Sauna therapy has a profound impact on the brain. It decreases cognitive decline and is associated with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Regular sauna use helps your brain stay agile, improving your mood and overall wellbeing.

While you’re in the sauna, your nerve cells release neurotrophic factor proteins (like BDNF) that jumpstart brain stem cells to produce new neurons. BDNF is a major mediator of neuroplasticity. It increases the growth of new brain cells and the survival of existing ones, which is important for forging new connections in your brain as well as solidifying long-term memories. Low BDNF has been linked with both chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.

Research has shown that regular sauna use can improve both the quality and quantity of shut-eye. Saunas interact with your body’s thermoregulation, which also plays a role in sleep. You naturally cool down in the evening as you snooze, and this dip in temperature is one of the things that signals to your body it’s time to produce more melatonin. By raising your body temperature in a sauna and then using cold water therapy to quickly drop it, you can trick yourself into producing melatonin. (You can also try this trick at home with a hot bath before bed!

The hot air and moisture of a sauna enhance collagen production to help rejuvenate your skin's elasticity and complexion. The heat increase also allows your skin to shed dead skin cells and make way for new, healthier ones. Sweating cleanses the skin, flushing out all the bad stuff in pores and increasing blood circulation to nourish your skin. You’ll find that your skin feels and looks healthier and is less prone to acne, blackheads, and other pesky blemishes.

As the body’s most vital organ, it’s important to keep our cardiovascular system strong and healthy. A study done in Finland, assessed 1,628 adults without a recorded history of stroke over the course of 15 years. The study showed that overall, those who had frequent sauna or hot bath sessions had a substantially reduced risk of cardiovascular disease

Cold exposure reworks the fat cells in your body. Fat plays an amazing role in our wellbeing, and there are different types of fat that have different jobs within our body. White fat is storage, while brown fat is metabolic. Cold plunge encourages stem cells to form brown fat which will increase your resting metabolic rate and improve your metabolic health.

Metabolism and weight loss often get conflated, which can be harmful to our understanding of wellbeing and relationships to our bodies. Metabolism refers to all the chemical processes going on continuously inside your body that allow life and normal functioning. Weight is a highly individualized aspect of health and we aim to respect it as such.

When you’re in the sauna or a tub, your body prevents your core from overheating by directing more blood to your limbs. Increased blood flow drives oxygen deeper into muscles and joint tissue which shortens the time it takes injuries to heal and increases the body's ability to recover from athletic performance. It also soothes aches and chronic pain.

On the cold side of things, because cold water restricts blood vessels and lowers your muscle tissues’ temperature, it’s been shown to help combat inflammation. When blood flow is localized, less swelling in damaged areas happens — which is why we put ice on injuries. Less inflammation also means you’re less likely to have delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after a workout or other physical activity, making it a proactive form of care, too.

Cold water immersion lowers heart rate, constricts blood and lymphatic vessels, and shunts blood back to your core to maintain its temperature. This sends oxygenated blood to your internal organs and pumps lymph fluid through nodes, flushing out waste and triggering white blood cells to destroy foreign bodies. Also read as: naturally boosted immunity.

Sauna use helps strengthen your immune system and make your body more resilient through something called “oxidative stress”. Too much oxidative stress can damage immune cells and reduce ability to fight infections. The sauna generates small amounts of oxidative stress that increases your cell's antioxidant capacity, which reduces your risk of getting sick. Think of it like immunity strength training.

Cold water immersion sends huge electrical impulses from your peripheral nerve endings up into the brain. This alleviates symptoms of anxiety and depression and improves alertness, focus, and cognition. Cold water therapy literally changes the chemistry in our bodies and brains by increasing the production of mood-elevating hormones and neurotransmitters (beta-endorphins, noradrenaline and dopamine).