Heat therapy via sauna may help lower blood pressure
By Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon
Q: When I get out of the sauna, my blood pressure is lower. It also runs lower in the summertime. Perhaps the vasodilation due to heat is beneficial over the long term, but I am not sure if there are any studies. Do you know of any?
A: A recent review by Australian scientists concludes that heat therapy helps lower blood pressure and improves blood vessel dilation (Experimental Physiology, June 2021). The authors note that people with a lifelong sauna habit are at lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Another review reports that sauna bathing reduces cardiometabolic disorders and recommends the practice for people in high-stress occupations, such as first responders (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Jan. 27, 2021). A sauna session also improves blood flow for people with stable coronary artery disease (Canadian Journal of Cardiology, March 2021).
Q: You have written about restless legs several times, but I have a new approach. Often, when I try to fall asleep, my feet get restless, like they’re buzzing. I feel that I need to move them.
Here’s an unusual method that relieves this restlessness nearly every time: I pop in my earbuds and watch a streaming show on my iPhone. Within 30 minutes, my feet are relaxed and stay that way until I fall asleep.
A: We certainly appreciate your novel remedy. Others have reported that listening to a podcast or a news show can help calm their minds so they can get to sleep. We do caution you, however, that staring at a device like your iPhone shortly before bedtime could expose you to blue light that might interfere with your sleep (Sleep Health, August 2020). We fear your approach might not work for everybody.
Q: I was prescribed amitriptyline for migraines and took it for several months. I experienced a number of side effects, including irritability, weight gain, constipation, drowsiness and memory loss.
After I stopped it, my memory improved though I have some forgetfulness. I still take amitriptyline occasionally for migraines. Wearing a mask at work seems to make me more susceptible. I take it on an as-needed basis rather than daily, but I wish there were something else for migraines.
A: Amitriptyline (Elavil) is an old-fashioned antidepressant with strong anticholinergic activity. It interferes with a crucial neurochemical called acetylcholine. That might explain your memory difficulties.
You might want to ask your doctor about a new class of migraine medicines used for prevention. They include erenumab (Aimovig), fremanezumab (Ajovy) and galcanezumab (Emgality).
There are also a number of nondrug approaches that might be helpful. Ask your doctor about supplements such as magnesium, riboflavin, feverfew or butterbur.
Some studies report that acupuncture can be beneficial. A systematic review of this approach concludes that: “The beneficial effects of acupuncture for migraine have been widely recognized. Acupuncture not only reduces pain intensity of acute migraine attacks, but also prevents migraine by reducing the frequency of migraine attacks, acute relief medication intake and pain intensity” (Frontiers in Neuroscience, May 20, 2021).
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Send questions to them via www. peoplespharmacy.com.