A hot topic for health: Results of the Global Sauna Survey
Introduction
Sauna bathing in various forms has been used for centuries for health, hygiene, social and spiritual purposes and is currently undergoing a worldwide resurgence, largely as a result of an increasing individual and public health focus on wellness.a 1, 2 Recent long-term observational studies emerging from Finland demonstrate strong associations between frequent sauna bathing and a reduced incidence of cardiovascular events,3 cerebrovascular events (i.e. strokes),4 respiratory diseases (i.e. pneumonia,5 asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease6), dementia7 as well as lowered markers of systemic inflammation8 and higher quality of life.9 These findings suggest sauna bathing has preventive health benefits comparable in many respects to regular exercise.10, 11, 12
In addition to epidemiological studies, specific medical interest in sauna bathing or ‘whole body thermotherapy’ is ‘heating up’, as demonstrated by an increase in citations and reviews of health-related studies involving various types of sauna interventions.13, 14 The clinical use of dry sauna bathing (i.e. traditional Finnish style and/or infrared, etc.) has been documented to have beneficial health effects and improve cardiovascular, respiratory, immunological, metabolic and athletic performance.11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 The precise drivers of these effects remain unclear. While recent studies suggest the beneficial health effects of sauna bathing may be due to endothelial-dependent vasodilatation metabolic and immune pathways, more research is needed.10, 11, 15, 22, 23, 24, 25 Routine sauna bathing has been reported to be relatively safe provided bathers use common sense and avoid concurrent alcohol consumption.13, 26, 27, 28, 29 Of note, there is small-scale evidence to suggest reversible impairment of male spermatogenesis with regular sauna bathing, however further study is required to validate this evidence.13, 30
While there is growing interest in the health impacts of sauna bathing and a multitude of anecdotal reports on sauna-related blogs and websites, there is comparatively little data in the English-speaking scientific literature on the general characteristics and motivations of people who already use the sauna regularly, particularly on a global basis. There are various studies that have surveyed the sauna habits of distinct populations (i.e. Finnish octogenarian men9 and MSM – men who have sex with men31, 32, 33), however the health-related outcomes of these studies are not generalizable to the public (e.g. women). Thus, although there is mounting medical evidence suggesting saunas should play a greater role as a lifestyle wellness/therapeutic tool, there is an ongoing need to document health information around existing sauna use, as is presented in this study.
We aimed to explore the current demographics, motivations, health and wellness experiences of sauna bathers worldwide via an online questionnaire.
Section snippets
Design and objectives
This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive survey to document the following information about sauna bathers:
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Demographics (i.e. age, gender, education and country of residence)
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Personal health and lifestyle information (i.e. general state of health, quality of life measures, medical conditions and severity, diet/exercise habits and other lifestyle habits)
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Motivations for sauna activities (intentions and importance)
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Sauna characteristics and associated habits (i.e. frequency, timing and types of
Results
A total of 572 logins were recorded but after accounting for duplicate entries (n = 4), entries with denied consent (n = 2) and entries with insufficient data (n = 84), there were 482 valid responses generated. A valid response entailed completion of at least one additional question, aside from the introductory question providing informed consent. A total of 378 respondents (78.4%, n = 378/482) responded to every question in the questionnaire.
Summary of findings
To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the health-related habits of the global sauna community, to include participants from multiple countries and continents and to provide a balanced representation of women and men. Our results indicate respondents were predominantly well-educated, non-smoking, regularly-exercising individuals of normal-to-overweight status who generally reported overall good health. ‘Relaxation/stress reduction’ was the most common motivation for sauna
Conclusions
Sauna bathing is currently used by a wide range of ages and nationalities. This study demonstrated that sauna use has perceived health benefits that vary from generalized effects such as relaxation, stress relief, invigoration, and socializing to more specific effects such as aiding circulation, improving sleep, improving mental health, enhancing ‘detoxification’, and relieving back/musculoskeletal pain. The few reported incidences of adverse reactions to sauna bathing were mild and included
Authors’ contributions
Marc Cohen and Joy Hussain conceived the strategy to use a cross-sectional study design to better understand health behaviors around sauna-bathing. Joy Hussain designed, conducted and completed analysis of the study as part of her PhD project and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. MC and RG supervised this project as part of JH's PhD candidature. All authors contributed to the writing of the subsequent drafts, and reviewed, edited, and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
Dr Joy Hussain has received a PhD scholarship from the Jacka Foundation and RMIT University in Australia.
Financial disclosure
None declared.
Conflict of interests
None declared.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to sincerely thank the worldwide respondents of this survey for their motivation and enthusiasm completing such a detailed survey. The counsel and advice of Dr Jack Tsonis of Western Sydney University and the Australian Sweat Bathing Association (ASBA) has been much appreciated. We also wish to thank Ambassador Lars Backström and Deputy Head Antti Niemelä of the Finnish Embassy in Canberra, Australia as well as CEO Charles Davidson of Peninsula Hot Springs, London-based
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