The Immediate Effect of Steam Bath and Sauna Bath on Heart Rate Variability and Body Composition in Obese Individuals: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Aim: The present study was designed to evaluate and compare the immediate effects of steam bath and sauna bath on body composition and Heart Rate Variabilities in individuals with obesity.
 Study Design: Prospective randomised comparative trial.
 Materials and Methods: Participants visiting Shantivana Nature cure hospital with age ranging from 18 to 32, without any comorbidities and Body Mass Index (BMI) more than 31 kg/m2 were appraised about the study protocol and after getting informed consent were divided into Steam bath group (n = 50) and Sauna bath group (n = 50) and were administered one sitting of Steam bath and sauna bath for 15 minutes. The Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Body Fat Analyser data was recorded before and after one sitting of treatment. The data was analysed using JASP (version 0.14.1.0) software and parametric and non-parametric tests were employed based on the normal distribution. 
 Results: Marked changes were observed in BMI (p= 0.022), Total Body Water (TBW; p<0.0001), Heart Rate (HR; p= 0.002), RR Interval (p< 0.001), NN50 (p=0.013), pNN50 (p=0.0001), variables in the Steam bath group after comparing with the baseline. In the Sauna bath group significant changes (in %) were seen in Body weight (BW; p<0.001), BMI (p<0.001), Free-Fat Mass (FFM; p= 0.004), Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR; p< 0.001), Systolic Blood Pressure SBP; p= 0.008), HR (p<0.001), Mean RR (p<0.0001), RMSSD (p=0.005), pNN50 (p<0.0001), Very low frequency (VLF; p<0.0001), Low Frequency (LF; p<0.001), High Frequency (HF; p<0.001), LF/HF (p<0.001). When comparing steam bath with sauna bath group, the variables Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP; p=0.002), HR (p= 0.021), RMSSD (p<0.001), RMSSD (p<0.001), NN50 (p<0.001), pNN50 (p<0.001), VLF (p<0.001) showed significant changes.
 Conclusion: The present study concludes that single dose of steam bath and sauna bath reduces the body weight by acting on the total body water percentage, reduces diastolic blood pressure, and causes vagal dominance. Sauna bath also increases basal metabolic rate which further helps in improving metabolism in the body and further helps in reducing body weight.