Related Episodes for Rhonda Patrick discusses sauna use associated with lowering risk for dementia and heart disease

“People that used the sauna 2-3 times per week had a 20% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and those that used the sauna 4-7 times per week had a 60% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, compared to men that used the sauna 1 time per week.”

“In this video, Dr. Rhonda Patrick summarizes a recent study that found that frequency of sauna use was associated with increased decreased risk of death. Using the sauna 2-3 times per week was associated with 24% lower all-cause mortality and 4-7 times per week decreased all-cause mortality by 40%.”

“In this Knowledge Project excerpt, Dr. Rhonda Patrick distinguishes Finnish sauna protocols near 174–175°F from lower-temperature infrared sauna, which may require longer exposure. Dose depends on temperature, humidity, duration, acclimation, hydration, and health.”

“In a prospective cohort of 2,277 Finnish men, higher cardiorespiratory fitness and sauna bathing three to seven times per week were jointly associated with lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality than low fitness and less frequent sauna use.”

“When a sauna is unavailable, Dr. Patrick describes a hot bath near 104°F for about 20 minutes with the shoulders submerged as an accessible alternative; this is her practical guidance rather than a claim that a bath reproduces the cohort outcomes.”

“Early human evidence includes local-heat studies during limb immobilization and biomarker studies after resistance training, but those results do not prove that whole-body sauna builds muscle or prevents age-related muscle loss.”

“These changes increase infection risk, weaken vaccine responses, and reduce early cancer surveillance. Yet immune aging is not fixed. Movement, sleep, stress regulation, temperature exposure, and nutrition shape immune cell balance and inflammatory activity over time.”

“And one potential strategy for mitigating our risk for Alzheimer's disease as we age is a "cognoscopy" – a battery of assessments that measures some of the key biomarkers associated with the disease and can inform the trajectory of treatment.”

“As a result, sauna use is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. The mechanisms that drive these effects are likely due to increased heat shock proteins and metabolic and hormonal changes that accompany exercise and sauna use.”

“Acute activation of the immune system (from exercise or sauna use for example) can temporarily reduce inflammation and the depression that can come with it. The segments brought to you by this episode of The Aliquot feature professor of psychiatry Dr. Charles Raison.”