Health and the sauna, part 2

Ancient Greece

From Greece, via the Roman Empire and the Vikings, sauna bathing spread through Europe and Russia. Saunas were also bathed in other parts of the world; in North America, for instance, Native Americans bathed in "sweat lodges" and the Japanese in "sentos".

Early baths and sauna bathing in Sweden

Sauna bathing spread in Sweden during the 13th century and is mentioned in the provincial laws. During the 16th century, water emerged as the great medical discovery of the age. Springs and wells developed into spas and health resorts; both healthy and sick people made pilgrimages to these places. A pioneer in Sweden was the physician Urban Hiärne, who in 1678 found and launched Medevi spring in Östergötland, which still operates as a health spring.

Balneology

Balneology, the study of bathing as a treatment for disease, developed in Germany in the late 19th century. In Sweden, institutions with research in the field developed at the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University. One of the pioneers was the physician and professor Carl Curman. He was also the driving force behind Sturebadet in Stockholm, which opened in the late 19th century and had both Turkish and Roman baths. Sturebadet is still a spa and health centre.

The sauna as sickroom and pharmacy

In the sauna women gave birth to their children, here clothes were washed, here the deceased lay awaiting the digging of the grave, and here animals were slaughtered. Above all, it was through regular sauna baths that people could maintain their hygiene. In this way the risk of disease spreading was reduced, but the sauna was also used as a sickroom. Treatments such as bloodletting and cupping were carried out, and the sauna has been called "the poor man's pharmacy".

"Filth-Sweden"

During the 18th century, sauna bathing fell into disrepute and was banned in Sweden in 1725. After many years of bathing being persecuted, the Swedes became an unhygienic people. To bring about change, the Association for Public Bathing was formed in 1921. In a lecture by the physician Alfred Berghel, chairman of the Swedish Health Resort Association, he concluded: "If we could awaken the whole nation's interest, if we could convince the great mass of the population that bathing is one of the finest means to the people's health and wellbeing, then it would go for us somewhat as for ancient Rome: our rulers would take up the matter vigorously, donors would step forward, and the Swedes would once again become a bathing people." Initially the ideal of cleanliness prevailed and hygiene aspects were paramount. Sauna bathing was aimed at schoolchildren and the elderly and was seen as part of public education. Later the view changed as sauna bathing became more common within the sports movement and a part of health care. The Swedish parliament formed a sauna delegation in 1938, which provided funds for building saunas alongside sports facilities. The state public bathing inquiry submitted its final report in 1954 and the sauna delegation was dissolved.

What medical effects does sauna bathing have on our health?

Icelanders and Japanese are among the peoples of the world with the longest survival; one explanation may be bathing in hot springs. It is, however, only in more modern times that the first scientific articles on sauna bathing and health were published. To try to determine what is fact and what is myth, we (Hägglund and Källström) carried out extensive literature reviews and compiled findings from all published scientific articles from 1950 to 2015. As an example of the positive health effects of sauna bathing, a recently published Finnish study can be mentioned, which showed that regular sauna bathing reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and that an increased number of sauna sessions halved the risk (Laukkanen T, JAMA Intern Med. 2015). The most important results from our compilation were presented and discussed for the first time at the National Sauna Day on 11 June 2016. Hans Hägglund, sauna doctor, member of the Swedish Sauna Academy, senior consultant and associate professor, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institute.