In Finland, sauna bathing traditionally involves bathers not only immersing themselves in steam, but also slapping themselves with branches until their skin is red and tingling, then diving into cold water or rolling in the snow. Now researchers find that sauna bathing — even of the conventional kind, sans cold and slapping — may have a wide range of health benefits.
Saunas bathe people in steam from water thrown on heated stones. This tradition may have its origins in baths described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who noted that Scythians in central Eurasia threw water and hempseed on red-hot rocks to generate an intoxicating steam.
Sauna bathing has traditionally been used for pleasure and relaxation, but emerging evidence suggests it may have health benefits as well. To learn more, cardiologist Jari Laukkanen at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and his colleagues conducted a comprehensive review of the existing ...
