Doing one to four sauna sessions per month would be the ideal frequency to obtain the most possible benefits on mood, sleep quality and energy level.
Ideally, we should do between one and four sauna sessions per month to optimize the benefits of this moment of relaxation on our mental and physical health, according to a new study published in the journal International Journal of Circumpolar Health.
Improved mood and sleep thanks to the sauna
“[Cette étude] shows that sauna users are happier, sleep better, have more energy and rate their mental and physical health better, [comparativement au] group that does not use sauna“, says Hans Hägglund, one of the authors, in a press release.
During their work, the scientists asked 971 people to respond to health surveys and questionnaires on their sauna practice. 66% of them went at least once a week and thus constituted the first group, which the scientists compared to the second, in which the participants did not go.
The first group was made up of slightly more men than in the second. They were also younger, more active in active life, practiced more physical activity and smoked less. On the other hand, their alcohol consumption was higher than in the second group.
Doing more sauna sessions does not increase profits
After analyzing the responses to questionnaires and health surveys, scientists found the ideal frequency: one should practice one to four sauna sessions per month to obtain the best benefits on mood, quality of sleep and energy. “Going to the sauna more often, for example 2 to 7 times per week, does not increase benefits on mental or physical health or energy levels”, emphasizes Hans Hägglund.
In the future, scientists plan to continue their research on this same database to better understand the impact of sauna on mental and physical health. “We also want to determine if studies can be carried out in a more controlled manner in the laboratory.concludes Hans Hägglund. What makes us sleep better, for example? We want to try to understand the root causes of these positive relationships that we observe in the study”.
