If you’re on the hunt for a new healthy habit to add to your routine in 2024, then taking a trip to the sauna could be a great place to start. According to experts, the Finnish wellness phenomenon is set to go big across the UK over the next year, with heat therapies including infrared and traditional saunas featuring in numerous end-of-year trend round-ups.

In the UK, we still tend to think of saunas as being reserved for hotel getaways and trips to the spa, but 2024 is going to see them become a regular part of our health and fitness regimes. 

For some, that’ll mean investing in an at-home hot room; for smaller budgets, communal saunas will become more common. Hackney Wick’s hugely popular Community Sauna Baths has been offering cheap and cheerful doses of heat therapy and cold water exposure for some time – and similar options are bound to pop up elsewhere. Apps like Treatwell and ClassPass will likely play a massive role in helping you find your nearest sauna spot. Sounds good, right?

On top of offering some serious relaxation, sauna usage can also offer a broad range of benefits, which is why it’s become some a staple of Finnish culture. Below are just a few of the reasons why you should consider adding a trip to the sauna to your wellness to-do list.

A quick note: those with a cardiovascular problem or who are pregnant are advised to seek medical advice before using a sauna, so make sure to take the necessary precautions. 

On the hunt for a good night’s kip? Adding a weekly sauna session into your routine could make a noticeable difference. In fact, in a global study of almost 500 sauna users, 83.5% reported sleep benefits after taking part in a session.

“Sauna’s positive effect on sleep quality has been linked with the whole-body cooling effect it brings on via sauna-induced peripheral vasodilation,” says Marjo Karhu from UK-based sauna brand Finnmark. 

That might sound scientific, but all it means is that it increases blood flow to the outer edges of the cardiovascular system to help the body cool down. And with that system in motion, your body temperature will fall further when you step out of the sauna.

That’s beneficial for sleep because our body temperature naturally starts to fall about two hours before bedtime, and this change acts as a signal to the rest of the body that it’s time to prepare for sleep. By encouraging this drop in temperature, whether through a trip to the sauna or in a hot bath, we can ‘trick’ our body into thinking it’s time for bed and encourage production of the sleep hormone melatonin. It’s for this reason that you might feel sleepy after a sauna session.

The other reason why sauna use is thought to be beneficial for sleep is because of the extra work our bodies have to do due to the heat. In particular, our heart has to beat faster to push blood flow to the skin’s surface and help with cooling, and the extra energy this requires can help to increase how tired we feel. 

When you’re feeling stiff and achy after a tough workout, a trip to the sauna is the perfect way to relieve tension and help your body recover from the strain.

The heat in the sauna promotes capillary dilation – where small blood vessels open wider to allow blood to rise to the skin’s surface to regulate body temperature. The widening of these vessels allows more blood flow and nutrients to be delivered to the areas that need it, helping the microtears in your muscles to heal quicker than they usually might.

Using a sauna alongside cold exposure – also known as alternating heat and ice therapy – can help to aid this process even further. Cold is great for muscle recovery because it helps to relieve inflammation, and when paired with heat, you get the best of both worlds.

These effects are backed up by research: a 2015 study found that sauna bathing is an effective way to relieve symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage, both when it comes to pain intensity and muscle function. Studies into sauna use by athletes have also suggested it could be an effective passive warm-up method, as well as helping to boost performance. 

While those with cardiovascular issues should seek medical advice before using a sauna, numerous pieces of research have shown that regular sauna use can be beneficial for heart health.

“Sauna bathing increases cardiac output and reduces vascular resistance attributed to heat,” Karhu explains. “It mimics the effects of brisk walking, improving markers of cardiac and blood vessel function, and has been linked to reduced arterial stiffness.”

A prominent study published in 2015 found that regular sauna use significantly reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death, cardiovascular and coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. 

In a world that’s always go-go-go, taking a moment to sit back and breathe in the heat of a sauna can provide a much-needed dose of stillness. In fact, explains Jaako Nousiainen, director at the Finnish Institute in London, Finnish people see a trip to the sauna as a form of mindfulness.

“Sauna is a way of life in Finland,” he explains. “At its best, taking a sauna is a mindfulness ritual – in the sauna you can relax completely without the distractions and stress caused by digital technology. The calm and quiet environment of the sauna also helps to calm your mind and enables mental relaxation as well.”

The physiological effects of sauna bathing can also have a positive impact on mental wellbeing. Studies have shown that using a sauna can help to encourage the release of endorphins.

It has been hypothesised that the initial increase in the stress hormone cortisol triggered by the heat of a sauna, followed by a fall in the hormone after a session, could help the body to become more resilient to stress over time. More research is needed to confirm this effect, though. 

Images: Getty