Benefits of Heat Exposure

I have a love-hate relationship with outdoor workouts in the summer. They feel harder in the moment—but also amazing. And because the workouts feel harder, they also feel more rewarding when I'm done.

But does training in the heat deliver any additional, legitimate benefits? Or does it just feel harder for the sake of feeling harder… Plus, sauna and heat therapy are becoming more popular.

Are heat exposure and heat therapy legitimate?

Health benefits of Heat

Can heat improve human health and performance? In most studies, the data suggests people’s biomarkers of cardiovascular and metabolic health gets better after heat exposure. There appear to be reductions in blood pressure and arterial stiffness, ie. metabolic health improves.

This study took a group of young, sedentary people. The experimental group sat in a 105-degree bath for 60 minutes. This happened 4-5x/week for 8 weeks. Heat therapy increased flow-mediated dilation, reduced arterial stiffness, reduced mean arterial and diastolic blood pressure, and reduced carotid thickness; with changes all on par or greater than what is typically observed in sedentary subjects with exercise training.

A famous study from Finland found that men who used the sauna 4-7x/week were less likely to have heart disease or die over the ~20-year study period.

The group who used the sauna at least 4x/wk week saw a 40% reduced risk of death compared to those who used it once. A group who used it 2-3x/wk saw a 24% drop in their risk. These saunas were usually 176 to 212 degrees.

Of course, people who can sauna at least 4x/wk are probably more health conscious in a lot of other ways. So, theres a healthy persons bias. BUT 40% is still 40%!!

Sauna seems to work for various reasons, many of which mimic light cardiovascular exercise. Which raises a question ...

Can heat therapy replace exercise?

SO, you all want to know if you can just sit in the sauna instead of exercising? HA! If only it were so easy. Please, if you do just one healthy thing, make it exercise. And if you get anything out of this post, if you feel like you don’t exercise enough, you should fix that issue before you devote time to heat therapy.

However, there are 3 types of exercisers for whom sauna could be particularly good:

  • People who will never exercise: Heat therapy isn't a replacement for exercise, but it may be something the exercise-averse will actually do that would provide some benefit.

  • People who want more from their exercise. Heat therapy may extend the benefits of exercise.

  • People who have exercise limitations. For example, injury patients. Heat therapy could help this population if they can't get the full benefits of exercise.

Fitness benefits of heat

One of the world's foremost physiologists, Chris Minson is a professor at the University of Oregon. In one of his studies, he got 2 groups of trained cyclists and measured their race performance. Then each group did ten 90-minute training sessions.

  • The first group did their training sessions in a room that was 55 degrees.

  • The second group did their training sessions in a room that was 104 degrees.

Minson then remeasured their race performance in a hot environment and cool environment.

The results: Heat exposure improved the heat group's race performance by 5% when they raced in cool conditions and 8% when they raced the heat. It also boosted a few other performance markers.

I’m sure you’ve seen this in yourself if you do any sort of outdoor training in the heat. The first days over 80 feel like death. It’s really really hard. But after a few weeks, the heat becomes manageable. Soon enough, the temperatures reach into the 90s and it feels hot but not devastating.

 

Tips on Heat Acclimation - leverage the power of the heat

  1. Ease in - If you decide to start using a sauna, perhaps your gym has one, and it’s an easy way to end a workout. Or perhaps you install one at home.

    During your first sessions, bring yourself to a point where you feel fairly warm but not hot. Then sit for about 15 minutes.

  2. Bake don’t burn - Feel hot but not miserably hot. Then stay in for around 15-20 minutes. Most studies use temperatures between 180 and 210 degrees.

  3. Hydrate as you bake - Bring water. Drink normally. The consequences of dehydrating and then not recovering aren't worth it.

  4. Use your time well - We're all time-crunched. Use your sauna time to do other things like reading or meditating.

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