Sauna Bathing Benefits | 5 Important GLP-1 Topics | ‘The Menopause 10’ | Recipe

For most of my career, I filed sauna under "feels good, probably fine" and moved on. I was busy cataloging the interventions with hard outcomes data — the medications, the labs, the evidence-backed protocols. A hot wooden room felt more spa than science. Recently, I’ve changed that thinking, big time.  Here’s why.

What the research actually shows

The most compelling evidence comes from Finland, which makes sense given that the country has roughly 3 million saunas for 5.5 million people. A landmark prospective study published in JAMA in 2015 followed over 2,300 middle-aged men for an average of 20 years and found that those who used a sauna 4 to 7 times per week had a 63% lower risk of sudden cardiac death compared with those who used it once a week. AND cardiovascular disease mortality was reduced by 50%. More recent work has extended these findings to women and to broader outcomes. A 2018 meta-analysis in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings found consistent associations between regular sauna use and reduced risk of cardiovascular events, hypertension, and all-cause mortality. 

There is also emerging data on brain health. Regular sauna use has been associated with reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in observational studies, though the causal pathway is still being worked out. Researchers hypothesize that heat shock proteins produced during exposure may play a neuroprotective role — interesting, worth watching, not yet conclusive.

A small but well-designed Japanese study found that twice-weekly far-infrared sauna sessions over three months improved walking speed, cardiovascular fitness, depression scores, and overall quality of life in older adults classified as pre-frail or frail, with no adverse events reported.

Notably, the improvements were most pronounced in women, who showed significant gains in walking speed, peak oxygen uptake, and peak power output that their male counterparts did not. The study also found that reducing the cumulative burden of common aging symptoms — cold extremities, chronic pain, skin problems, leg swelling — was independently associated with improvement in frailty scores, suggesting the sauna's benefits may work through whole-body symptom relief rather than any single mechanism. The findings are preliminary, and the study had no control group, but they add to a growing body of evidence that regular heat exposure may be a low-barrier, accessible tool for supporting physical resilience in older women who may not tolerate conventional exercise programs.

Two types of heat, one underlying biology

Traditional Finnish-style saunas operate at 80 to 100 degrees Celsius, heating the air around you. Infrared saunas work differently: they use light energy to warm the body more directly, producing a gradual rise in core temperature at lower ambient temperatures. The physiological experience feels less intense, but the downstream effects overlap considerably.

Both types trigger vasodilation and improve circulation. In clinical studies, repeated infrared sauna sessions have been associated with improvements in cardiac function, including better blood flow and ejection fraction in patients with heart failure, and moderate evidence of blood pressure normalization. The mechanisms are biologically plausible and consistent with findings from traditional sauna research, even if the infrared-specific evidence base is thinner.

The cellular explanation: heat as a form of stress

Here is where things get genuinely interesting. Both exercise and sauna exposure trigger the production of heat shock proteins, particularly HSP70 and HSP90. These function as the body's cellular quality-control system, acting as molecular chaperones that refold damaged or misfolded proteins, prevent protein aggregation, and protect cells under stress.

Regular activation of this pathway is associated with improved cellular resilience, reduced inflammation, and potentially neuroprotection.

Saunas MAY stimulate some of the effects of exercise

Before you erupt in elation and excitement, there are similarities between what happens to the body during exercise and during sauna bathing. This does NOT mean we don’t have to exercise, but it does suggest some interesting cellular effects of heat exposure. 

What we're still working out

This is important: when you hear or see quotes about the benefits of sauna use, most of the strong data remains observational, showing association rather than causation. People who sauna regularly may differ in other health behaviors. The associations are compelling; the causal story is still being built, though the mechanisms are physiologically plausible. We also lack meaningful head-to-head comparisons between traditional and infrared modalities.

The strongest cardiovascular data comes specifically from Finnish dry saunas. Infrared sauna research is growing, but marketing in that space has frequently outpaced the evidence. That gap matters when making decisions. But if you weigh risks vs benefits, the risks are low, and the benefits are likely there with IR saunas as well. 

A word about your hair

This one is non-negotiable, and I say it as someone who has learned the hard way. Repeated heat exposure degrades the keratin structure of hair, strips moisture from the cortex, and, over time, contributes to brittleness, breakage, and frizz. If you sauna (either type) regularly, protect your hair. A towel wrapped around dry hair before you enter, or a heat-protective product on the ends, is not vanity. It is maintenance. The scalp itself also benefits from protection against direct dry heat. Make it part of the ritual, not an afterthought.

Safety concerns

According to Sunlighten, “it's true some products produce EMFs and smart consumers are concerned about minimizing exposure. Sunlighten aims to eliminate the concern about EMFs in our saunas and has made mitigation a top priority. As a result, Sunlighten saunas produce almost no EMFs, a fact validated by the world’s foremost EMF testing experts. Their report shows that Sunlighten heater panels measure 0.5 mG, less than 1 mG! That is lower than 95% of the most common household devices. It’s the latest and most current testing, so you can rest assured your infrared sauna is safe from EMFs. In addition, while you relax and enjoy the warmth of your Sunlighten sauna, behind the scenes, our SoloCarbon heaters are working safely and efficiently with a proprietary blend of FDA-approved materials that are heat-sealed to withstand temperatures above and beyond the operating temperature, ensuring no unhealthy gases are released during heating. It is reassuring to have third-party testing verify claims, and Sunlighten is committed to providing that as part of our safety process and quality control.” This protection is important to me, and it’s worth looking for.  

The bottom line

We lack robust, large, randomized controlled trial data, with most sauna research being observational and showing association rather than causation. The stress reduction data is solid. The sleep improvement data is promising. The vascular benefits have a plausible causative mechanism. The neurological data is early but interesting. And the ritual of it, the deliberate pause, the heat, the quiet, turns out to matter too. I absolutely love the way I feel after every time I pop into a sauna. It is a combo of relaxed, warm, and invigorated all at once. And this is important because, well, wellness activities should actually be pleasurable, and sauna use definitely is! 

The infrared sauna I’ve been using recently is the Sunlighten mPulse Smart Sauna*. (You can save up to $1,600 + FREE shipping + FREE Red Light Mask with this special link!) This infrared sauna combines all three infrared wavelengths with built-in red light therapy, and what I appreciate most is how customizable it is. Depending on what I need that day, whether it’s relaxation, muscle recovery, or just a mental reset, I can tailor the sauna session to match. It is a health investment I am glad I made, because prioritizing recovery is critical. 

For me, this isn’t about chasing every wellness trend or overpromising results. It’s about layering in tools that support the body’s natural physiology, especially for recovery, circulation, and stress regulation.

And sometimes, the simplest interventions, sitting, sweating, and slowing down, are exactly what the body has been asking for all along.

GLP-1 medications are dominating the conversation right now, but much of what you are hearing is either oversimplified or missing critical context. In today’s video, I walk through 5 important topics that are not getting the attention they deserve, especially if you are currently taking one of these medications, or thinking about starting. 

The goal here is not hype or fear. It is clarity. These medications can be powerful tools, but only if you understand how to use them to support your overall health.

Get the full breakdown, including exactly what to monitor, how to adjust your nutrition and training, and how to think about these medications in the bigger picture of your health.

Let me tell you what I hear more than almost anything else. It’s not "I have no idea what to do." It's "I've tried everything, and I don't know what to try next." Most women over 50 who are carrying an extra 10-15 pounds are not uninformed. They are exhausted, misled, and working against a biology that has genuinely shifted underneath them. So let's start there, with the biology, and then get practical.

This is not a willpower problem. It is a physiological problem, and it has real solutions.

I want to be blunt here, because the internet has made this worse, not better. The CBD gummies and other products using my name/likeness/AI-generated videos promising to "melt belly fat," the collagen gelatin capsules, the so-called miracle metabolism boosters flooding your social media feed… they do not work. Not a little. Not for some people. They are totally fraudulent, not regulated, not evidence-based, and designed entirely to extract money from women who are doing everything right and feeling desperate for something to tip the balance. The only thing they reliably reduce is your bank account. Worse, they distract from the interventions that actually move the needle, and every week spent on a scam supplement is a week not spent building the habits that compound over time. I have pursued and will continue to pursue legal action against these fraudulent companies, but they are impossible to stop. One shuts down, and another pops up. They do not have actual business addresses that can be tracked down. If you see my face, voice, name, or video next to ANY product that you don’t see on MY platforms (my Instagram, Facebook, YouTube channel, or my joinajenda.com website), you should assume they are fraudulent. 

This said, I understand the appeal. When you're doing the work and the scale isn't moving, a capsule that promises to fix it overnight is a seductive idea. But you deserve better than that. You deserve the truth, which is that the tried-and-true methods are tried and true for a reason.

Resistance training is the single highest-yield intervention available to you right now. Not because it burns the most calories in the gym, it doesn't. Because it rebuilds the muscle tissue that keeps your metabolism running between workouts, improves insulin sensitivity, protects bone density, and shifts body composition even when the scale moves slowly. Two to three sessions per week of progressive resistance training is supported by extensive evidence and should be non-negotiable.

Protein intake needs to go up, not down. The dated advice to eat less applies far less than the evidence-backed guidance to eat more protein. Current research supports 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight daily for women in midlife, prioritizing leucine-rich sources like eggs, Greek yogurt, fish, and lean poultry. Protein preserves muscle during a caloric deficit, reduces appetite, and has the highest thermic effect of any macronutrient. 

Sabotage alert: make sure that as you consume more protein, you are consuming LESS carbs and fat; otherwise, the number on the scale will go up rather than down. It’s about the pie chart of macronutrients and how they compose your overall energy intake, rather than expanding the pie itself. 

Sleep is not optional. Poor sleep elevates ghrelin, suppresses leptin, drives cortisol, and directly impairs the metabolic processes that regulate fat storage. Seven to nine hours is not a luxury. It is a clinical lever that is worth using.

For some/many women, GLP-1 receptor agonists are legitimate, physician-supervised options worth discussing, particularly when metabolic dysfunction or insulin resistance is present. These are not shortcuts. They are medical tools that work best alongside the behavioral foundations above.

Pick one thing. If you are not resistance training, start there. If your protein is low, address that first. If you are sleeping five hours, that is your most urgent variable. The temptation is to overhaul everything simultaneously. The research on behavior change suggests the opposite: one anchor habit, executed consistently, creates the platform for the next.

If you’re feeling stuck, like you’ve tried everything and still cannot figure out why the same 10 to 15 pounds will not budge after 50, you are not alone, and the reality is it’s often less about willpower and more about having the right, evidence-based strategy for this stage of life.

Ten pounds is not your destiny. It is a speed bump in the course of midlife.

In my paid newsletter Off Duty, I share the real-life things I’m wearing, eating, buying, loving, and truly swearing by — the kind of insider details I usually only share with close friends.

In her former roles as chief medical correspondent for ABC News and on-air cohost of “GMA3: What You Need to Know,” Dr. Jennifer Ashton—”Dr. Jen”—has shared the latest health news and information with millions of viewers nationwide. As an OB-GYN, nutritionist, and board-certified obesity medicine specialist, she is passionate about promoting optimal health for “the whole woman.” She has authored several books, including the national best-seller, The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier & Fitter—One Month at a Time. And she has gone through menopause…

^{This material is provided solely for informational purposes and is not providing or undertaking to provide any medical, nutritional, behavioral or other advice or recommendation in or by virtue of this material.  This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this newsletter or materials linked from this newsletter is at the user’s own risk. The content of this newsletter is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.}

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