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Sauna Hype
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Heat · 03

79°C

average temperature in the Finnish saunas behind the long-term studies

The long-term health data come from hot, traditional saunas.

The Finnish men bathed at about 79°C for 14 minutes a session.Source 1 · Cohort studyAssociation Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality EventsLaukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, et al.. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.Read the paperPubMed ↗ In a head-to-head study, a traditional sauna raised core temperature by 0.4°C and a typical infrared session didn't move it.Source 2 · Crossover trialComparison of thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and immune responses to different passive heat therapy modalitiesAtencio JK, Reed EL, Wiedenfeld Needham K, et al.. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2025.Read the paperPubMed ↗

Try this

If you're buying for health, choose a sauna that reaches about 80°C. An infrared cabin has to run hotter than its usual 45–60°C to heat your body as much.Source 3 · Clinical trialFar‐infrared sauna exposure at 65°C elevates core temperatureJenkins EJ, Killick JA, Grimm SR, et al.. Experimental Physiology, 2026.Read the paperPubMed ↗

We cited these sources

  1. 01Laukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA. Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2015;175(4):542-548. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8187 PMID 25705824
  2. 02Atencio JK, Reed EL, Wiedenfeld Needham K, Lucernoni KM, Comrada LN, Halliwill JR, et al.. Comparison of thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and immune responses to different passive heat therapy modalities. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2025;329(1):R20-R35. doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00012.2025 PMID 40332494
  3. 03Jenkins EJ, Killick JA, Grimm SR, Davies SR, Benson JA, Tremblay JC, et al.. Far‐infrared sauna exposure at 65°C elevates core temperature. Experimental Physiology. 2026:EP094028. doi:10.1113/ep094028 PMID 42533687