hyperthermic conditioning

This article is Part Four of our four-part series on the extraordinary effects of hyperthermic conditioning--or heat acclimation--through sauna use on athletic performance and general health. If this series doesn't convince you that a sauna should be a regular part of your health regimen, nothing will! We believe this information is so important, that we are featuring the series on both our Saunas US and Saunas Canada sites.

This series focuses on and breaks down the information provided by Dr. Rhonda Patrick in her YouTube video "Hyperthermic Conditioning for Hypertrophy, Endurance, and Neurogenesis". See the full video pasted below. Throughout the article, we will direct you to specific points in the video so you can jump straight there.

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Hyperthermic Conditioning / Heat Acclimation Through Sauna Use

Heat acclimation--or hyperthermic conditioning--through regular sauna use can have profound effects on health and athletic performance. Specifically, in the following areas:

1. increasing endurance capacity
2. increasing muscle mass
3. improving brain function, including neurogenesis (the creation of new brain cells)
4. causing the effect known as "Runner's High"

Refer to 1:08 in the video.

The Runner's High (10:11)

It's a common report among runners: they push themselves through a long and tough run, and then afterwards find that they feel really really good. Like maybe too good, as if chemically altered. This "high"--or euphoria--is sometimes mistakenly thought to be caused by endorphins, but it's not. Well, not really.

What happens is this: during a run, your body releases dynorphin, which is the opposite of endorphin. While endorphins make you feel good all over, dynorphins actually create a feeling of dysphoria. These dynorphins essentially "reboot" your system, making you more sensitive to endorphins.

You can get this "high" effect from activities a release of dynorphins, such as exercise, eating really spicy food, and--you guessed it--heat stress, such as you experience from a sauna session.

So if you'd like to experience this euphoria without having to run a marathon, have a seat in a nice hot sauna!

Be sure to check out the entire series on heat acclimation/hyperthermic conditioning:

1. Building Athletic Endurance Through Sauna Use
2. Increasing Muscle Mass Through Sauna Use
3. Improving Brain Function Through Sauna Use
4. The Runner's High Explained

This article is Part Three of our four-part series on the extraordinary effects of hyperthermic conditioning--or heat acclimation--through sauna use on athletic performance and general health. If this series doesn't convince you that a sauna should be a regular part of your health regimen, nothing will! We believe this information is so important, that we are featuring the series on both our Saunas US and Saunas Canada sites.

This series focuses on and breaks down the information provided by Dr. Rhonda Patrick in her YouTube video "Hyperthermic Conditioning for Hypertrophy, Endurance, and Neurogenesis". See the full video pasted below. Throughout the article, we will direct you to specific points in the video so you can jump straight there.

--------

Hyperthermic Conditioning / Heat Acclimation Through Sauna Use

Heat acclimation--or hyperthermic conditioning--through regular sauna use can have profound effects on health and athletic performance. Specifically, in the following areas:

1. increasing endurance capacity
2. increasing muscle mass
3. improving brain function, including neurogenesis (the creation of new brain cells)
4. causing the effect known as "Runner's High"

Refer to 1:08 in the video.

The Effects of Heat Acclimation on Brain Function (8:05)

The following effects occur during hyperthermic conditioning through regular sauna use:

1. Neurogenesis is increased. Neurogenesis is the creation of new brain cells.
2. There is improvement in learning and memory. The brain's ability to learn new things and retain memories increases.
3. Focus is improved. The ability to sustain concentration during a mental task is increased.

What Happens in the Brain During Sauna Use (8:14)

Regular sauna use causes a 3-fold increase in norepinephrine. Norepinephrine is the hormone and neurotransmitter most responsible for focus and attention and other cognitive functions. The increase in norepinephrine levels means a greater ability to focus and pay attention, as well as an increased capacity for storing information for later use (memory).

Norepinephrine is often given in drug form to treat ADHD, so it is suggested that increasing the levels more naturally through regular sauna use can relieve symptoms of ADHD and similar disorders.

Levels of the hormone prolactin are also increased, by a whopping 10-fold. Prolactin encourages myelin growth. Myelination is the formation of myelin around nerve cells. This process enables faster transmission of information and allows for more complex brain functions. More prolactin = more myelin growth = faster, more complex "executive" thought processes that exhibit as improved planning, decision-making, and reasoning skills, as well as improved impulse control and self-discipline.

Read This Part--It is Extra Amazing (9:14)

The stress of the heat during sauna use increases the amount of brain-derived neurotophic factors (BDNF) released (when combined with exercise). BDNF is amazing stuff. Increased BDNF levels do the following:

1. increase the growth of brain cells
2. increase the survival rate of existing brain cells (they live longer)
3. improve learning and retention
4. reduce depression and anxiety related to early life events
5. improve the ability of muscles to repair themselves throughout the body

That's pretty amazing stuff.

Be sure to check out the entire series on heat acclimation/hyperthermic conditioning:

1. Building Athletic Endurance Through Sauna Use
2. Increasing Muscle Mass Through Sauna Use
3. Improving Brain Function Through Sauna Use
4. The Runner's High Explained

This article is Part Two of our four-part series on the extraordinary effects of hyperthermic conditioning--or heat acclimation--through sauna use on athletic performance and general health. If this series doesn't convince you that a sauna should be a regular part of your health regimen, nothing will! We believe this information is so important, that we are featuring the series on both our Saunas US and Saunas Canada sites.

This series focuses on and breaks down the information provided by Dr. Rhonda Patrick in her YouTube video "Hyperthermic Conditioning for Hypertrophy, Endurance, and Neurogenesis". See the full video pasted below. Throughout the article, we will direct you to specific points in the video so you can jump straight there.

--------

Hyperthermic Conditioning / Heat Acclimation Through Sauna Use

Heat acclimation--or hyperthermic conditioning--through regular sauna use can have profound effects on health and athletic performance. Specifically, in the following areas:

1. increasing endurance capacity
2. increasing muscle mass
3. improving brain function, including neurogenesis (the creation of new brain cells)
4. causing the effect known as "Runner's High"

Refer to 1:08 in the video.

The Effects of Heat Acclimation on Muscle Building (4:40)

The following effects occur during hyperthermic conditioning through regular sauna use:

1. The production of heat shock proteins is induced. Heat shock proteins repair muscle damage, convert amino acids into muscle tissue, and increase muscle density.
2. Growth hormone levels are boosted. Growth hormone is responsible for cell growth and regeneration, and increasing muscle and bone density.
3. Insulin sensitivity is improved. Insulin is a protein critical to muscle building.

Muscle Mass Gains Through Sauna Use (6:30)

It was found that two back-to-back sauna sessions at 80 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes boosts growth hormone levels two-fold.

Two sauna sessions for one hour per day for a week cause a 16-fold increase in growth hormone levels. That's huge!

And You'll Live Longer, Too (7:38)

And if that's not enough, it was also found that heat stress, such as through sauna use, boosts lifespan by as much as 15%.

Be sure to check out the entire series on heat acclimation/hyperthermic conditioning:

1. Building Athletic Endurance Through Sauna Use
2. Increasing Muscle Mass Through Sauna Use
3. Improving Brain Function Through Sauna Use
4. The Runner's High Explained