2. Recovery
You might have heard about the current trend of taking cold showers and ice baths. What’s the benefit of this you wonder?
Well, essentially, it triggers a massive release of adrenaline which can wake you up, help you to combat inflammation, and more! But if you do this following a workout, it can actually be detrimental. That’s because you are extending the sympathetic nervous response that you got from your workout. In other words, the cold keeps you ‘on’ and prevents your body from resting. You stay in fight-or-flight, rather than rest-and-digest.
As such, you may actually not repair your muscle as effectively and might see some of your hard work in the gym go to waste as such. Conversely, having a sauna could help you to encourage blood flow to your muscles, to relax and recover and generally to restore yourself following training.
