Skip to main content

How many minutes in the sauna combats obesity and provides workout benefits?

New research reveals how long you have to sit in the sauna to combat obesity and more

Birch vihta hanging in a Finnish sauna.
Finmiki / Shutterstock

What if you could sit down in a warm, relaxing place, combat obesity, and achieve the same benefits of a mild cardiovascular workout? People from all around the world have been using saunas for thousands of years and studying the many advantages. Today, TikTokers are also raving about this Scandinavian wellness tradition that could reduce your risk of a range of chronic conditions. Let’s take a look at the mounting research and the benefits of the sauna.

What is the sauna?

close up of woman's arm pouring water on hot stones to produce steam in a sauna room
Huum / Unsplash

Sauna is a Finnish word referring to the traditional Finnish bathhouse. The sauna is a warm, dry room designed to help you relax in dry heat. It’s a wooden structure with wooden benches for you to sit on. Traditionally, people throw water onto hot stones to produce steam and heat the small room. You can find different types of saunas, including one or two-person saunas or rooms to fit several people. The temperature usually ranges from 150-195°F. 

Recommended Videos

What are the benefits of the sauna?

close up of mans arm with watch checking heart rate heart health pulse
Nik / Unsplash

Research reveals numerous health benefits of the sauna. For example, one study showed that men who had a sauna session most days of the week over a roughly 20-year period were 50% less likely to have a fatal heart attack compared to men who took one sauna a week or less. Saunas can also reduce your risk of dementia, stroke, and insulin resistance, which is a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Regular sauna sessions could lower your cortisol and diminish your overall stress levels.

The hot room stimulates your body’s natural ability to regulate temperature, which induces metabolic changes and prompts the production of heat shock proteins at the cellular level. Heat shock proteins or HSPs enhance many of your bodily functions, including immunity and your cardiovascular system. HSPs can reduce muscle atrophy, help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, increase longevity, and more.

How many minutes in the sauna combats obesity?

sauna room stones wooden sauna steam
Huum / Unsplash

Recent research presented at the Nutrition 2024 Conference and led by researcher Soonkyu Chung further highlighted the benefits of the sauna. The study revealed that daily 30-minute whole-body heat exposure to a warm room or environment like a sauna could help combat age-related obesity and insulin resistance. 

Benefits similar to mild aerobic training

Aqua aerobics in water sport center, indoor swimming pool, recreational leisure
Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

A study published in Health Science Reports concluded that for those who are unable to perform aerobic exercise, getting in the sauna could provide some similar benefits acutely. Research also shows interesting advantages of taking a sauna following a workout for improving markers of exercise capacity in hot and temperate conditions. 

As long as you follow the guidelines of the sauna you’re using, saunas are an excellent way to safely achieve the same benefits as a mild cardiovascular workout and lower your risk of a range of chronic diseases and ailments. From getting better sleep to combating obesity, enhancing muscle recovery, and reducing inflammation, it’s worth stepping into the sauna and sweating.

Topics
Steph Green
Steph Green is a content writer specializing in healthcare, wellness, and nutrition. With over ten years of experience, she…
Study shows walking this many minutes a day still provides health benefits
The good news is you don’t have to walk for miles and miles until your legs can barely carry you to get health benefits.
man walking with red jacket on road outdoors tree

Your body was made to move and walking outside and breathing in the fresh air is rejuvenating. Walking improves your cardiovascular health, bone health, mood, and balance. Putting one foot in front of the other helps you maintain a healthy weight and burns calories. The best part is it doesn’t require fancy equipment or a gym membership and you can go at your own pace. You might wonder how many minutes you have to walk a day to yield these health benefits. It turns out you don’t have to walk a marathon or a long hiking trail. Mounting research dives in.
A 2-minute walk around the block

A meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine revealed that just two minutes of walking around the block provides health benefits. The researchers looked at seven studies comparing the effects of standing, sitting, and walking on blood sugar regulation. The participants either stood still or walked for two to five minutes every 20-30 minutes throughout the day. Blood sugar levels rose and fell more gradually in those who took a short walk after eating compared to those who just stood still or remained sitting. The ‘walking’ group also had more stable insulin levels. Insulin is an important digestive hormone that plays a role in regulating blood sugar and fat-storage.
A 10-minute walk

Read more
Hyrox is a popular competitive indoor fitness event — What are the benefits?
Improve your cardiovascular fitness, metabolism, strength, and endurance with Hyrox
Man with tattoos sitting in the gym doing seated cable rows exercise with cable machine

From going rucking to zone 2 cardio, fitness enthusiasts are exploring innovative and interesting ways to get moving. Hyrox is a popular competitive indoor fitness event taking place all over the world with thousands of athletes signing up and competing every year. Training for and taking part in Hyrox isn’t a walk in the park; it’s a feat of strength and endurance that showcases your athletic prowess. You might have seen TikTokers and Instagram fitness buffs sharing videos of themselves powering through a sled pull or reps and reps of burpees. Let’s look at what it is, the benefits of Hyrox, and top training tips.
What is Hyrox?

Hyrox is a global functional fitness race where you start with 1km of running before completing a workout station. You repeat the 1km run and the workout station eight times and each time, you’ll end up at one at the following functional workout stations:

Read more
Studies reveal how long and which type of exercise boosts brain power
Sharpen your cognition by performing this type of exercise
Man doing HIIT workout.

Exercise improves your mood by prompting the release of feel-good endorphins. Moving your body also strengthens your muscles and enhances your ability to perform your everyday functional tasks. Exercising provides an abundance of benefits for your mind and body, including improving cognition. For example, a large study of Swedish military recruits revealed that as people grow physically stronger, they also become a little smarter. If you’re wondering which type of exercise boosts brain power and how long to do it, a recent review of over 100 studies yielded an interesting conclusion.
The review

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, assessed over 100 studies to determine whether individual exercise sessions affect the brain, and which type of exercise had the biggest impact. The studies examined more than 4,000 healthy adult participants, and the review was published in Communications Psychology.
The results

Read more