#080 How Heat Therapy Improves Slow Wave Sleep

May 30, 2023 15m 26s 14 insights

Heat therapy, such as using a sauna or soaking in a hot bath, may significantly improve your slow wave sleep. My latest episode delves into the fascinating intersection between exercise and passive body heating and elucidates how high energy expenditure exercise and heat exposure share nuanced mechanisms in sleep regulation. Some key aspects explored include: <ul> <li>The surprising role of the immune system in regulating sleep through somnogenic cytokines, immune signals like IL-1B and TNF-alpha, released in response to heat stress and exercise.</li> <li>The interconnected nature of thermoregulation and sleep, particularly in the brain, which highlights the importance of overlapping sleep regulation and heat loss processes. This involves warm-sensing preoptic area neurons in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus, a region known to play a crucial role in sleep regulation.</li> <li>The intricate, bidirectional relationship between growth hormone (GH) and slow-wave sleep (SWS). With the majority of daily GH secretion occurring during the initial phase of SWS, stimulants of SWS, such as heat exposure, can result in enhanced GH secretion, establishing a strong connection between GH and sleep regulation.</li> <li>The varying influence of heat on growth hormone, ranging from doubling after two 20-minute sauna sessions at 80°C, to increasing its circulation up to 16-fold after two one-hour sauna sessions at 80°C.</li> </ul> These findings highlight the potential for heat therapy and exercise with a high rate of energy expenditure to modulate slow wave sleep through the interconnected nature of thermoregulation, immunity, exercise, and hormones. By understanding and harnessing these links, individuals can potentially enhance their sleep quality and overall health and well-being. In this episode, I discuss: <ul> <li>(00:00) - Introduction</li> <li>(01:06) - Increasing pre-sleep tiredness</li> <li>(02:06) - Effects of exercise</li> <li>(04:09) - How the immune system regulates sleep</li> <li>(05:07) - What heat and exercise have in common</li> <li>(06:39) - Hormonal effects of heat</li> <li>(06:59) - Growth hormone</li> <li>(09:26) - Prolactin and sleep onset</li> <li>(10:39) - Effect of sexual activity</li> <li>(12:08) - Overlap in the brain (thermoregulation vs. sleep)</li> <li>(12:46) - Heat protocols and tactics</li> </ul> <a href="https://youtu.be/rHKIs5Kcyo0">Watch this episode on YouTube</a> <a href="https://www.foundmyfitness.com/admin/podcasts/heat-therapy-slow-wave-sleep"> Show notes are available by clicking here</a> Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information straight to your inbox several times per month: <a href="https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter">https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter</a> Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A's with Rhonda and more: <a href="https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor">https://www.foundmyfitness.com/premium</a> Learn more about the premium podcast The Aliquot: <a href="https://www.foundmyfitness.com/aliquot">https://www.foundmyfitness.com/aliquot</a>

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Actionable Insights

1. Enhance Sleep with Heat

Utilize passive body heating methods like hot baths, hot tubs, or saunas before bed to facilitate sleep onset and increase the proportion of deep, restorative slow wave sleep.

2. Time Heat Exposure for Sleep

Perform heat exposure activities such as saunas or hot baths a couple of hours before bedtime, allowing your body sufficient time to cool down for more restful sleep.

3. Sauna Protocol for Sleep

Engage in a 20-minute sauna session at a minimum of 176°F (80°C) one to two hours before bed, ensuring adequate time for your body to cool down before sleep.

4. Hot Bath/Tub Protocol

Take a hot bath or use a hot tub at approximately 104°F (40°C) for 20 to 30 minutes, submerging as much of your body as possible from the shoulders down to improve sleep quality.

5. Optimal Exercise Timing

Exercise earlier in the day, ideally at least a couple of hours before bedtime, to allow your core body temperature to decrease and alertness to subside, promoting more restful sleep.

6. Circadian Clock Reset

Incorporate early bright light exposure into your routine to effectively reset your circadian clock, which is a significant element of good sleep hygiene.

7. Avoid Evening Blue Light

Optimize your sleep by avoiding blue light exposure at night, as this is a fundamental practice for good sleep hygiene.

8. Regular Sauna Use Benefits

Engage in regular sauna use as it is a powerful stimulus for increasing growth hormone and prolactin levels, both of which are important for the regulation of slow wave deep sleep.

9. Boost Growth Hormone

Combine exercise with heat stress or sauna use to potentially achieve even greater increases in growth hormone levels compared to using sauna alone.

10. Lifestyle for Sleep Hormones

Incorporate exercise and sexual activity into your lifestyle, as these can increase growth hormone and prolactin, hormones that positively affect slow wave deep sleep.

11. Moderate GH Sauna Protocol

To double growth hormone levels, undertake two 20-minute sauna sessions at 80°C (176°F), with a 30-minute cooling period between sessions.

12. Intense GH Sauna Protocol

For a five-fold increase in growth hormone levels, perform two 15-minute dry sauna sessions at 100°C (212°F), separated by a 30-minute cooling period.

13. Monitor Bath Temperature

When taking a hot bath, use a thermometer to monitor and maintain the water temperature around 104°F (40°C) by adding more hot water as needed.

14. Cool Down Post-Heat

After heat exposure, consider taking a cool shower to help your body cool down, which may also help promote more restful sleep.