Superhumanistic Health & Wellness
Jul 17, 2026 · 11 min · 10 segments
In this episode of Superhumanistic, David and Jessica dive into the world of saunas and explore why this ancient practice is making a modern comeback. Discover the benefits of regular sauna use, from…
So what if sitting in a hot room doing absolutely nothing could actually help you live longer? That, uh, potentially lower your risk of heart disease, improve your mood even, and maybe even support your brain health.
That's the promise of saunas.
But here's the problem: most people are either doing it wrong or expecting way too much from it.
[chuckles] So what is the science behind saunas? Sorry, my brain was going back to the time that we were traveling, and we went into these different saunas, and it was, like, extremely hot, medium hot, just a little hot.
So it was, like, a really cool experience, and afterwards you do...
Like, I at least felt so good.
I felt like I had slept [chuckles] and then had that feeling of just waking up again.
Um, I don't know if you felt the same way, but the science behind saunas, like, what's actually happening when we're in the sauna, uh, well, at a basic level, we're exposing our body to that heat stress.
Um, our body responds to trying to cool itself down then, so naturally our heart rate is going to go up, our blood vessels will dilate, and we start sweating.
That's where it gets interesting because the response looks a lot like as if we were exercising at a moderate w- rate.
Not a replacement for working out, but it activates some of the same pathways that working out does.
Yeah.
I think if you go into a sauna, it kinda gives you a bit of that runner high if you, uh, do it right, and you can feel really rejuvenated from it.
Mm-hmm
...
this little section near the, uh, near, near a waterway there that has a bunch of various saunas.
They're kind of like these big A-frame lodges, so it's a pretty cool experience.
Definitely highly recommend checking it out.
So what if sitting in a hot room doing absolutely nothing could actually help you live longer? That, uh, potentially lower your risk of heart disease, improve your mood even, and maybe even support your brain health.
That's the promise of saunas.
But here's the problem: most people are either doing it wrong or expecting way too much from it.
[chuckles] So what is the science behind saunas? Sorry, my brain was going back to the time that we were traveling, and we went into these different saunas, and it was, like, extremely hot, medium hot, just a little hot.
So it was, like, a really cool experience, and afterwards you do...
Like, I at least felt so good.
I felt like I had slept [chuckles] and then had that feeling of just waking up again.
Um, I don't know if you felt the same way, but the science behind saunas, like, what's actually happening when we're in the sauna, uh, well, at a basic level, we're exposing our body to that heat stress.
Um, our body responds to trying to cool itself down then, so naturally our heart rate is going to go up, our blood vessels will dilate, and we start sweating.
That's where it gets interesting because the response looks a lot like as if we were exercising at a moderate w- rate.
Not a replacement for working out, but it activates some of the same pathways that working out does.
Yeah.
I think if you go into a sauna, it kinda gives you a bit of that runner high if you, uh, do it right, and you can feel really rejuvenated from it.
Mm-hmm
...
this little section near the, uh, near, near a waterway there that has a bunch of various saunas.
They're kind of like these big A-frame lodges, so it's a pretty cool experience.
Definitely highly recommend checking it out.
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