Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events

Researchers followed 2,315 Finnish men aged 42 to 60 for about 21 years. They compared men who used a sauna once a week with those who went two to three times or four to seven times weekly. Men who used saunas more often had fewer deaths from heart problems and from any cause. This was an observational study, meaning researchers watched people’s habits rather than assigning them to use a sauna, so it cannot prove that sauna use caused the benefit.

What this means for you: This offers an interesting possible benefit, but it is not strong enough reason to buy a sauna for longer life. The results may partly reflect other healthy habits among frequent sauna users, and the study included only Finnish men.