy such as a regular sauna practice. Below are a handful of ways that a sauna can benefit your mental health and support a unique, individual mental health treatment plan.

Sauna as a Stress-Reliever

When your body is stressed, it will produce more of the hormone cortisol. This fight-or-flight hormone can have damaging impacts on your mental and physical health when you produce too much.

Sitting in your sauna is one great way to help manage stress and reduce cortisol levels. According to a study on the clinical effects of regular sauna bathing, using a sauna 5-15 times per month is associated with higher mental well-being. 

Not only can sauna usage reduce the amount of cortisol in our blood, the heat stimulates the production of serotonin. Serotonin is our “happy hormone” that makes us feel relaxed, happy, and at peace. 

Sauna Impact on Mood and Anxiety

Whole-body heat therapy isn’t just good for aching muscles – it’s good for treating mild depression and anxiety. 

Short periods of elevated body temperature through sauna usage stimulates blood flow throughout your body, including your brain. In a study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, a group of 45 men and women were asked to visit a sauna just one time. Researchers asked the subjects to complete questionnaires about their anxiety and mood following the sauna usage. All mood scales and anxiety measures were improved after a single session!

Sauna can soothe anxiety and stabilize mood by providing the time and space needed to quiet and relax the mind. Sauna is a safe, rapid-acting, antidepressant treatment that can be used as part of a total mental health treatment plan. 

Sauna and Sleep

Physical health problems significantly increase the risk of mental health problems. The correlations between physical and mental health make sauna an excellent tool to treat both.

Poor sleep and chronic fatigue affect your physiological state with a wealth of evidence to support the bidirectional relationship between sleep and mental health. As noted by the Sleep Foundation, sleeping problems may be both a cause and consequence of mental health problems. Without sufficient sleep, your brain can struggle to maintain the cognitive skills needed to cope with even minor stressors.

Sauna use can lead to a deeper, more relaxed sleep. By raising your body temperature in the sauna just before it is time to go to bed, your heated body will automatically work to readjust its temperature down. This slow, relaxing decline in endorphins will lull you off to sleep, leaving you calm and relaxed enough to have high-quality sleep. 

Begin your Sauna Search

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and we believe in the therapeutic benefits of saunas. As life only gets more stressful, prioritizing time to relax and sweat out the worries of the day can benefit everyone. 

Let us help you find the sauna that is right for you. Learn more about the saunas we offer at Hot Water Productions.