What’s the real story behind the recent study on sauna and living longer?

Ok, the facts are in:

spending more time in the sauna may lead to a longer and healthier life, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The interweb has been aglow

News has been spreading like wild fire.  And why not?  If you can live longer, surely it is newsworthy!  (and worth a click through)

• The Guardian:  “Saunas help you live longer, study finds.”
• ABC News tells us that “Frequent saunas may boost survival”
• The Daily Mail pushes the envelope with “How regular saunas could save your life.”
• Reuters “Sauna may be good for your health” with a curious corresponding photo showing 7 women in a hot tub.  (I thought the study was about men and sauna?)
• And the irony continues with The LA Times choosing to accompany the sauna longevity story with a photo from the Sauna World Championships (where a man actually died from heat exposure right after the competition).
• The most thoughtful and compelling photo, though, goes to none other than the Minneapolis Star Tribune “Long, hot saunas may boost survival..”  Staff photographer, fellow sauna evangelist, and sauna buddy Brian Peterson captured the true spirit of sauna with this photo accompanying the article :

Why is this study written about everywhere?

Living longer is a newsworthy study because these varied headings draw immediate attention.  And the study gets written about in every news media because media outlets know that people are desperate for any tips about anything to do with living longer.  (a story with a high click through rate).

What does this study mean to a sauna enthusiast?

Those like me, folks who have taken saunas regularly for over 20 years, chuckle at how the study spins out of control.  For us, living longer may be something to behold, but with sauna, beyond the physical benefits, the life we are living now is better and more fulfilling because of our saunas.

So, whether we live longer because of our saunas isn’t the reason why we sauna.

We sauna because it makes the life we are living better.

There are lots of examples all over this website, and we welcome yours too.