Objective: Sauna-bathing is an ancient tradition that is gaining popularity across the world as a wellness tool. There is a growing body of medical evidence supporting the role of saunas, or whole-body thermotherapy, as a form of treatment for a range of health issues. However, the demographics, motivations and experiences of current sauna bathers have not yet been explored on a global scale. This study is designed to explore these themes.
Design: An online 71-item questionnaire compiling information on the individual characteristics, sauna-related habits and perceived health and wellness experiences of regular sauna bathers was conducted from October 2016 to October 2017. The validated 'SF-12' quality of life scoring tool was incorporated into the questionnaire to measure physical and mental indicators of well-being.
Results: Of 572 logins recorded, 482 valid responses were generated. Both men (51.3%) and women (48.7%) were represented, and respondents were predominantly well-educated (81.8%), non-smoking (90.6%), regularly-exercising (78.8%) individuals of normal-to-overweight status (87.1%) who sauna-bathed approximately 1-2 times per week. The key reasons indicated by respondents for sauna-bathing included relaxation/stress reduction, pain relief and socializing. Nearly a third of respondents reported medical conditions and of this subset, those with back/musculoskeletal pain and mental issues cited the greatest improvements in their conditions with sauna-bathing. Of all respondents, 83.5% reported sleep benefits after sauna use. Analysis of well-being scores after stratifying respondents into three groups by sauna-bathing frequency (group I: <5 times per month; group II: 5-15 times per month; group III: >15 times per month) revealed group II respondents had slightly higher mental well-being scores (Kruskal-Wallis testing: H = 6.603 > ꭔ2 of 5.991, p = 0.0368, df = 2 with post hoc analysis using Mann-Whitney U test: p = 0.016) as compared to respondents who were sauna-bathing less frequently (group I). No respective differences were detected between the physical well-being scores of any of the three groups. Adverse reactions to sauna-bathing were recorded as mostly minor (93.1%), including primarily symptoms of dizziness, dehydration and headache. However, there were two reports (0.3%) of chest pain and eye irritation requiring hospitalization.
Conclusions: This cross-sectional study documents that sauna-bathing participants, particularly those from Finland, Australia and the United States, are motivated to use saunas predominantly for relaxation, reporting health benefits especially around mental well-being and sleep, with relatively few adverse effects. While these results reinforce some of the known health benefits of sauna bathing, they indicate that further research and better dissemination of existing evidence is needed to fully develop the sauna's potential as a therapeutic intervention.
Keywords: Health survey; Lifestyle medicine tool; Sauna bathing.
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