the 3 posters above me are shamefully misinformed, especially neptunus
I would caution others, especially those who are new here, to disregard whatever they post in the future
Mortality:-men who sauna 4-7 times a week 48% less likely to die of heart related causes, and less likely to die of all causes (
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2130724 ), likely mediated by an increase in heatshock proteins, or some other form of hormetic response to the stress of high temperatures
Detoxification:-the skin is widely accepted to be an organ of detoxification via sweating, and people who sauna more often sweat more easily
-recommendation to increase exercise and sweating to enhance excretion of bioaccumulating possible disease causing toxicants (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22315626/ ), of which we are known to be exposed to
hundreds of before we even leave the womb (
https://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns#.W6djKM4za00 )
-various heavy metals are known to be excreted in sweat, including arsenic and mercury (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3312275/ ) (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21057782/ )
-law enforcement officers exposed to amphetamiines normalise faster with sauna therapy (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573677/ )
Growth hormones:-142% increase in growth hormone seen with use of finnish style saunas (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/999213 )
-2 to 5 fold increase in grwth hormone, 4 fold increase in growth hormone releasing hormone (
https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9343(00)00671-9 page 122 )
-reduction of muscle wastage in immobile rats (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15761186 ,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10642402 )
endorphins:-hyperthermia and therefore sauna use is known to cause an increase in beta endorphin levels (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8061252 ) (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3218898 ) (
https://sci-hub.tw/10.1055/s-2007-1013648 )
-this increase in beta endorphins seen in the days following sauna use is suspected to be the mechanism behind the reduction in depression seen in cancer patients undergoing "whole body hyperthermia therapy" (
https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.3109/02656739209021785 )
-saunas have been used with effect to reduce pain seen in various disease states, including fibromyalgia (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21742283 ), and rheumatoid arthritis (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4719492/ )
It's relaxing:-I can personally attest to this, which is more valuable than any dumb scientifical study