Reducing your risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia may be more relaxing than you think. A new study shows that regularly using a sauna can significantly decrease your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease – at least in men.
Sauna use didn’t just lead to a 5 or 10% lower risk of dementia: men who used saunas regularly were 66% (!) less likely to develop dementia than men who used a sauna once a week. They also experienced a 65% risk reduction for Alzheimer’s disease.
The sauna findings came as part of the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease (KIHD) study, which involved more than 2300 middle-aged men across Finland. These men were deemed healthy at baseline.
After a 20 year follow-up, men who used the sauna 4 to 7 times per week were found 66% less likely to develop dementia than men who used the sauna once per week.
Researchers described that their study “provides promising results from the first prospective study that shows sauna bathing to be a potential protective lifestyle factor for common memory diseases.”
Researchers added that sauna bathing “may be a recommendable intervention” to prevent the condition in healthy adults, suggesting that doctors may wish to start recommending sauna usage among patients deemed at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s.
Nevertheless, researchers cautioned that more sauna studies were required in different parts of the population – particularly women.
Senior author on the study Jari Antero Laukkanen, MD, PhD was still pleased with the results of the study, claiming that it reinforced what Finns have known for a long time: sauna bathing is healthy:
“This study was surprising because the findings were so strong. People have positive feelings about sauna bathing, which may help in part to explain the associations found.”
You can view the full study online here. It was published in December 2016 in Age and Ageing.
Similar Research Shows Sauna Usage Lowers the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Interestingly, the same researchers above had previously led another study using the same data (from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease study) and found that men who used the sauna regularly had a lower risk of sudden cardiovascular attacks, a lower risk of coronary artery failure, and a lower risk of other cardiac events – and even death.
Why do saunas make you healthier? Professor Laukkanen claims that it’s all about relaxation:
“Though, it is known that cardiovascular health disturbs the brain as well. The sense of well-being and easing experienced during sauna bathing may also play a big role.”
