Ian Sample

speaker

2,123 appearances 29 recordings 3 series first heard Apr 2026 last heard 4d ago

Ian Sample’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 29 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 8.

Appearances

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Science Weekly · Revisited: Saunas and cold plunges, where does the evidence stand? · 30 Jul 2026 podcast

It's actually a pretty good way to switch off. voice-verified

And I think there may be a good chunk of placebo effect going on as well. voice-verified

So research, funnily enough, from Finland, where they would tend to know about saunas, they found that men who did saunas four to seven times a week had a lower risk of high blood pressure than those who only went once a week. voice-verified

And the study used data over nearly 25 years, and they adjusted for sort of lifestyle factors like smoking and alcohol, but not for whether the people who only went once a week simply have more busy or stressful lives than those who are able to find more time to use the sauna. voice-verified

So voice-verified

With a study like that, you never know whether people who go to the sauna every day have really nice lives, which are not very stressful, where they are allowed and capable and very easy for them to go to the sauna every flipping day. voice-verified

And that sounds like a very nice, calm life to me, whereas most people, I'm sure, wouldn't be able to fit that kind of thing in. voice-verified

So it's very hard to say that voice-verified

the sauna is responsible for this because it's not that kind of study. voice-verified

For cold water immersion, Heather said that while there isn't any research that she's aware of, there are quite long-lived effects when it comes to the cold water shock response. voice-verified

Well, let's take cold water immersion first. voice-verified

I mean, you've really got to make sure that you're fit and healthy before you get into cold water. voice-verified

And what you really want to do, I would say, start with warmer water, swimming outdoors sometime between, say, May, September, October, if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. voice-verified

One mistake people make is thinking that they'll be fine because they're a strong swimmer. voice-verified

But the cold shock can still really catch you out if you're not acclimatised. voice-verified

And then there's the usual sensible precautions that go along with any time you go into a body of water, you know, have your wits about you, avoid alcohol, drugs, what have you. voice-verified

Make sure you know how to get out before you get in and don't do it on your own. voice-verified

You're welcome. voice-verified

Science Weekly · Revisited: The surprising science of dreams and nightmares · 28 Jul 2026 podcast

Hi Ian here. voice-verified

The Science Weekly team is on a break but we'll be back with some new episodes for you next week. voice-verified

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