There is a plethora of positive data regarding the impact that sauna bathing may have on longevity and healthspan. If you have already reached your golden years you may be wondering if it is worth beginning a sauna bathing protocol, or if you have simply missed the window of opportunity.
A recent study examined the impact of infrared sauna use on elderly assisted living community dwelling individuals who were already living with geriatric syndrome or frailty, and the results were overall quite positive. This suggests that even if you are past retirement age, or even if you are already living in an elderly community, it may still be worth taking time to use an infrared sauna a couple of times a week.
Geriatric syndrome generally encompasses the following symptoms: Cold extremities, leg edema, breathlessness, urinary incontinence, chronic headache, chronic pain, a sense of numbness, anorexia, constipation, insomnia and skin trouble. (1) It appears that many of these symptoms improved in clinically significant ways for individuals already living in spaces with assistance at home when they were able to take an infrared sauna at least twice a week.
Even if you are feeling as if you missed the opportunity to reap the benefits from infrared sauna use, in fact it may never be too late to start your sauna journey to improve your overall quality and quantity of life.
The Science Behind Geriatric Syndrome and Infrared Sauna Use
In a recent study that examined the effects of infrared sauna use on individuals with geriatric syndrome, as well as pre-geriatric syndrome, it appears that it is certainly worthwhile to use an infrared sauna several times a week at lower temperatures to improve many of the symptoms experienced by the elderly.
The study entitled: ‘Effectiveness of a far-infrared low-temperature sauna program on geriatric syndrome and frailty in community-dwelling older people’ worked with individuals that were between the ages of 79 to 86 years of age and that were already living in ‘living assisted’ communities. The study aimed to examine the effect of infrared sauna use on these symptoms of geriatric syndrome.
“We analyzed indices of physical frailty and cognitive depression, exercise tolerance and health-related quality of life as frailty related indices, and the participants completed a questionnaire regarding common geriatric symptoms (cold extremities, leg edema, breathlessness, urinary incontinence, chronic headache, chronic pain, a sense of numbness, anorexia, constipation, insomnia and skin trouble).” (1)
The participants used a far infrared sauna that was set at a low temperature (FILTS) twice a week for three months. The results were incredibly positive in most areas that were studied. The primary areas that most participants had a marked improvement in were walking speed, peak oxygen uptake, geriatric depression, improvements in frailty scores, and amelioration in the coldness of extremities. (1)
The study concluded that ‘a program of taking a far infrared sauna at a low temperature twice a week ameliorates geriatric syndrome, the severity of frailty and frailty related indices in older people’ (1).
So, if you have been hearing about all of the wonderful health benefits of sauna use and are afraid that it is too late for you or a loved one to begin a sauna program, then perhaps consider the above mentioned study. It is never too late to begin a safe and well organized sauna protocol.
Why an Infrared Sauna Versus Other Forms of Heat Therapy Maybe a Safer Sauna Option For the Elderly?
It is important to sauna safely for everyone always, but particularly for the elderly who may have more health risks. This is why understanding the acronym FILTS is so important.
FILTS: Far Infrared Low Temperature Sauna
For anyone living with frailty, or other high risk health conditions getting into an extremely hot (190 degrees) traditional sauna may be prohibitive. Traditional steam saunas or steam rooms can be difficult to breathe in for some individuals and present great challenges for moving around safely. Wet floors can be hazardous for anyone, but especially for someone who is already living with geriatric conditions.
Any amount of moisture on the floor of the sauna can potentially present lethal (2) consequences to anyone in the later years of life, and therefore using a sauna that is mostly dry becomes critical.
Furthermore, the low heat of an infrared sauna does not mean that benefits are limited as is the case with traditional saunas because the light of an infrared sauna, regardless of its temperature, is deeply beneficial.
Infrared saunas use radiant heat, and these light waves move invisibly through the cabin structure of the sauna to positively impact the human body, without any of the hazards of high temperatures and humidity. Consider the multifaceted health benefits that infrared light has on human physiology: Cellular regeneration, circulation, muscular health, bone density, heart health, lowered risk of dementia, and improved immunity. (3)
For many conditions as well as demographics the idea of taking an infrared sauna at a low temperature is gaining in popularity as more individuals understand the function of infrared heat. If the idea of a sauna feels prohibitive, consider an infrared sauna set to a low temperature as taking a dry light bath.
Beginning an Infrared Sauna Protocol in Your Golden Years
Even if you are not in a living assisted home, you can still benefit from beginning an infrared sauna program. It is important for anyone with limited mobility or the risk of frailty to approach sauna use with the utmost care.
It will be important to set your temperature to a very low degree (105) should suffice in your infrared sauna. You should also have a sauna buddy, or someone who can be available to help in case you need it. You should set the timer for 30 minutes to make sure that you are not staying in the sauna for too long. Start your program with a low temperature and with a low amount of time and slowly work up to a higher temperature, and duration (but it is not necessary to increase time or temperature).
It may be worth investing in a wheelchair adaptable sauna if you are using a walker, or any other device to assist in walking. (There are wheelchair FDA approved saunas available right here at saunas.org).
As is the case with all sauna use, even if you are not sweating tremendously (if at all), it is still very important to maintain excellent levels of hydration. Your fluids should include electrolyte rich compounds, and some magnesium if possible.
The good news is that It is never too late to start benefiting from sauna use. If you or a loved one does decide to begin using a sauna to treat geriatric or pre-geriatric syndrome with an infrared sauna then please be sure to consult your medical care professional before beginning your sauna protocol.
Sources Cited:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32776407/
- https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data-research/index.html
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/infrared-sauna/faq-20057954
