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Time to Learn
Health Benefits of Sauna & Cold Plunge
LEARN
Cardiovascular
Mental
Will Power
Neurologic
Metabolic
Cancer
Weight Loss
Skin/Beauty
Breathing
Inflammation & Recovery
Performance
Growth Hormone
Improved Cardiovascular Health
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2x/wk sauna use equals 27% decreased risk of heart disease.
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3-4x/wk sauna use equals 40-50% decreased risk of heart disease.
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Exposing your body and heart to high temperatures causes your heart rate to increase, while exposing your body to intense cold temperatures with complete body immersion causes your heart rate to decrease in order to send more blood flow to your periphery to keep you warm. The contrast of extreme hot and cold temperatures is analogous to interval training for your heart.
Decreased Risk of Neurodegenerative Disease (ex. Dementia and Alzheimer's)
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With 4x/week of sauna use, studies have shown a 50-60% decreased time of onset and risk for developing Dementia and Alzheimer's.
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Research suggests that this is largely due to the increased cardiovascular demands and increased systemic blood flow to the brain that occurs during sauna use.
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The brain is approximately 2% of your body's total weight, however, your brain requires 11% of your body's total energy use. So, while you are increasing the cardiac output and blood flow, the brain is getting 5x more blood flow than other organs of similar size and weight.
Improved Metabolic Health - Decreased Diabetes Risk ​
1. Exposing your body to intense heat and cold temperatures causes your liver to release heat and cold shock proteins into your blood stream.
2. These heat and cold shock proteins improve protein synthesis and they attack free radical oxygenation and attack sugar and glucose cells
3. This process is called "Thermogenesis" or "Hormesis."
4. The thermogenic process dramatically improves insulin sensitivity, therefore reducing diabetes risk.
Decreased Cancer Risk
1. Due to thermogenesis, studies show a dramatic reduction in the growth and proliferation of cancer cells because cancer cells need sugar and glucose to grow and proliferate.
2. In two groups of mice, all injected with live cancer cells with other variables being constant, except for the temperature of the space (one at room temperature 22-23 degrees Celsius, the other at 4 degrees Celsius) there was a 90% reduction in the growth and proliferation of the cancer cells in the colder temperature environment.
​Improved Mental Health​
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250% increase in dopamine release and endorphins - "Happy hormones."
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The combined effect of adopting sauna/cold plunge treatments into your weekly routine causes an overall increase in your resting dopamine level release. This leaves you "happier" with an improved mood, less stressed, improved ability to handle stressful situations, more motivated and more focused.
Improved Weight Loss
1. Sauna and more specifically - cold plunge use - causes a significant improvement in brown fat growth and development.
2. Brown fat is the "good fat" in our bodies.
3. Brown fat has one of the highest concentrations of mitochondrial cells in our body. "Energy cells."
4. Increased percentages of brown fat is analogous to increasing your metabolism as these cells are "burning energy" or "calories."
Improved Skin Health
1. Extreme heat and increased sweating with sauna use causes dead skin to fall off and improves collagen production with new skin cells.
2. The increased overall systemic blood flow also aids in with cell regeneration.
​Improved Breathing
1. The breathwork training and protocols that are implemented with sauna and cold plunge use improve the efficiency of the cardiopulmonary and cardiorespiratory systems.
2. Controlled breathing lowers your heart rate, reduces stress levels, improves your ability to handle stress and creates a feeling of calmness.
3. Improving the timing of breathing and nasal breathing has numerous physiological benefits.
4. Improved diaphragmatic breathing and rib excursion allows more oxygen into our bodies, which results in more oxygen delivered to all of the bodies tissues.
​Decreased Inflammation
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Studies have reported lower inflammatory levels with regular sauna and cold plunge use.
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​ Increased systemic blood flow and the removal of "bad" pathogens results in lower inflammatory levels.
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Cold exposure causes a drop in body temperature which aids in reducing the inflammatory response seen post injury.
​Improved Tissue/Injury Recovery
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Increased systemic blood flow aids with bringing the essential "good" substances to an injured tissue to help with repair and regeneration. It also aids with removing the bad pathogens from the damaged tissue.
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​Improved oxygen levels in your blood delivers more oxygen to injured tissues which aids in regeneration and helps with preventing deconditioned tissues
​Improved Athletic Performance
1. Many of the components above contribute to the potential for improved athletic performance.
2. Improved blood flow and cardiovascular health aids with EVERYTHING!
3. A calmer, relaxed mental state of mind allows for quicker reaction times required in sport.
4. Improved weight control aids with recovery and the ability to reduce excess strain onto tissues.
5. Improved sleep helps with reducing recovery times and an improved mental state of mind.
6. Improved breathing allows the potential for maximizing oxygen to all of the bodies tissues required for maximum effort.
7. Improved tissue/injury recovery times mean more time on the ice, field or pitch.
8. Decreased inflammatory levels means improved total body health.
Increased Growth Hormone
​1. The increase in systemic blood flow aids with driving improvements with Growth Hormone (GH).
2. Research has shown that one long sauna session per week (> 90-120 mins) can cause a 16x increase in GH development.
3. GH aids with tissue recovery, healing and much more.
4. During this one long sauna session the increase in GH causes significant gains in muscle hypertrophy.
​Improved Will Power
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New research in neuroscience supports that engaging and willingly undertaking in activities that we "hate" and find uncomfortable causes resilience and will power. A part of the brain, called the Anterior MidSingulate Cortex (AMSC) has been found to be instrumental in this aspect.
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Studies report that by willingly attacking uncomfortable activities (ex. Sauna and Cold plunge) causes growth of the AMSC.
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Continual growth of the AMSC regions of the brain have been found in individuals that have a very long lifespan, as well as professional athletes.
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Inversely, individuals that do not engage in self perceived "difficult tasks" - (ex. Obese individual refusing to diet because they find it challenging and hard) - have very small regions of their AMSC.
Important to note: if you absolutely love the cold plunge and could stay in for 10 minutes without any adverse medical event, that you are not creating growth of the AMSC. It has to become a point that you find it very challenging to overcome and uncomfortable.
Researchers have claimed that the AMSC may be the most important region of the brain responsible for WILL POWER and the "WILL TO LIVE."
4 Horseman of Death - Peter Attia, MD
Globally, 80% of non-smokers over 50 years old will die from 1 out of 4 of the following factors:
1. Cardiovascular disease
2. Metabolic disease
3. Neurodenegerative disease
4. Cancer
Sauna and Cold Plunge use can cause a significant decrease in all 4 of the above causes of mortality.
Integrating Sauna & Cold Plunge use into mainstream culture enables Happier and Longer Lives and Healthier Communities.
Let's F***ing SiSU together on this incredible journey of Life!
SiMO
Founder, SiSU TOTAL HEALTH
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