Can saunas make you live longer?

Written By Jack Haygarth

In the early 1980s scientists set out to do a study on heart health. They specifically chose Finnish men monitoring everything from their diets, to life style choices, and all behaviour patterns which may impact heart health for 20 years. When digging into the data they were stunned to discover that one habit was linked to better health- frequent sauna use. Although most thought of as a Finnish practise going to a sauna has been seen in many civilizations (Greeks, Romans, Ancient and modern Japan, Similarly Korea, Native Americans, etc.). But does this ancient practise actually help your health?

What’s happening to your body in a sauna? In essence your body is dilating your blood vessels, your skin is absorbing more heat and you are sweating all in order to protect your vital organs from getting to dangerous heat levels. Physiologists often compare this reaction from the body to a light work out. Heat shock proteins help guard your cells by repairing damaged DNA these are shocked into action and often in higher levels in regular sauna goers. Men who use saunas 4 to 7 times per week are reported to have a lower chance of death, better circulation and better overall heart health.

Along with physical health, saunas have also been proven to help adults with depression, another key leader in life expectancy- a health mind. Ashley Mason a clinical psychologist at US San Fancisco having seen a few smaller scale promising studies on the benefits of saunas inspired her to investigate the relationship between body temperature and depression. She went onto take readings and monthly depression symptoms from more than 20,000 people and discovered a higher body temperature correlated with depressive symptoms. This average higher body temperature was actually helped when exposed to extreme heat.

So, can saunas help you live for longer? Probably. As with many health and wellness practises there are a lot of studies that support this hypothesis but they are not yet entirely definite. There are many clear indicators saunas (and for that matter cold plunges) could give you with a litany of health benefits.

References

Mason, A. E., Kasl, P., Soltani, S., et al. (2024). Elevated body temperature is associated with depressive symptoms: results from the TemPredict Study. Scientific Reports, 14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51567-w Cited by: 47

Masuda, A., Nakazato, M., Kihara, T., Minagoe, S., & Tei, C. (2005). Repeated Thermal Therapy Diminishes Appetite Loss and Subjective Complaints in Mildly Depressed Patients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67, 643-647. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000171812.67767.8f Cited by: 152

General & Media Resources

  • National Geographic: Yong, E. (2011). How vampire bats tuned their thermometers to evolve a heat-seeking face. Read article

  • Wired: Sauna and Heat Therapy for Depression: Preliminary Results from a Clinical Trial. Read article

  • TED-Ed: Levy, M. G. Can saunas make you live longer? View lesson

  • YouTube (TED-Ed): Levy, M. G. (2025). Can saunas make you live longer? Watch video

Jack Haygarth
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