What you'll learn

• 1 (00:27) **Setting the Scene: A Floating Sauna in Oslo** - Will Stone describes the sensory experience of a wooden sauna floating on a dock in Oslo harbor, setting up the episode's exploration of heat therapy.
• 2 (04:43) **The State of the Science: An Infant Field** - Clinical psychologist Ashley Mason explains that heat therapy research is disorganized and lacks standards.
• 3 (07:05) **Building Consensus: The Wonky Work of Standardization** - Researchers are trying to pin down definitions and measurement standards for heat therapy studies.
• 4 (08:14) **What We Know: The Body's Acute Response to Heat** - Scientists have a good understanding of how the body tolerates extreme heat, thanks to centuries of thermal physiology research.
• 5 (09:59) **The Big Question: Does Regular Heat Exposure Prevent Disease?** - The evidence that regular sauna use provides measurable health benefits is still weak and needs more work.
• 6 (10:13) **The Exercise Mimetic Hypothesis** - Heat stresses the cardiovascular system in ways similar to light exercise.
• 7 (11:49) **The Best Evidence So Far: A Randomized Controlled Trial** - Researcher Eric Lee (Montreal Heart Institute) ran one of the only randomized controlled trials on sauna bathing.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app