Luke O'Neill

And then what also happens is your pulse rate goes up slightly because your heartbeat is pumping the blood up to your skin.

And that's a really good thing.

If you get the heart rate going and the blood flow increases, guess what?

It's very good for your heart.

And the big thing, several studies show salinas are very good for your heart.

they decrease the risk of heart disease because of all this blood rushing around and going to the surface of your skin.

And the pumping of the blood through your blood vessels decreases the buildup of cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart disease, of course.

So all this massive blood flow is very good.

Now, as I say, if it gets too intense, it can be damaging and become rather stressful because you've got to be careful.

So as I say, 15 minutes is the thing that you want to aim for.

Now let's look at the science.

So the Finns have been studied almost to death, I was going to say on this, but they keep getting potted and poked because they're in the sauna.

Swiss studies have shown if you have a sauna four times a week, you will lower your risk of heart disease by around 60%.

Now that's a big effect.

So if I was to offer you the chance of lowering your risk of something by half, you would jump at it.

So you're lowering the risk of heart disease by about 60%, four, five, six times a week you're in the sauna, you see this effect, that's the really important thing.

So the first benefit then is for your heart.

Now, the second thing though, without doubt, is socialising.

And again, the fins have shown this is the shared nature of the sauna.

That's really good.