Last year Professor Jari Laukkanen’s team discovered that saunas can prevent heart attacks. Previous research had already revealed that regular visits to the hammam reduced heart disease by 23%.
Scientists think that the dementia is partially triggered by many of the same risk factors seen in cardiovascular disease such as hypertension and poor blood circulation.
The sauna, which means “bath” in Finnish – is a small wooden room where the wet or dry heat can reach almost 100°C. The heat present in this place would widen the blood vessels, improve blood circulation and reduce blood pressure. “We know that the cardiovascular health also affects the brain,” said Professor Jari Laukkanen, of the University of Eastern Finland, and lead author of the study.
One session a day would reduce the risk of dementia by two thirds
His research team followed 2,315 middle-aged men over a 20-year period. The results of the study, published in the Age and Aging magazineshow that a daily sauna session would reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia by two-thirds and two to three visits per week would lower it by one-fifth over the next twenty years.
If current medications can help slow the symptoms of dementiathere is currently no effective treatment.
“As this study does not look at other groups of people such as women or people who do not use saunas, we don’t know how this risk compares to the general population, the scientists said, however. Research needs to be done. therefore be continued in order to know a little more about the sauna effects on the brain.
Read also :
– Sauna: how to enjoy it safely
