Sauna guides
- Sauna benefits: what the research actually shows
What studies show about regular sauna use and heart health, blood pressure and the brain, what is still unproven, and who should check with a doctor first.
- How long should you stay in a sauna?
How many minutes to stay in a Finnish, infrared or steam sauna, how many rounds to do, how long to rest in between, and when to get out.
- Sauna etiquette for public saunas and bathhouses
How to behave in a public sauna or bathhouse: showering, towels, talking, phones, pouring water on the stones, aufguss, cold plunges, Korean spas and banyas.
- Sauna then cold plunge: how to do it
How to go from sauna to cold plunge: the order, how long to stay in the cold, how many rounds, water temperatures, and who should skip the plunge.
- What to wear in a public sauna
Swimsuit, towel or nothing? What to wear at co-ed bathhouses, Korean spas, Russian banyas, private studios and outdoor saunas in the US, plus what to bring.
- What is a banya?
What a Russian banya is, how it differs from a Finnish sauna, what the venik and platza are, why people wear felt hats, and where to find banyas in the US.
- What is aufguss?
What happens in an aufguss session, why sauna masters wave towels, how long it lasts, the etiquette, and where to try aufguss in the US.
- Finnish vs infrared sauna
Finnish and infrared saunas compared: how each heats you, temperatures, humidity, session length, how they feel, what the research covers and which to try first.
- How Swedes and Finns use the sauna
A guide to Nordic sauna culture: the bastu and löyly, the weekly sauna, lake and sea dips in winter, Swedish cold bath houses, and how US bathhouses compare.