Hippocrates was soaking in the Grecian hot baths and advocating their health benefits about 2,500 years before scientists began studying heat therapy in the lab. In the last few decades, the body of evidence has grown exponentially, with dozens of reviews and meta-analyses agreeing that saunas, in particular, confer cardiovascular and molecular benefits. In this month’s column, I won’t dispute the abundance of studies on the health benefits of saunas, nor will I debunk the commercial claims; there are too many of both. Instead, I’ll draw attention to a problematic subset of the literature that may be biasing the conclusions and undermining the belief that saunas are good for one’s health. I’ll also provide some much-needed context on the benefits of sauna, context that’s conspicuously absent from the mainstream coverage.

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Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org

Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-saunas-good-for-you-yes-but/

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