The Effect of a Sauna on Blood Oxygen Transport and the Prooxidant – Antioxidant Balance in Untrained Subjects

Abstract

The effect of sauna on blood oxygen transport and the prooxidant-antioxidant state was studied in 18- to 22-year-old men. The course of heat treatment was performed once a week for five months, i.e., twenty procedures in total. A sauna procedure consisted of two exposures for 5 and 10 min at a temperature of 85-90°C and humidity of 10-15%. In young men, dry-air bath exposure resulted in respiratory alkalosis, increased pO2, and a decreased affinity of hemoglobin to oxygen in the venous blood, which increased the transportation of O2 to tissues. A single sauna procedure was associated with the development of oxidative stress, which was expressed as an enhancement of free radical processes and a decrease in antioxidant defense. Oxidative stress intensity decreased after the course of heat treatment. An elevation of nitric oxide formation could modify oxygen-dependent processes in the body.