Alzheimer’s Disease
The cardiovascular system plays a critical role in overall health, including brain function. Because decreased cerebral perfusion plays a critical role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, it makes sense that an improvement in cerebral blood flow brought about by improvements in the vascular system would decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases [12].
A recent study of 2315 apparently healthy Finnish men looked at this hypothesis. The men were aged 42 to 60 years at baseline, and they underwent a median follow-up of 21 years. During this time the cohort developed 204 cases of dementia and 123 cases of Alzheimer’s disease. After adjusting for multiple cardiovascular risk factors, this study found that more frequent sauna bathing sessions decreased the risk of both dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Compared to men who engaged in only 1 sauna bathing session per week, those who engaged in 2 to 3 sessions per week had an approximate 20% decreased risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Thos who engaged in 4 to 7 sauna bathing sessions per week did even better. Their risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease was decreased by about 65% [3]. Note, in this study, it was found that nearly all Finnish men engaged in regular sauna bathing (at least once a week). Out of 3433 men randomly selected, 2327 had complete information on sauna bathing and only 12 men did not use a sauna.