If you have ever had your cholesterol tested with a lipid panel and your results show that the wrong kind of cholesterol is too high, then you have probably been faced with making lifestyle adjustments. One surprising and easy lifestyle change to make to lower cholesterol is simply taking a sauna a few times a week. According to the CDC a staggering nearly 94 million adults over the age of 20 years have what is considered as ‘high’ cholesterol, which is roughly 38% of the adult American population. (1)
High cholesterol in the early days is quite silent, but over time as the wrong kind of cholesterol increases so does the risk for developing very serious heart diseases. There are a myriad of ways to combat high cholesterol, including a change in diet, pharmacological care, increased exercise, as well as statistically significant data that points to sauna use.
Cholesterol is not always associated with obesity, however they often come hand in hand. While there are many options for weight loss strategies, a simple, easy, and private way to induce rapid weight loss without exercise is sauna use. Not only can saunas help a person to lose weight, mimic moderate exercise, but also sauna bathing has been shown to reduce cholesterol on lipid panels.
It is possible to reduce cholesterol levels with sauna use both directly and indirectly. Several different studies on sauna use and cholesterol levels have been conducted and across the board they demonstrate a reduction in cholesterol. It does appear that the earlier an individual begins a sauna program the more likely they are to experience a direct cholesterol reduction, but even if an older individual begins a sauna program they will likely be able to lower cholesterol in indirect ways as well.
Find out what cholesterol is, what kinds are good, and what kinds may harm the body, how rigorous scientific research has demonstrated the efficacy of sauna use for the reduction of harmful cholesterol, and finally how to use a sauna from home to lower your cholesterol.
What is Cholesterol: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
If you have ever been to the doctor’s office to screen for cardiovascular disease then you have probably taken a lipid test. This blood test measures three different types of cholesterol as well as measures for high fat content in a person’s diet. The reason for this is that high cholesterol levels can indicate a potential for developing heart related diseases later on. Not all cholesterol is bad, in fact the body needs cholesterol for survival, but the type of cholesterol that does damage the body can decrease health rapidly. (2,3)
Here are the three types of cholesterol according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. This is the type of cholesterol that’s known as “bad cholesterol.” It can collect in your blood vessels and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol. This is a type of cholesterol that comes from food you’ve recently eaten. It’s typically present in low amounts when you have a fasting blood panel. An increase in this type of cholesterol in a fasting sample may be a sign that your body isn’t processing cholesterol correctly.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. This is the type of cholesterol that’s known as “good cholesterol.” It helps decrease the buildup of LDL in your blood vessels.” (2)
For the most part cholesterol is an important aspect of physiological make-up and the goal is to ensure that healthy cholesterol remains, while unhealthy cholesterol is lowered. The key is to make the appropriate lifestyle changes that promote healthy cholesterol and decrease the unhealthy kind. As it turns out, the use of a sauna can help with both of these health goals.
An article published by UCLA entitled ‘Benefits of Sauna Bathing For Heart Health’ (3) describes how sauna bathing can help increase healthy cholesterol.
“High blood cholesterol — a waxy substance in your cells — is a major risk factor for heart disease. Lowering your total blood cholesterol by 10% can decrease your risk of heart disease by 30%. The good news is that sweating can raise your good cholesterol levels (HDL) to improve your total cholesterol.” (3)
The authors of the same article continue to expand upon the benefits of sauna use for improving healthy cholesterol levels.
“Exercise will certainly help you work up a sweat, and sauna bathing on its own can also reduce total cholesterol levels. But combining the two — sitting in a sauna after your workout — has a more significant effect on total cholesterol.” (3)
Just knowing that sauna bathing can help to regulate cholesterol levels may not be enough, but rather understanding the research and biological mechanisms behind these outcomes may help to motivate individuals into action.
Research Details on How Saunas May Help to Reduce Cholesterol
- Statistically Significant Decrease in Total Cholesterol
- Aerobic Activation for Those For Whom Exercise is Prohibitive
- Weight Loss, Cholesterol, and Sauna Use
Can the use of thermal therapy really reduce unhealthy cholesterol levels? As it turns out through a wide range of research, the use of a sauna can directly lower cholesterol levels, and also the use of a sauna on a regular basis can indirectly reduce cholesterol.
It appears that in the reduction of unhealthy cholesterol the key is warming the body up for specific periods of time in either a sauna-like atmosphere, or even in an environment such as a hot spring. It is important to differentiate between direct causes for lowered cholesterol versus correlative ones. Several studies point to a direct reduction of cholesterol after the use of a sauna, and during this study the lipid profile of participants remained lower in cholesterol for several weeks after sauna use.
A paper published by the National Library of Medicine entitled ‘The effect of sauna bathing on lipid profile in young, physically active, male subjects’ (4) found that there was a direct link between the use of sauna and lowered cholesterol levels. The authors conclude their statement on this research with this.
“A statistically significant decrease of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol was observed during 3 weeks of sauna treatment and in the week afterwards.” (4)
This study focused on young active male participants. There were sixteen men between the ages of 20-23. The study used a Finnish style traditional sauna. The sauna treatments continued over the course of 3 weeks, and involved using a sauna every 1-2 days. Each day that a sauna was used, the sessions were robust. This means that the participants took 3 separate 15 minute sauna sessions with a 2 minute cool down period between each sauna session. The mean temperature was 90 degrees celsius. (4)
The lipid profile of the men in the study was taken before, during, and after (up to 2 weeks after sauna treatment was concluded). This study demonstrated statistically significant lowering of cholesterol from the sauna sessions, and this continued up to two weeks after the sessions were completed.
While the results of this study are very positive, it should be noted that the sauna sessions taken by the subjects were robust. The question remains, can cholesterol levels be lowered with less intense sauna sessions? Further research demonstrates that yes, even if only one sauna session is taken several times a week that there is a positive impact on cholesterol levels, particularly if exercise is combined with the sauna session. This makes sense, because the addition of the second and third sauna session for the young men mimics the experience of taking a sauna directly after aerobic exercise.
Another study published by the National Library of Medicine entitled ‘Effects of regular sauna bathing in conjunction with exercise on cardiovascular function: a multi-arm, randomized controlled trial.’ (5) This study compared exercise combined with sauna sessions and exercise as a stand alone activity on participants who were all between the ages of 49-58 with at least one cardiovascular disease.
The study divided the participants up into two groups. The control group only exercised while the other group exercised with a sauna session directly following. The study lasted for 8 weeks. Both groups experienced improvements in cardiovascular health with the authors writing this on the outcome.
“The primary outcomes were blood pressure (BP) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Secondary outcomes included fat mass, total cholesterol levels, and arterial stiffness.” (5)
Interestingly, a major difference between the two groups was cholesterol levels.The second group who added a sauna session to the end of their workouts experienced a greater reduction in cholesterol levels compared to those who only exercised.
“…and lower total cholesterol levels compared with EXE.” (5)
*Please note: EXE represents the group of participants who only exercised.
It appears that sauna bathing is important when it comes to directly lowering cholesterol in both younger and older individuals. Ideally, if an individual can combine exercise with sauna use, this appears to be better for overall cardiovascular health, but unfortunately exercise may be prohibitive for some individuals. This means that saunas can also be used to indirectly affect cholesterol levels by creating a space where aerobic exercise can be mimicked, as well as by helping to maintain a healthy weight.
Aerobic Activation for Those For Whom Exercise is Prohibitive
For many individuals exercise is prohibitive for a myriad of reasons, so if activating your cardiovascular system cannot be achieved through movement, then you can take a sauna to mimic moderate aerobic exercise. (6)
Both exercise and sauna use can help to improve cardiovascular health. Furthermore, if lowering your cholesterol is necessary, and you cannot exercise, rest assured that sitting in a sauna can and will activate the cardiovascular system in an impactful way, and will certainly help to lower cholesterol levels.
According to the research paper published by the National Library of Medicine entitled ‘The effect of sauna bathing on lipid profile in young, physically active, male subjects’ (4) the authors write that when it comes to cholesterol results sauna can be considered comparable to exercise.
“The positive effect of sauna on lipid profile is similar to the effect that can be obtained through moderate-intensity physical exercise.” (3)
This information may be cause for celebration for those who are limited in movement and unable to exercise for any reason.
Weight Loss, Cholesterol, and Sauna Use
Obesity and high cholesterol can sometimes come hand in hand. If you have both of these, then you may want to consider using a sauna. As learned earlier saunas can help to lower cholesterol, but saunas are also an effective way of regulating body weight.
If you are looking to lose weight for health reasons, then consider incorporating sauna use as one of your lifestyle adjustments. Despite the fact that some claim that it is only fluid weight lost during a sauna, the reality is that temperature regulation expends energy. Saunas mimic moderate exercise because the act of temperature regulation involves the enlistment of the cardiovascular system to create perspiration, widen blood vessels, and increase circulation as seen in exercise. All of these biochemical changes require caloric expenditure. So, if you need to lower your cholesterol and lose weight then consider using a sauna regularly in addition to dietary changes.
Saunas Versus Hot Springs: More Than One Way to Lower Cholesterol
It appears that saunas are not the only way to improve blood lipid profiles using heat, but also hot springs as well. A well researched review by the reputable journal Science Direct entitled ‘Hot spring and sauna use for improving blood lipid profiles: A systematic review and expert consensus on efficacy and recommendations’ (7) found that both saunas and hot springs helped to lower cholesterol.
The review from Science Direct suggests that thermal therapy may be even more effective at lowering cholesterol levels than exercise alone. In fact there seems to be a magic component in heat stress alone that helps with lipid profiles even more than exercise. Here is what the authors from the Science Direct paper write.
“Hot spring and sauna use might improve blood lipid profiles in adults more than standard care or exercise…Both hot spring and sauna use, combined with exercise, significantly improved TC levels compared with exercise alone.” (7)
*TC = This is your overall cholesterol level — the combination of LDL-C, VLDL-C and HDL-C. (2)
This review found that those using a hot spring instead of a sauna had slightly lowered cholesterol and the authors believed that this may have been due to mineral absorption in the hotspring.
“Additionally, hot spring use may stimulate metabolic processes and improve lipid profiles through mineral absorption.” (7)
Most individuals do not have access to a hot spring in their backyard, so in lieu of this saunas will likely be an effective means of lowering cholesterol levels.
This review further indicated that heat therapy is equally effective in lowering cholesterol in both men and women.
“In the one RCT with supplemental female-only results, patterns of lipid improvement with sauna plus exercise were essentially the same as those in the main analysis, suggesting similar effects for women as for the combined cohort.” (7)
Overall, it appears that regardless of age or sex, the use of heat therapy coupled with exercise is best for lowering cholesterol levels, and if you cannot exercise, thermal therapy alone is a reliable stand alone method.
How to Use a Sauna if Your Intention is to Reduce Unhealthy Cholesterol?
The research and the data are in, sauna use does help to reduce overall cholesterol in both direct and indirect ways. The studies also show that if you have access to a hot spring on a regular basis, that this is also a great way to lower your cholesterol!
For the rest of us who do not have access to a hot spring regularly, the use of either a traditional Finnish style sauna, or an infrared sauna combined with exercise is the most effective way to reduce cholesterol. The primary element to ensuring the success of sauna bathing in lowering cholesterol is that this needs to be done habitually in order to maintain the positive lipid panel results. Sauna regularly, meaning every other day, or 4-7 times per week for best results. Try to add exercise to your lifestyle if this is not already a part of your routine and if you are physically able.
If high cholesterol is a serious concern for you the addition of a thermal therapy seems to significantly aid in the lowering of cholesterol as seen in several studies. Additionally, if exercise is prohibitive, saunas are a reasonable substitute and will help to lower cholesterol when used regularly.
Make sure to stay well hydrated, and drink plenty of electrolytes as well as maintain a nutrient rich diet. If you are taking cholesterol medication consult with your physician before beginning a sauna protocol. If you are unsure if sauna use is safe or appropriate for you also speak to your doctor before using a sauna.
Heat therapy, including saunas, based on extensive research appear to lower cholesterol in meaningful and impactful ways.
Sources Cited:
- https://www.ama-assn.org/public-health/chronic-diseases/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-high-cholesterol#:~:text=High%20cholesterol%20is%20a%20common%20health%20condition,high%20cholesterol%20until%20they%20visit%20their%20doctor.
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/17176-lipid-panel
- https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/benefits-sauna-bathing-heart-health
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25001587/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35785965/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556521002916
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229925001177