Rhonda Patrick's Sauna Routine (temperature, duration, & hydration protocols)

Summary

In this insightful video, Rhonda Patrick shares her unique and scientifically informed sauna routine. She begins by discussing the optimal conditions based on various studies, emphasizing the importance of temperature, duration, and frequency to maximize health benefits. Rhonda typically heats her sauna to around 186°F and stays in for 20-30 minutes, adapting her sessions based on her workout intensity. She highlights the value of hydration, often using electrolyte supplements or green juices. Furthermore, she explores the potential benefits of replacing saunas with hot baths, suggesting they might offer similar health effects. Cold plunges are also discussed as part of her regimen, with advice on transitioning between hot and cold exposure safely. Rhonda aims to enhance her physical fitness and health through these practices, making sauna and hot bath routines an integral part of her lifestyle.

Highlights

• Rhonda adjusts her sauna routine based on workout intensity, with sessions ranging from 20 to 30 minutes at 186°F. 🔥
• Saunas in Finland, set at 174°F with 10-20% humidity, show significant health benefits, including reduced cardiovascular mortality. 🇫🇮
• A cold plunge or shower post-sauna can boost health benefits but should be done with caution to avoid dizziness. 🌡️
• Hydration is key post-sauna to replace lost electrolytes, often through green juices or electrolyte supplements. 🥤
• Rhonda's protocol: sauna up to 4 times a week, utilizing it to elevate workouts by maintaining a high heart rate. 🚴‍♀️
• Hot baths might mimic sauna benefits, possibly aiding in stress relief and cardiovascular health. 🛀

Key Takeaways

• Sauna sessions should be complemented with hydration to replenish lost electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, and potassium. 💧
• Hot baths and saunas may provide similar health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health and mood enhancement. 🛁
• Cold plunges, when used cautiously, can further enhance health benefits by inducing vasoconstriction. ❄️
• Aiming for 20-minute sessions at around 174°F is ideal for cardiovascular benefits according to studies. 🕒
• Listen to your body during sauna use; stop if heart rate feels abnormally high or discomfort becomes too intense. 🛑
• Rhonda recommends supplementing sauna use with workout sessions to elevate heart rate and enhance cardiovascular fitness. 🚴

Overview

Rhonda Patrick kicks off her discussion by laying down the essentials of her sauna routine, which is steeped in scientific research and data. She points out that studies from Finland, where saunas are traditionally popular, indicate optimal sauna conditions at 174°F with 10-20% humidity. The impact of these saunas on cardiovascular health is profound, with significant reductions in mortality rates linked to consistent use. Rhonda adapts her personal routine to her physical activities: when she’s done with an intense workout, she prefers a shorter, hotter sauna session.

Detailed in her exercise and sauna routine, Rhonda stresses the importance of hydration and recovery. After her sauna sessions, she replenishes her body with either homemade green juices or electrolyte drinks, which help replace the sodium, magnesium, and potassium she loses through sweat. Further expanding on her hot therapy routines, Rhonda suggests hot baths might confer similar benefits to saunas, albeit emphasizing the need for full immersion. The simplicity of using a hot bath as an alternative makes this practice accessible to a wider audience.

Finally, Rhonda explores the interplay between heat and cold therapies. Although she includes cold plunges in her regimen, she advises caution due to the drastic vascular changes they elicit, which can be risky immediately post-sauna. By thoughtfully combining these heat and cold therapies, and listening closely to her body’s signals, Rhonda aims to maximize her health benefits, from cardiovascular improvements to boosted mood and stress reduction. Her integrated approach showcases how sauna practices can be both a personal health strategy and a component of a broader wellness lifestyle.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and General Information The chapter introduces the topic of sauna usage by discussing Sharon's personal sauna protocols. It delves into specifics such as frequency, temperature, and humidity levels. It also includes a disclaimer emphasizing the importance of consulting a medical professional before using a sauna, especially for individuals with potential health conditions.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Research-Based Sauna Practices In this chapter titled 'Research-Based Sauna Practices,' the discussion begins with personal experiences of incorporating sauna practices into daily life. It emphasizes the importance of frequency, ideally four to seven times a week, for effective results. However, the transcript highlights a gap in discussing specific details such as the ideal temperature settings and duration for each sauna session. Most references are based on studies conducted in Finland, indicating that further elaboration on temperature and duration is necessary to complement the recommended frequency.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Sauna Temperature and Humidity The chapter discusses the impact of temperature and humidity in a sauna on the effectiveness of sauna use. It highlights that the duration spent in the sauna is a significant factor in achieving the desired results. Data from Dr. Yari Lacan's lab is referenced, suggesting that longer durations might enhance robustness of outcomes. It also notes specific temperature and humidity ranges recorded: 174 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity levels between 10 to 20 percent.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Duration for Health Benefits The chapter titled 'Duration for Health Benefits' discusses a study that highlights the health benefits of frequent sauna sessions. According to the study, individuals who used sauna four to seven times a week had a 50% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular-related diseases. However, this significant health benefit was specifically observed in those who spent more than 19 minutes in the sauna per session, with 20 minutes being identified as the optimal duration. The ideal sauna conditions were noted to be around 174 degrees Fahrenheit with 10 to 20% humidity.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Rhonda's Personal Protocol In this chapter titled 'Rhonda's Personal Protocol,' the focus is on the benefits of sauna usage, specifically its impact on reducing cardiovascular disease-related mortality. It highlights a significant reduction in death from cardiovascular disease with the use of sauna. The chapter also discusses the importance of the duration of sauna sessions in achieving these health benefits, suggesting that longer sessions may lead to better outcomes. Additionally, there's an interest expressed in activating heat shock proteins, which are a part of Rhonda's personal health protocol. This suggests that heat shock proteins might have a role in the health benefits associated with sauna use.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Heat Shock Proteins Activation The chapter titled 'Heat Shock Proteins Activation' discusses the activation of heat shock proteins through exposure to high temperatures. Specifically, it mentions that exposure to 163 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes increases the activation of these proteins by 50% over baseline levels. The speaker describes their personal experience and protocol, which involves using a Jacuzzi at night after long runs, instead of a sauna, and engaging in high-intensity interval training on a Peloton bike.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Post-Workout Sauna Routine The chapter 'Post-Workout Sauna Routine' details a specific post-workout practice involving the use of a sauna. The individual describes their routine of using the sauna at a temperature of about 186 degrees Fahrenheit. They typically spend about 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, with the duration depending largely on the intensity of their workout. The sauna is typically prepared an hour to an hour and a half before using the Peloton exercise equipment, and entry into the sauna is immediately after the workout.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Sauna Frequency and Jacuzzi Use This chapter discusses the author's routine and adjustments related to sauna and jacuzzi use. The author mentions the impact of prior high-intensity workouts on their core body temperature. Initially, they couldn't endure long sauna sessions, but over time, with heat adaptation, they can now stay in the sauna at 186 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. The chapter also includes a personal touch where the author talks about using hot water with a bucket during their sauna experience.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Hot Bath and Shower Alternatives The chapter discusses alternatives to hot baths and showers, focusing on using a hygrometer to measure humidity levels. The narrator shares their personal experience with adjusting humidity settings from 20-30% to a more comfortable 10-20%, as higher humidity felt too hot. The frequency of using this method depends on the individual's schedule and preferences.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Hydration Protocols The chapter 'Hydration Protocols' discusses the speaker's routine related to maintaining hydration and relaxation through practices like using the jacuzzi. The speaker shares that while they aim to maintain a baseline routine of hydrating practices about four times a week, the current focus has been on using the jacuzzi at night. This activity is not only a part of their hydration routine but also serves as a private relaxation time for the speaker and their spouse after their son goes to bed.
• 06:00 - 06:30: Cold Therapy Practices The chapter discusses the practice of cold therapy, particularly the use of a jacuzzi set at approximately 4 degrees Fahrenheit for relaxation and socialization purposes. Despite lacking comprehensive empirical evidence, there is a suggestion of accumulating benefits similar to those of a sauna, particularly the elevation of heat shock proteins through exposure to hot baths.
• 07:00 - 07:30: Building Heat Tolerance The chapter explores the physical and mental health benefits of heat exposure through hot baths and jacuzzis. It discusses how heat can increase brain-derived neurotrophic factors, improve cardiovascular health, and potentially aid in treating depression. Key findings include the importance of maintaining shoulder-level submersion for approximately 20 minutes, with hot baths typically utilizing water temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rhonda Patrick's Sauna Routine (temperature, duration, & hydration protocols) Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 well if you're comfortable Sharon I would love to get into details about your specific sauna protocol that you've adapted in your life how often do you use the sauna uh what temperature what humidity um you know how long do you stay in there so let's get into some of those details and I I'll preface this by saying this is not medical advice anyone that is considering using the sauna good idea to check it out with your medical professional first in case you have a health condition that may make SAA use dangerous but um with that said yeah
• 00:30 - 01:00 let's hear about what what you've uh uh incorporated into your life sure well let's start with the studies um and the data that I referred to and and what the temperature duration Etc I talked a lot about frequency four to seven times a week but I didn't talk much about temperature or how long people were in the sauna so in almost all of those studies the temperature of the sauna um these were these were saunas in Finland and and they were
• 01:00 - 01:30 174 Dees fhe around um and the humidity was between between uh 10 to 20% humidity I think something like that and so um what was very interesting to me when I was looking at the data coming out of Dr Yari lacan's lab is that dur duration in the sauna seemed to matter with respect to robustness of um of the results so I mentioned for example you know people
• 01:30 - 02:00 that use the sauna four to seven times a week were 50% less likely to to die from like you know cardiovascular disease related death well that number was referring to people that stayed in the sauna greater than 19 minutes so this was about 20 minutes so 20 minutes is this is is The Sweet Spot at about 174 degree Fahrenheit you know humidity 10 to 20% um people that sat in the sauna for
• 02:00 - 02:30 like 11 minutes on average their their reduction in cardiovascular disease related um death from cardiovascular disease was like 8% 8% versus 50% big difference there so um duration definitely matters uh with respect to the sauna so that's kind of where I started out with my my sort of okay what am I what am I going to do and then I also mentioned earlier about heat chock proteins I'm also very interested in activating my heat shock proteins um
• 02:30 - 03:00 and so the the 163 degree Fahrenheit for 30 minutes activated them by 50% over Baseline levels and so um typically what I do my protocol is I do um typically when I go for my long runs I don't I don't do sauna after but I'll but um I do do a Jacuzzi at night so um when I'm doing my pelaton bike I do a lot of high-intensity interval training you know uh pelaton
• 03:00 - 03:30 and I crank the the sauna up you know about an hour an hour and a half before I'm going to get on that pelaton and I get on the pellaton and then I go into the sauna immediately after and I'm I'm in the sauna for the sauna is typically around 186 degrees Fahrenheit for me when I get in there and I stay in there anywhere between 20 and 30 minutes depending on um Pro mostly depending on how intense my workout was because I'm
• 03:30 - 04:00 already elevated my core body temperature from my my high-intensity workout um and then there are times when I don't work out I just get in this on I end up staying there longer for sure I'm in there for 30 minutes about 186 Fahrenheit but I'm heat adapted like I I can't tell you like when I first started doing this I certainly um did not start out doing that uh so so um definitely uh keep that in mind I also like to to put hot water so I have um I have my little bucket and um I do I do put some hot
• 04:00 - 04:30 water on the rocks my hygrometer like broke um when I when I was measuring it uh I was getting about 20 to 30% humidity and then once I got 30% I was like I couldn't handle it so I went back down to 10 to 20% humidity because it just feels so hot so uh that's typically those are my settings that I do and um I like it frequency how how often I do it it really depends on what I have going
• 04:30 - 05:00 on so there are times when I'm like you know I'm doing it five days a week um but then there's other times when I'm like twice a week you know so um I I do try to my my my you know my Baseline I try to keep is four I try to do about four times a week but I have been um doing a lot of jacuzzi so I've been doing jacuzzi at nighttime um it's it's like the only time my husband and I have to ourselves um you know once once our son goes to bed and and so we like to go
• 05:00 - 05:30 out in the jacuzzi look at the stars and it's very relaxing and time spent together but um our jacuzzi is about4 degrees Fahrenheit and there have been a lot of people have asked me you know can you get the same benefits from the sauna as you do from a hot path and we don't have all the empirical evidence to say that yes for sure but we have quite a bit that seems to be accumulating so a lot of the you know heat Shack proteins have been shown to be elevated with hot bath
• 05:30 - 06:00 brain Drive neurotrophic factors increased with hot baths um there's been some effects on um depression as well and cardiovascular health and so you know I I I might be going out on a limb here but I would say I really think that hot baths and jacuzzi um can have a similar effect now staying in there staying in the jacuzzi for 20 minutes with your shoulders submerged down is kind of key and some of the hot bath studies were the same the hot bath studies used 104 degree Fahrenheit water and they were people were submerged from from their shoulders down as well but
• 06:00 - 06:30 that's kind of my protocol that I that I follow so you're typically using it to extend your workout you're getting your heart rate up on the bike or or going for a run and then your heart rate remains elevated once you get into the sauna I do yeah that is that's that's kind of my jam I do but there are times when I I I get in there without without working out but like yeah that's some you know sometimes it's like okay if I'm going to get in the sauna for 20 to 30 minutes like I can I can hop on my pelaton and just push it for 10 minutes
• 06:30 - 07:00 do a 10-minute high-intensity workout um and and just and take you know so basically what I'm doing is I'm taking my workout to the next level you know that's that's what I feel like the sauna is doing where it's like all right I did my workout and boom I'm gonna go to the next level so um and I always go back to that cardiio respiratory Fitness study where it's like better you know better better than exercise alone yep and you mentioned the hot bath could potentially be a replacement for the sauna how about just a long long extended hot shower for
• 07:00 - 07:30 people that don't have a bath yeah that's interesting question you do I mean you get a lot of steam from showers as well so um you know I do think steam showers um can have some beneficial effects I don't think it's going to be nearly anywhere near like the the data that I mentioned you know just because you're just not getting as hot when you're taking a hot shower like even like when you're in a hot bath like you can get really hot um just not getting quite as hot with with a hot shower but
• 07:30 - 08:00 I do think there can be some some some benefits perhaps um I I would I would tend to go for the hot bath though if you have most people do have a bathtub I know not everyone does uh but if you do have a bathtub I would go for the hot bath over the hot shower got it and how about hydration how do you what's your kind of hydration protocol before and after the sauna yeah that's a good point um you know you do lose a lot of sweat in the sauna and um with sweat you also
• 08:00 - 08:30 can lose a lot of sodium uh and sodium is the main one but you can also lose you know some other electrolytes like magnesium potassium so um I definitely try I definitely stay hydrated and I I switch between um sometimes I'll have like a green a green juice that I make um with like some kale a little bit of lemon um some cucumber um or so you know I'm getting some of the magnesium and pottassium and stuff or I'll do um the noon the electrolyte
• 08:30 - 09:00 supplement noon they have like a a sugar-free version of it or sometimes I do um some keto it's a it's a ketone salt and it's called keto start and um it has a lot of it has like magnesium it has potassium it has a lot of electrolytes in it and so I I'll I'll use that in fact I'm drinking that right now um but so that's that's typically what I do cool after after the sauna not before got it and speaking of after the sauna I know this is a whole another
• 09:00 - 09:30 discussion but um cold therapy you know do you ever get in the cold shower or do a cold plunge jump in a frozen lake after the sauna definitely don't jump on a frozen lake um unless I'm visiting another country like Finland um but uh yeah I do so um I I do have a cold plunge and I also do like cold showers as well I don't do it as frequently as I should um you know there's a lot of benefits to to the cold as well and and in fact a lot
• 09:30 - 10:00 of these cultures that we talked about earlier like Finland and Russia like they they a large percentage of them go from hot and then into cold um I don't go immediately into it um I because when you're when you're under when you're in this in the heat in this like a sauna or a hot bath vasod dilation is occurring um you're increasing your blood flow um you know you're you're you're getting Vaso dilation and then the complete opposite happen happens when you go into
• 10:00 - 10:30 a cold plunge or cold water cold water immersion to in some shape or form you're you're getting Vaso constriction is happening and so um I've had I've had some scary incidents where going from one extreme directly into the other without waiting like five minutes or a few minutes you know where my blood pressure or something just goes really low and I just like I get super dizzy and it's a little scary so so um I I do think that EX in caution when going from
• 10:30 - 11:00 extremes like that uh is important uh so but I do especially in the summertime I like to to run run out into the the cold plunge like you know a couple minutes after I do the sauna after I like rest for a few minutes two to five minutes you mentioned that you're really well heat adapted to the sauna because of all your regular use um for someone that's kind of building their heat tolerance up is there a way that they can kind of tell how long is too long in the sauna are there any kind of signs they should
• 11:00 - 11:30 be looking for Like O I should probably take a break and not push it yeah I think you know your heart starts to really your heart rate starts to get elevated and you know you you definitely want to to push past that point um once you're heat adapted but you know and you start to feel uncomfortable but you reach a point where your heart's going really fast and you just feel you just feel really really uncomfortable and I think that's that's that's the time I usually like to
• 11:30 - 12:00 get out I think people people should definitely listen to their bodies I mean getting out when you just experienc most slight bit of uncomfortableness maybe not the way to go but like you know when you're in there you know like you're feeling like this is I've I've I'm getting really hot and again like once you hit the 20 minute Mark that's really all that's needed you know 20 minutes 174 degree Fahrenheit um that's what all these Studies have shown have been beneficial for reducing cardiovascular
• 12:00 - 12:30 disease mortality and all cause mortality and Alzheimer's and Dementia at risk so so that's I think a pretty good rule of thumb as well you know 20 minutes and you can also have a timer outside of your sauna I used to do that I used to have a timer clock and it's like okay I reached my time um so so that's also another option