Lead author of the study, Earric Lee said: “What we know from the literature is that the post-exercise period is what is known as a ‘window of opportunity,’ where there is enhanced insulin sensitivity and blunted blood lipid levels (for no longer than 60–90 minutes).
“This presents itself as an ideal opportunity for conjunctive interventions such as heat therapy, and in this case, sauna bathing. In addition, during the post-exercise period, angiogenic factors are elevated and thus altering blood flow or oxygen delivery post-exercise can have an additive or synergistic effect on angiogenic signalling induced by exercise alone, although this has yet to be experimentally established in humans.”
What this means is that the sauna bathing took advantage of the period after exercise to act as therapy on the heart.
Meanwhile, Professor Christopher Minson of the University of Oregon added: “Some of these changes were likely manifested through a greater heat shock protein (HSP) response in the [exercise and sauna group] versus the exercise-alone group. HSPs are known to have many beneficial effects on blood vessel health, endothelial function, and heart function when up-regulated.”
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