Last week, I wrote about visiting a pain doctor. I was there not for pain per se. It was due to my inability to move around as easily as I had when I was younger. In my defense, I assured the physician that I wasn’t sedentary. I told him about running cross-country in high school and college. Additionally, hardly a day goes by that I am not doing cardiovascular exercises. I have worked out for 30 minutes every morning on an elliptical trainer and haven’t missed more than five days. Interestingly, most of those times, I exercised later that day.

That didn’t impress the physician. After listening to me complain about my lacking the mobility of a 20-year-old, he retorted, “What if you hadn’t?” Essentially, he made his point. I couldn’t move as well as I do now if I had not exercised.

I’ve written about going to Southlake YMCA’s saunas. I go to the Y three or four times a week. I spend 30-35 minutes in the dry sauna, which is around 180-184 degrees. I spend 10-15 minutes in the whirlpool sauna, which is around 110 degrees to cool down. On the days I am not at the Y, I use an infrared blanket sauna at home for an hour.

During the sauna at home, I wear a sauna sweatsuit, which retains all my sweat in the suit.

Every time I am sweating in a sauna, I am haunted by the question posed by the pain doctor...what if? What if I had gotten into saunas decades ago? While I regret that missed years, at least I get the benefits from the sauna now.

It isn’t that saunas are a recent treatment. Saunas have been a part of many countries dating back to Roman times. There are Turkish baths. Native Americans have sweat lodges, and the Russians have banyas. Finland uses saunas in their society.

It doesn’t take long before you start sweating. It is a strange feeling while sitting in a sauna doing nothing. I sweat much more than I do on my elliptical trainer. Your heart is beating as if you were working out. The other strange feeling is that your skin feels sticky or slimy. I feel even that way after leaving the whirlpool sauna. However, taking a regular shower, I feel quite clean and refreshed.

Another positive aspect is that saunas tend to elevate stress. It relaxes you during your time in the sauna. There are many articles in medical journals about research studies regarding cardiovascular issues. One study showed a decrease in sudden cardiac deaths for males in Finland who use a sauna. It also found that the positive effects increase if saunas are used four or more times a week.

There are many cardiovascular benefits for those who regularly use a sauna. Saunas improve oxygen flow to your heart muscles. It does the same for those with peripheral artery disease by getting oxygen to the legs. Additionally, saunas improve one’s cholesterol profile and blood pressure. There have been studies that show that regular use of saunas will lower your risk of dementia. It helps with issues associated with asthma and COPD by improving one's lung function.