Sit and Sweat Your Way to Better Health
In 2017, one city got the strangest kind of gift...
An egg from the government.
The occasion? Multiple sinkholes caused by ore mining had forced everyone in the town of Kiruna, Sweden to uproot and move 3 miles away. (This move is expected to last until 2035 – even an entire church building was relocated recently.)
The gift was no ordinary egg...
This artist-designed "Solar Egg" stood 16 feet tall and 13 feet wide. The outside was covered in 69 gold mirrors. A big heart-shaped stove keeps the inside of the egg at a piping-hot temperature between 167 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Solar Egg is a giant sauna. According to the designers, "The people of Kiruna were afraid of losing the warm and friendly community spirit." So designers created the egg as "a natural, warm and friendly place that brings people together."
Sure, Kiruna's Solar Egg is probably one of the quirkiest saunas ever built. But the idea behind it is anything but new.
Folks have enjoyed the benefits of saunas for millennia. Sweden's westward neighbor Finland is credited with inventing the sauna over 2,000 years ago.
These manmade creations aren't just relics of the past, though... They offer real, science-based health perks.
Today, I'm going to answer some common questions about saunas and explain why you'll want to make them part of your weekly routine...
What exactly is a sauna?
Saunas are rooms or buildings intended for folks to sit or lie in, relax, and experience sessions of heat that can be either dry or wet, if there's some humidity. Typical temperatures range from 150 to 195 degrees Fahrenheit.
Often the interiors are made of unpainted cedar planking. Many saunas also have dense, nonporous rocks in them that rest on top of the wood-fueled heating element to absorb and radiate the heat around the room.
Are there different types of saunas?
Sauna styles vary by country and culture...
American readers are likely most familiar with the Finnish sauna. In some Finnish-style saunas, you can pour water on hot rocks to create a steam bath. The use of water and steam regulates the humidity and temperature, so you can tailor the experience to your own needs and desires.
The typical sauna experience in Russia, called the "banya," includes an extra step where you clean and massage your body by gently smacking yourself from head to toe with a bundle of soft tree branches called a "venik." In some Russian banyas, the men and women are not separated – but in most other countries, they are.
In Turkey, enjoying a public bathhouse – called a "hammam" – involves three steps that occur in three separate rooms. After undressing and donning your towel, you first warm up and wet your body in a marble hot room. Then, a masseuse rubs you down with a special silk cloth that takes the dead skin off your body. They may also pour a bag filled with bubbles over you and wash your hair. Then, finally, you rinse and go cool off in a room with a much lower temperature.
And in Japan, a popular wet sauna is the "sento" or "onsen" (hot spring bath), which involves disrobing, cleansing your body with hot water, and then entering the communal bath.
In the late 1970s, infrared saunas – which use full-spectrum light as the heating element – became available in the U.S. as an alternative to the traditional Finnish sauna. In addition to wood-burning and infrared saunas, electric and smoke-vented saunas are also common.
So, what are the health benefits of sauna sessions?
When you're planning to enjoy a sauna session, taking a hot shower and washing with soap beforehand is recommended. This opens your pores and relaxes your muscles before you begin. And once your sauna ends, taking a cold shower or going for a swim helps you cool off.
Apart from relaxation, studies show some health benefits of saunas include:
- Improved heart function
- Decreased stroke risk
- Reduced risk of dementia
- Reduced inflammation and muscle soreness
Saunas with steam and humidity are also beneficial for folks who have breathing difficulties like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
A 2015 cohort study of more than 2,300 middle-aged Finnish men found that attending a sauna bathing session two or three times a week reduced the risk of dying from a cardiovascular event (like a heart attack or stroke) by about 30%. Attending sauna sessions four or more times per week was associated with about a 50% reduced risk of dying from a cardiovascular event.
So how does being slightly uncomfortably hot benefit our bodies?
Sauna heat stress triggers production of heat-shock proteins ("HSPs"). HSPs are crucial for repairing and refolding other damaged proteins. And as we age, protein misfolding becomes quite common. So HSPs keep the damage to manageable levels, preventing cells from becoming dysfunctional and causing health problems. For example, misfolded proteins happen to be a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Are there risks?
The main risk that sauna bathing poses is dehydration because saunas make you sweat.
Thus, folks who have difficulty regulating their body temperature – like prepubescent children or adults with cardiovascular problems – should take extra precautions with saunas.
Spending less time in the sauna, hydrating, and cooling down gradually will allow you to safely enjoy the relaxation and health benefits of the sauna if you have ailments like heart disease or high blood pressure. Check any medications you're taking to see if they impair sweating or make overheating more likely before trying out the sauna.
Also, opting for an infrared sauna is a smart choice for some folks because it can be set for milder temperatures.
So where can I find a sauna? Can I create a sauna experience at home?
Some fitness centers and spas are equipped with saunas. Doing a quick Internet search or making a few phone calls to places near you can easily point you in the right direction. If you're going somewhere new, you may want to take a tour of the facilities first to check for cleanliness and accessibility.
And many folks opt to have a sauna installed at home for a few thousand dollars. Depending on your budget and the type of sauna you want, it's possible to buy one already made or build your own.
Best sauna tips?
Do what feels right for you and start slow... A good rule of thumb to follow is to take the approach of the Finns: If you're too hot, you've had enough.
They focus on the relaxation aspect of saunas rather than counting the exact minutes. But generally, 15 to 20 minutes is sufficient for experienced sauna users.
If you're new to using a sauna, try starting with just five minutes at a time and see how that feels. After working out, give yourself a 10-minute cooldown period before entering the sauna so that you don't overexert yourself. Sweating through exercise and sauna use dehydrates you, so stay hydrated.
If you want to receive even more simple, science-backed tips, I recently explored another key pillar of healthy aging: eating enough protein. If you're not a subscriber to my flagship newsletter, Retirement Millionaire, click here to try it out today.
What We're Reading...
- Something different: How about sticking your head in a particle accelerator?
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
November 18, 2025