Use saunas for better health

There is a lot of evidence that saunas are good for both body and mind. Professor Hägglund has written a book summarising the state of research in this area.

“A study from 2015 shows that those who take a sauna regularly – four to seven times a week – had a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by about 45 percent compared to those who took a sauna once a week,” explains Hägglund, Adjunct Professor of Haematology at Uppsala University, Senior Physician at Karolinska University Hospital and ‘sauna doctor’ at the Swedish Sauna Academy.

But can we really be sure that it is the sauna producing this effect? In the film, Hägglund explains more about his own and others’ research on both hot and cold bathing practices. He also talks about the preliminary results of a new survey which suggests that sauna users feel happier.

Hägglund has long worked to get a sauna lab up and running in Sweden. He would like it to be located near a hospital so that tests can be carried out on how different types of bathing affect our health.

“It seems that the sauna has positive effects but we don’t really know why, so it would be very important to have a sauna lab in Sweden. A lab could be built containing a regular sauna, an infrared sauna and an ice bath. We could then examine the effects of these different baths in different population groups – that would be very exciting!”

Sandra Gunnarsson and Daniel Olsson