Sauna bathing can help control high BP: Study

Arecent study reveals that middle-aged men, taking sauna bath for four to seven times a week are less likely to develop elevated blood pressure compared to men who take sauna only once a week. According to the University of Eastern Finland researchers, regular sauna bathing improves endothelial function. This function of the inside layer of blood vessels has beneficial effects on systemic blood pressure. Sweating, in turn, removes fluid from the body, which is a contributing factor to decreased blood pressure levels. The team had previously shown that frequent sauna bathing reduces the risk of sudden cardiac death too. To study the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD), 1,621 middle-aged men living in the eastern part of Finland were brought together. The participants without elevated blood pressure of over 140/90 mmhg or with diagnosed hypertension at the study baseline were included in this long-term follow-up study. Based on their sauna bathing habits, the men were divided into three frequency groups: those taking sauna once a week, 2-3 times a week, or 4-7 times a week. The findings, during an average follow-up of 22 years, indicated that, 15.5% of the men developed clinically defined hypertension. The risk of hypertension was 24% decreased among men with a sauna frequency of two-three times a week. And 46% lowered among men who had a sauna four-seven times a week. During the bath, the body temperature rises up to 2°C degrees, causing vessels vasodilation. This may also lower systemic blood pressure due to overall relaxation of the body and mind. A recent analysis also revealed that those taking a sauna frequently have a lower risk of pulmonary diseases. The findings are published in the American Journal of Hypertension.

If you want to really understand how someone is feeling, it’s better to listen to them without looking, suggests an US research. The study found that we read others emotions more accurately when using only vocal cues. Michael Kraus, PHD, of Yale University, carried out a series of five experiments which involved more than 1,800 participants. In each experiment, the participants were asked either to interact with another person, or watch an interaction between two others. There were four experiment conditions for interactions. In one, participants were only able to listen and not look. In another, they were able to look but not listen. And in the third, they were allowed to both look and listen. In another group, participants listened to a computerised voice reading a transcript of an interaction — a condition without the usual emotional inflection of human communication. Kraus found that in all of the experiments, the people who only listened without looking were able to identify emotions more accurately. The one exception was perhaps when participants listened to computerised voices and not human voices, which resulted in the worst accuracy of all. He says, “What we find here is that perhaps people are paying too much attention to the face, than the voice which has the content. Therefore, the study suggest that we should be focuss more on studying vocalisations of emotion.” Kraus says one should use facial expressions more to hide emotions, indicating that facial cues are not always accurate. “Listening matters,” says Kraus, “Considering what people are saying and the ways in which they say it can, I believe, makes a difference. This also leads to an improved understanding of others at work or in relationships.”

CONSIDERING WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING AND IN THE WAY IN WHICH THEY SAY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, SAYS MICHAEL KRAUS OF YALE UNIVERSITY

PHOTO: ISTOCK Sauna bathing can reduce cardiac diseases, says research