Though Joe Rogan may have shot to fame in 2011 with comedy bro-downs, DMT rants and chats with ancient history professors about the modern world being a “society with amnesia,” given his mixed martial arts background, he remains a solid source of fitness inspiration to many too.
A dedicated practitioner of martial arts, Rogan is not just a prolific podcaster, but holds black belts in both Taekwondo and Jiu-Jitsu. He is also a top UFC commentator.
Having spoken to more health gurus and fitness experts in his life than most of us ever will, and having the financial resources to dabble in their theories, Rogan has become a firm proponent of a number of fitness techniques. One of his favourite? The sauna.
Taking to Instagram yesterday, the 53-year-old posted the following photo, with the following caption, after stepping out of a sauna at 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius!!).
“Fresh out the hot box and feeling like a slightly better version of who I was when I went in. I think some wild thoughts in there, especially during the last 5 minutes.”
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“When those are over that’s when I feel so thankful and appreciative, not just that I didn’t die from heat stroke, but thankful of everything. I wanna call friends I haven’t spoken to in years. I wanna complement people, and tell them that I love them.”
“The ultimate goal is to always be a better me, but my progress always seems to resemble a Bitcoin chart; 2 steps up, 1 step down, 3 steps up…”
“I learn, but for whatever reason I seem to learn best and grow most when there’s some struggle.”
Followers were flabbergasted at the temperature. Diplo wrote: “How can you get it to 200!”
This is not the first time Rogan has taken to Instagram to speak about the benefits he finds in the hot room.
Back when he was still on 190 degrees Farenheight, he wrote: “Discomfort is your friend. Deep breathing in the sauna leaving me with a strange euphoria, and a general sense of calm when it’s over.”
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“But I have to earn that in the last 10 minutes. The first 10 minutes or so aren’t that bad, so generally, that’s when I just lay down and relax. I just think.”
“Then when it starts to suck I take the AirPods out and I start the breathing. 6 seconds in deep and 6 seconds out. I get my rhythm and I try to think of nothing but my breath.”
“When I get to the point where I am really having a hard time I promise myself 10 more deep breaths in and 10 more out.”
“When I get there, I can say ‘if you can do that, you can do 10 more…’”
According to Thieme journal, how long you can survive with heat depends especially on the humidity: the less humidity the longer you keep up.
“In a sauna at 230°F adults withstand a maximum of 3 to 4 minutes, in a burning house up to 10 minutes – as long as they don’t pass out because of the carbon monoxide. Children fall victims even more quickly to high ambient temperatures, e.g. in a car heated up to 122°F they fall victims after a few minutes.”
“During a heat stroke the body temperature increases to over 104°F. The acute overheating causes a brain edema, that evokes symptoms such as cramps, clouding of consciousness, headache, and sickness. In the worst cases heat stroke ends with lasting brain damages or even with death.”
According to ZME Science, “There are different types of saunas and steam rooms, with temperatures that can range quite a bit. Typically, safe temperatures range between 78-90°C (180-195°F). Though saunas can get much hotter (reportedly, going up to 160°C 220 °F), that ranges well outside the realm of safety (at least for most people).”
All that said… done right, both saunas and deep breathing have both been shown to have numerous benefits for the body and mind.
Primarily, deep breathing can help lower your stress levels. Urban Balance says that when we feel stressed, our brain releases cortisol, but taking in deep breaths our heart can control the flow of oxygen into the bloodstream (to the point where the is much more flooding in) which signals for the brain to relax.
As for the sauna? That too has myriad benefits, such as improving circulation due to your heart beating faster because of the increased heat, according to Heal With Heat.
That said, as with any fitness-related advice, and just as you wouldn’t push yourself too hard in the gym if you’re a beginner, you shouldn’t push yourself in a sauna if you’re not in good physical condition (even then: baby steps).
Though normal sauna use (at a normal temperature) does not pose risks for most people, the other side of the coin to feeling awesome from a tough workout is dehydration, nausea, or worse (especially if you crank the dial-up to the unusually high temperatures of the likes spruiked by Rogan, which we do not recommend).
Get it right though and saunas have also been proven to help reduce stress levels and to flush toxins from your body (something deep breathing can also promote), so combining the two could make sense.
Particularly if you are going to attempt anything like the sorts of thermometer heights the likes of Rogan and Laird Hamilton enjoy, we’d recommend you discuss it with a medical professional first, and – much like when breath training in a pool, or anywhere at all risky – avoid doing it solo.
In other news, Rogan recently spoke to Ethan Suplee about his incredible weight loss journey, determinism vs. free will and how demonizing foods or particular food items can really harm people.
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He also has continued sharing his workout moments (“morning iron worship”) from throughout the day, tagging his sponsors as usual.
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Food for thought indeed.