Could Sauna Prevent Dementia?

Scientists are studying a man who was expected to develop Alzheimer’s decades ago, yet he’s remained healthy for 25 years past the predicted onset. The question is how?

Alzheimer's is the most common form of Dementia, its a disease that destroys memory, thinking, and the ability to carry out simple daily tasks. The two hallmark signs of Alzheimer's are Amyloid Plaques and Tau. Fun fact: Amyloid (type of protein) starts clumping into plaques at least 20 years before symptoms appear.

Mr. Whitney has a strong genetic link to Alzheimer's and tested positive for the genetic mutation of the disease. His siblings, mother, and nine out of 13 of her siblings also developed Alzheimer's. While most his family showed signs of degeneration between ages 44 and 53 Mr. Whitney is still asymptomatic into his later 60's. (cite) “Nobody in history had ever dodged that bullet,” Mr. Whitney said.

Once they started studying Mr. Whitney, they found that he had an excess number of heat shock proteins. Heat shock proteins help protect other proteins from clumping and misfolding (which is a common defect in many neurological disorders.) Dr. Llibre-Guerra told him. “It may be that those proteins are preventing the misfolded proteins, especially tau, from spreading throughout the brain.” They concluded that Mr. Whitney's time spent in the engine room of a steam ship might've driven this accumulation of heat shock proteins. “The heat down there, you can expect temperatures of 110 degrees for four hours at a time,” Mr. Whitney stated. So what does all this mean?

There was a study conducted in Finland studying the correlation of increased sauna usage and the frequency of dementia diagnosis. The study found that using the sauna 4 to 7 times per week had around a 65% lower risk of Alzheimer's, in which the results were in line with the hypothesis that suana provides protection against dementia. We also know that Sauna usage improves blood flow, reduces inflammation which supports vascular function which are all known to influence brain health. This area of science is still very new with not many studies done but is a very interesting possibility, what do you think?

Citations:

Belluck, P. (2025, October 17). He Was Expected to Get Alzheimer's 25 Years Ago. Why Hasn't He? The New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/health/alzheimers-gene-mutation.html

Knekt, P., Järvinen, R., Rissanen, H., Heliövaara, M., & Aromaa, A. (2020). Does sauna bathing protect against dementia?. Preventive medicine reports, 20, 101221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101221