Ben Greenfield explains that sauna benefits come from more than just heat: social time, unplugging, and alternating hot and cold exposure all matter for cardiovascular and lymphatic health. He also touches on finding fulfillment beyond physical gains.
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Talk to me a little bit about the sauna. Like, I think that's also something that's not as well understood. Like what's the right protocol? Is it longer duration, lower temperature, higher temperature, lower duration? What's the right protocol for this?
There's more than just the heat, right? There's the socializing aspect, there's the disconnection aspect. There's the cold part, right? Which, you know, the whole thermal stress is also important for cardiovascular health and blood flow and lymph flow. So I think there's a little bit more to it than just being in the sauna. Many of these philosophers and authors and theologians have described us as having an eternal hole in our soul that unless it is filled with something eternal, leaves us ultimately feeling unfulfilled, no matter how much money or cars or homes or success or sex or business or anything else or health impact put into that hole, including health, to feel fulfilled.