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Sauna Bathing: Benefits After a Workout, Sauna Secrets for Skin and Spirit
More than just a relaxing ritual, sauna bathing within contrast therapy is being increasingly recognised for its wide range of holistic benefits. Whether you're stepping into the heat after a workout or carving out space for spiritual practice, the sauna offers both physical and mental nourishment. At Mist Thermal on Bowen Island (just a 20 minute ferry ride from Vancouver), we’re compiling the latest research on sauna benefits after working out, potential disadvantages, and body-specific insights, including sauna benefits for skin and spiritual wellness.
Sauna Benefits After Working Out
In our research, post-exercise sauna use can support muscle recovery, reduce soreness, and improve cardiovascular conditioning. Studies show that sauna bathing helps reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) by increasing circulation and helping clear metabolic waste from the body. For professional and recreational athletes alike, this means faster recovery and improved performance.
Not all these findings are as recent as we think. In this 2007 article, post-exercise sauna use and endurance performance found that sauna bathing after training significantly improved the running performance of competitive male athletes. sauna and cold plunge near me
What is Contrast Therapy? How Does Cold Plunging Help Our Body Adapt to Stress in Healthy Ways?
Modern scientific research supports these traditional practices. The concept of hormesis—where exposure to mild stressors strengthens the body's ability to withstand greater stress—explains how contrast therapy enhances circulation, promotes detoxification, and boosts immune function. Hormesis, a biological phenomenon, occurs when a low-dose exposure to a stressor, such as exposure to temperature extremes, induces adaptive benefits, leading to improved resilience and cellular health.