What 20 years of sauna research found
Laukkanen T, et al. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.
A Finnish study followed 2,315 men aged 42 to 60 for a median of about 21 years. Men who used a sauna 4 to 7 times a week had 40% lower risk of death from any cause than men who went once a week.
Risk of death from any cause
Compared with men who used a sauna once a week
Most of this work comes from one long-running study of men in eastern Finland, the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease study. Every number below compares people who used a sauna 4 to 7 times a week with people who went once a week.
All-cause mortality
40% lower
2,315 men aged 42 to 60, followed for a median of about 21 years. Men who went 2 to 3 times a week also had 24% lower risk.
Laukkanen T, et al. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.
Heart
50% lower
The same study found 48% lower fatal coronary heart disease and 63% lower sudden cardiac death at 4 to 7 sessions a week. Session length mattered too: sessions longer than 19 minutes were associated with 52% lower sudden cardiac death than sessions under 11 minutes.
Laukkanen T, et al. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.
Dementia
66% lower
4 to 7 sessions a week was associated with 66% lower dementia and 65% lower Alzheimer's disease risk, in the same 2,315 men. The link appeared at 4 to 7 sessions a week, not at 2 to 3.
Laukkanen T, et al. Age and Ageing, 2017.
Stroke
61% lower
1,628 men and women aged 53 to 74, followed for about 15 years. The association held after accounting for age, sex, diabetes, cholesterol and physical activity.
Kunutsor SK, et al. Neurology, 2018.
Blood pressure
47% lower
1,621 men with normal blood pressure at the start, followed for a median of 24.7 years.
Zaccardi F, et al. American Journal of Hypertension, 2017.
Lungs
41% lower
COPD, asthma and pneumonia combined, in 1,935 men followed for a median of 25.6 years.
Kunutsor SK, et al. European Journal of Epidemiology, 2017.
It shows an association, not proof.These studies observed a habit over decades. They did not test a product, and they cannot prove the sauna caused the difference, even after adjusting for age, fitness, smoking and other factors.
The comparison group still used a sauna.The numbers compare 4 to 7 sessions a week with once a week, not with no sauna at all.
Most of it studied middle-aged Finnish men.The stroke study included women; the others did not.
It was traditional Finnish sauna.Dry air at around 80 to 100°C (176 to 212°F). Infrared saunas heat the body at lower air temperatures and have not been studied over decades like this, so we will not borrow these numbers for them.
If you want the closest match to the research, our traditional and combination saunas use a stone heater. The combination sauna also has infrared, so you can choose the heat session to session.
Talk to your doctor before starting regular sauna use if you have a heart condition, low or high blood pressure, are pregnant, or take medication that affects blood pressure.
Why we build for daily use
Kayla Barnes-Lentz, longevity expert and co-owner of Heavenly Heat
Kayla is a co-owner of Heavenly Heat Saunas.
Five sessions a week is more than 250 sessions a year in the same small, heated room. What you breathe in and sit next to in that room matters more the more you use it.
Solid Canadian Hemlock, joined without glue. No plywood, no particleboard, no chemical stains.
Measured at the seating position, 2 inches from the body, fully assembled, with all heaters running. Electrical components sit inside a custom Faraday cage.
An independent indoor air quality lab tested the cabins under heat, and the full report is on our website.
We have built saunas this way since 1988.See how we test →
The type of sauna used in the Finnish research. Dry heat from a stone heater.
Stone heater · Needs an electrician$14,725
0% APR for 36 months (OAC), 2 Person Traditional Sauna is $410/month
At 4 sessions a week, about $24 a session
Ships in 1 to 2 weeks. Order today, ships in October
View this saunaFar infrared, near infrared and red light in one cabin, at lower air temperatures than a traditional sauna.
Plugs into 120V$16,594
0% APR for 36 months (OAC), 2 Person Red Light & Infrared Sauna is $461/month
At 4 sessions a week, about $27 a session
Ships in 1 to 2 weeks. Order today, ships in October
View this saunaPer session: monthly payment divided by 17 sessions (4 a week), during the 36-month financing term. Excludes electricity.
In-home trial returns: you cover return freight. Financing through Bread Pay, subject to approval.
Laukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA. Association between sauna bathing and fatal cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2015;175(4):542-548. Journal page → (opens in a new tab)
Laukkanen T, Kunutsor S, Kauhanen J, Laukkanen JA. Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease in middle-aged Finnish men. Age and Ageing. 2017;46(2):245-249. Journal page → (opens in a new tab)
Kunutsor SK, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen T, Willeit P, Laukkanen JA. Sauna bathing reduces the risk of stroke in Finnish men and women: a prospective cohort study. Neurology. 2018;90(22):e1937-e1944. Journal page → (opens in a new tab)
Zaccardi F, Laukkanen T, Willeit P, Kunutsor SK, Kauhanen J, Laukkanen JA. Sauna bathing and incident hypertension: a prospective cohort study. American Journal of Hypertension. 2017;30(11):1120-1125. Journal page → (opens in a new tab)
Kunutsor SK, Laukkanen T, Laukkanen JA. Sauna bathing reduces the risk of respiratory diseases: a long-term prospective cohort study. European Journal of Epidemiology. 2017;32(12):1107-1111. Journal page → (opens in a new tab)
