Is Joe Rogan Right About Sauna Benefits?

Is Joe Rogan Right About Sauna Benefits?

The Science of the Sauna
Joe Rogan loves his sauna. But do saunas really extend your life, sweat out toxins, and burn fat? Here’s the actual science.

Sauna: So Hot Right Now
The gym’s sauna used to be packed with nothing but sweaty old fat guys. I used to think, “What’s the point? Are they trying to feel like they’ve actually exercised?” But these days, the sauna is filled with bodybuilders, athletes, mixed martial artists, and fitness competitors.

Thanks in part to Joe Rogan, the sauna is hot again. But is the sauna really beneficial to our health? Let’s take a deep dive into the science and find out.

The Potential Benefits
1. Decreased Blood Pressure
Interventional studies found that the sauna can reduce blood pressure, at least in the short-term (1, 2). A long-term observational study (adjusted for confounders like cardiorespiratory fitness) in men who used a sauna 4-7 times per week found the risk of developing high blood pressure was nearly 50% lower over a 25-year period (3).

Ideally, though, establishing to what extent a sauna can help reduce blood pressure would require randomized, controlled studies performed for at least several months with repeated sauna use as an intervention.

2. Decreased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
One observational study found the risk of cardiovascular disease, sudden cardiac death, fatal coronary heart disease 1, and all-cause mortality were inversely associated with the duration and frequency of sauna use (3). This was after adjusting for potential confounders like physical activity, BMI, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle. Another study found stroke risk was also decreased with sauna use (4-7 times per week versus once a week).

3. Improved Brain Health
One observational study found that men who reported frequent sauna use (5-7 times a week) had a 65% reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia compared to those who reported using it once a week. This included adjustment for confounders like physical activity, BMI, alcohol consumption, and smoking. (4).

The risk for experiencing psychosis was also reduced by 78% for men who reported 4-7 sauna sessions per week compared to those who had only one sauna session per week. This included adjustment for confounders like physical activity and energy intake (5).

4. Muscle Pain and Other Pain
There’s some evidence that the sauna may help with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) (6). Additionally, it might help reduce headache intensity in those suffering from chronic tension headaches (7). There’s also some limited evidence that infrared sauna might help with certain inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (8).

Training vs. Sauna
Since some of the studies are observational in nature, there’s always the possibility of one or more confounding variables influencing the associations between sauna use and a given effect. This can result in incorrect observations or conclusions. Accounting for these variables helps us identify whether the association is being influenced. These studies have largely done so.

However, the only way to know with great certainty is through a randomized controlled trial, and, in this case, it would need to be large and long-term. Whenever a single variable has a fairly significant impact on the risk of various diseases in observational studies, it can mean one of three things:

The effect is real, and the pathways involved in various disease states are modified in such a way that a positive effect is seen.
The variable is an excellent marker for health, but not the cause of it.
There’s a mixed effect: some disease states are truly impacted while others are merely due to other confounding variables.
Sauna modifies variables like blood pressure (1-3) and cholesterol (albeit in uncontrolled trials) which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, while various other effects typically seen with exercise are also seen with sauna (9).

The greatest benefits from the sauna are probably attributable to the taxing effect on the body and cardiovascular system that, in effect, mimics a moderate form of aerobic exercise. However, other mechanisms may be at play.

For example, when you combine sauna with exercise (not at the same time!) the benefit may be greater than either exercise or sauna alone. In long-term observational studies, the risk of cardiovascular death, sudden cardiac death, and all-cause mortality were lower in those who exercised AND hit the sauna than in those with high cardiorespiratory fitness or sauna-bathing alone (10, 11).

The additional benefit of sauna beyond exercise alone isn’t enormous, but it suggests there may be mechanisms at play that are unique to sauna. But, this is an observational study. There may be may some unique confounders that result in a lower risk of death and all-cause mortality.

After all, it’s not difficult to imagine that those able to exercise and use the sauna frequently may enjoy a lifestyle that an average person may not. They may be elite athletes, wealthy, experience little to no stress, or have better diets. The best way to answer all remaining questions is through well-designed interventional studies.