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.

多年来，我一直很喜欢在桑拿房里放松，尤其是在冷天。但去年夏天，我惊讶地看见我的一位医生朋友在酷热的7月从桑拿房里出来，然后去锻炼，还没到健身房，他就已经汗如雨下。

The doctor explained that as we get older, it becomes increasingly important to warm our muscles, tendons and joints¹ before undertaking² strenuous³ physical exercise. While a 10-minute warm-up on a stationary⁴ bike or treadmill⁵ might be the traditional way to gently warm muscles, the sauna really heats them up and gets them ready for exercise.

我的朋友解释道，随着我们年岁渐长，在进行剧烈身体锻炼前让我们的肌肉、肌腱和关节温暖起来变得越来越重要。尽管在健身脚踏车或者跑步机上进行10分钟热身运动可能是一种温和地温暖肌肉的传统方式，但桑拿会让肌肉真正地温暖起来，做好锻炼准备。

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 lasting⁶ effect.

这引起了我的共鸣，因为过去几年里，我每次跑步都会感到跟腱疼痛。我接受过好几名医生的治疗，他们提供的处方是做拉伸，在运动鞋里放脚后跟脚垫，甚至使用声波轰击我的跟腱——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 exhausted⁷.

在和我的医生朋友交谈以后，我找到了某项关于桑拿对运动员的益处的研究。尽管这项研究规模相当小，但它发现，在大强度跑步之前蒸半小时桑拿，仅仅三周后，这些运动员在精疲力竭之前能够跑得更远了。

The most likely explanation, the researchers, concluded, was that the sauna training increased the athletes’ blood plasma⁸ volumes.

研究者得出结论认为，最可能的解释是桑拿训练提高了运动员的血浆量。

As any fan of competitive cycling now knows, you 0can increase your body’s aerobic⁹ 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 transfusions¹⁰ of their own blood, known as blood doping.

现在任何一个竞技自行车的体育迷都知道，你可以通过提高血红蛋白的量来提高身体的有氧运动能力。血红蛋白的功能是从肺部将氧输送到身体各处。这就是为什么在自行车比赛里作弊的人会将自己的血液回输给自己，这种做法被称为“血液兴奋剂”。

But I was interested to learn that saunas may also increase production of a range of hormones¹², including growth hormone¹¹ and norepinephrine, which is behind the fight or flight response and increases blood flow to skeletal muscles.

但让我感兴趣的是，我得知桑拿或许也能提高一系列激素的分泌，包括生长激素和去甲肾上腺素。后者调节所谓的“战斗或逃跑”反应，增加流向骨骼肌的血液量。

At first I thought I would see whether saunas increased my athletic¹³ 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说的那样，提高我的运动成绩。我尝试按照上述研究的“处方”，每次跑步前蒸半个小时桑拿，但我感觉太热了，以至于根本跑不动。于是我换成了跑步后蒸桑拿，最初我只能在桑拿房里坚持10分钟。

Over the past six months, I have slowly built up to about 20 minutes of sauna after doing 30 minutes of sprints¹⁵ twice a week. You really perspire¹⁶ in these sessions, which is meant to help train your body to sweat more efficiently¹⁷, lowering your body temperature while you exercise.

过去6个月期间，我慢慢延长了桑拿时间，现在我每周进行两次30分钟的短跑锻炼，之后蒸20分钟的桑拿。在蒸桑拿的时候，你真的会排汗，这理应有助于训练你的身体更有效率地排汗，在你锻炼的时候降低你的体温。

To my amazement¹⁸, 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.

让我惊讶的是，我的跟腱疼痛在我开始桑拿疗法后消失了。额外的好处是，我在腿部推蹬机上进行负重锻炼后感到的膝盖疼痛也突然消失了。

I even think my sprint¹⁴ performance has improved too, but that may be down to more consistent training.

我甚至感到我的短跑成绩也提高了，不过原因可能是更有规律的训练。

One important caveat¹⁹: 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 compensate²⁰ 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.

一条重要的告诫：尽管普遍认为桑拿对大多数运动员来说是安全的，但有心脏问题的人或者孕期女性在尝试前应该咨询医生的意见。在桑拿前后，确保大量饮水，弥补桑拿引起的大量排汗失水，每次桑拿的时间不应太长。当然，绝不要在桑拿前或者桑拿过程中饮酒。