運動之前蒸桑拿 可以讓你更健康

I have enjoyed relaxing in the sauna, especially in cold weather, for many years. But last summer, I was surprised to see a doctor friend emerging from the sauna in the sweltering heat of July on his way to a workout, dripping from sweat before he even reached the gym.

多年來，我一直很喜歡在桑拿房裏放鬆，尤其是在冷天。但去年夏天，我驚訝地看見我的一位醫生朋友在酷熱的7月從桑拿房裏出來，然後去鍛鍊，還沒到健身房，他就已經汗如雨下。

The doctor explained that as we get older, it becomes increasingly important to warm our muscles, tendons and joints before undertaking strenuous physical exercise. While a 10-minute warm-up on a stationary bike or treadmill might be the traditional way to gently warm muscles, the sauna really heats them up and gets them ready for exercise.

我的朋友解釋道，隨着我們年歲漸長，在進行劇烈身體鍛鍊前讓我們的肌肉、肌腱和關節溫暖起來變得越來越重要。儘管在健身腳踏車或者跑步機上進行10分鐘熱身運動可能是一種溫和地溫暖肌肉的傳統方式，但桑拿會讓肌肉真正地溫暖起來，做好鍛鍊準備。

This struck a chord with me because for the past few years, I have suffered agonies from an Achilles tendon problem every time I run. I have been treated by a number of doctors, who have prescribed stretching, heel inserts in my trainers and even used sound waves to bombard my Achilles tendon — all without much lasting effect.

這引起了我的共鳴，因爲過去幾年裏，我每次跑步都會感到跟腱疼痛。我接受過好幾名醫生的治療，他們提供的處方是做拉伸，在運動鞋裏放腳後跟腳墊，甚至使用聲波轟擊我的跟腱——效果都不持久。

After talking to my doctor friend, I discovered some research about the beneficial effects of saunas on athletes. While the study was fairly small, it found that after only three weeks of hard running followed by half-hourly sauna sessions, the athletes were able to run further before becoming exhausted.

在和我的醫生朋友交談以後，我找到了某項關於桑拿對運動員的益處的研究。儘管這項研究規模相當小，但它發現，在大強度跑步之前蒸半小時桑拿，僅僅三週後，這些運動員在精疲力竭之前能夠跑得更遠了。

The most likely explanation, the researchers, concluded, was that the sauna training increased the athletes’ blood plasma volumes.

研究者得出結論認爲，最可能的解釋是桑拿訓練提高了運動員的血漿量。

As any fan of competitive cycling now knows, you 0can increase your body’s aerobic capacity by increasing haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. That’s why cheats in cycle races give themselves transfusions of their own blood, known as blood doping.

現在任何一個競技自行車的體育迷都知道，你可以通過提高血紅蛋白的量來提高身體的有氧運動能力。血紅蛋白的功能是從肺部將氧輸送到身體各處。這就是爲什麼在自行車比賽裏作弊的人會將自己的血液回輸給自己，這種做法被稱爲“血液興奮劑”。

But I was interested to learn that saunas may also increase production of a range of hormones, including growth hormone and norepinephrine, which is behind the fight or flight response and increases blood flow to skeletal muscles.

但讓我感興趣的是，我得知桑拿或許也能提高一系列激素的分泌，包括生長激素和去甲腎上腺素。後者調節所謂的“戰鬥或逃跑”反應，增加流向骨骼肌的血液量。

At first I thought I would see whether saunas increased my athletic performance in the way described in the study above. I tried taking the prescribed half-hour of sauna before a run, but I was so hot that I did not feel like running. I then switched to after the run, and all I could manage at first was 10 minutes.

我的初衷是想看看桑拿是否能像上述研究所說的那樣，提高我的運動成績。我嘗試按照上述研究的“處方”，每次跑步前蒸半個小時桑拿，但我感覺太熱了，以至於根本跑不動。於是我換成了跑步後蒸桑拿，最初我只能在桑拿房裏堅持10分鐘。

Over the past six months, I have slowly built up to about 20 minutes of sauna after doing 30 minutes of sprints twice a week. You really perspire in these sessions, which is meant to help train your body to sweat more efficiently, lowering your body temperature while you exercise.

過去6個月期間，我慢慢延長了桑拿時間，現在我每週進行兩次30分鐘的短跑鍛鍊，之後蒸20分鐘的桑拿。在蒸桑拿的時候，你真的會排汗，這理應有助於訓練你的身體更有效率地排汗，在你鍛鍊的時候降低你的體溫。

To my amazement, my Achilles tendon pain has disappeared since I started the sauna treatments. An added benefit: knee pain that I used to experience after working out with weights on a leg press machine has also vanished.

讓我驚訝的是，我的跟腱疼痛在我開始桑拿療法後消失了。額外的好處是，我在腿部推蹬機上進行負重鍛鍊後感到的膝蓋疼痛也突然消失了。

I even think my sprint performance has improved too, but that may be down to more consistent training.

我甚至感到我的短跑成績也提高了，不過原因可能是更有規律的訓練。

One important caveat: while saunas are generally considered safe for most athletes, people with heart conditions and pregnant women should consult a doctor before trying their benefits. And be sure to compensate for the heavy sweating induced by a sauna by drinking lots of water before and after heat sessions, which should not last too long. And of course never even consider drinking alcohol before — or during — a sauna.

一條重要的告誡：儘管普遍認爲桑拿對大多數運動員來說是安全的，但有心臟問題的人或者孕期女性在嘗試前應該諮詢醫生的意見。在桑拿前後，確保大量飲水，彌補桑拿引起的大量排汗失水，每次桑拿的時間不應太長。當然，絕不要在桑拿前或者桑拿過程中飲酒。