The power of heat exposure for health and performance

By Gary Wallace

Last week I wrote about the benefits of cold-water submersion and its effects on the body. This week we will cover heat exposure and the benefits on health and performance.

We, as humans, have a unique ability to adapt to heat stress. Even after being exposed to a hot environment only a few times, the body is able to tolerate heat stress better and perform better during conditions that elevate core body temperature. This is known as hormesis.

The lead sports scientist I worked with within the Northern Ireland team trained an Irish marathon runner for the Tokyo Olympics. He used 12 weeks of heat exposure methods, including sessions in a heat chamber, sauna sessions, and hot baths to help his body adjust to the extreme heat and humidity he would experience in Japan. They also had a two-week camp in Tokyo to expose the body to the humidity and warmth before the race.

Unfortunately, we all don’t have our own funded sports scientists, the latest state of the art equipment or the chance to hop on a plane for some warm weather training.

But there are still ways to get heat exposure even in our chilly climate.

Here are some research-backed benefits that heat exposure can have on our body and, in turn, our sporting performance: decreased core body temperature; decreased muscle and skin temperature; decreased heart rate; Increased blood volume; increased oxygen transport to muscles; improved skin blood flow; improved performance time; improved ability to run longer before exhaustion.

Most of this research was based on traditional heat saunas and some on infrared saunas, which may have advantages over conventional saunas when it comes to recovery. We are also fortunate to have one of these in Omagh, and Natur and Co have an infrared sauna and some very tasty coffee.

And the benefits of sauna use are not restricted to the domain of sport, it has also been proven to help our overall health, and research has shown that it can improve cardiovascular functioning and lower our risk of heart disease.

The figures here are astounding.

Some studies have concluded that individuals using the sauna more than four times a week compared with just once a week may see a 63 per-cent reduced risk of cardiac death, a 50 per-cent reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and a 40 per-cent drop in all-cause mortality. These findings are tremendous, but jumping into the sauna four times a week and neglecting everything else isn’t going to improve and prolong your life; it will help, though.

Other benefits for your health include: Better cardiovascular health; improved insulin sensitivity; faster physical repair and recovery; lower inflammation and oxidative stress; reduced risk of stroke/heart attack; stronger immunity; higher growth hormone.

If you are looking to start adding heat exposure to your training plan, it is recommended that you begin with a 15-minute session, building slowly up to 25-30min sessions. The end goal is aiming for 13-14 days of getting into the sauna for 25-30 minutes each session. Make sure you have plenty of fluids on board before, during and after each session. Also, sauna sessions should typically be stopped 24-48 hours before competition.

If you don’t have access to a sauna, the next best thing is a hot bath, which also helps with your hygiene.