I’ve spent a lot of time in saunas. Growing up, it was simply part of life—you didn’t ask why; you just went. As I got older, I started craving those weekly sauna sessions. And when I began digging into the research behind sauna and health, I found something I didn’t expect: almost none of the foundational research on sauna benefits included women.
The landmark studies—the ones quoted by wellness articles everywhere—followed Finnish men. Just men. For decades, “sauna is good for your heart” often meant that sauna use had been associated with heart-health benefits in men. Nobody had established whether the same held true for the rest of us.
That is finally starting to change. Here is what I found when I went looking for sauna research that actually included women.
A Research Gap Nobody Talks About
The most cited sauna research in the world comes from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease study, a long-running Finnish cohort that has produced compelling findings on sauna use, cardiovascular health, and longevity.
There was just one catch: its influential early research followed middle-aged Finnish men exclusively.
For years, that meant headlines about sauna use being associated with lower heart disease risk, reduced dementia risk, or greater longevity came with an asterisk nobody printed: in men.
More recent studies have finally included women in the research. What they found is worth knowing—but so are the limitations.
What a 15-Year Study Found About Sauna and Heart Health
In 2018, researchers published a study in BMC Medicine that followed 1,688 Finnish adults for a median of 15 years. For the first time, more than half of the participants were women: 867 women, to be exact. The average participant was 63 years old.
The question was relatively simple: Was frequent sauna use associated with a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and did that association appear to differ between women and men?
Across the full group, the cardiovascular mortality rate was 2.7 fatal events per 1,000 person-years among people who used a sauna four to seven times a week, compared with 10.1 per 1,000 person-years among those who used one once a week.
After researchers adjusted for several established cardiovascular risk factors and possible confounding factors, more frequent sauna use remained associated with lower cardiovascular mortality in the combined group.
Critically, the researchers did not find evidence that this association differed significantly between women and men. However, the women-only results were not statistically significant, which the researchers noted may have been due to the relatively small number of cardiovascular deaths within the women’s sauna-frequency groups.
In other words, the findings suggest that the association may extend to women, but they do not prove that sauna use prevents cardiovascular death in women—or in anyone else.
This was an observational study. It could identify an association, but it could not prove that sauna use caused the lower mortality rate. Other differences in lifestyle, health, or behavior may also have influenced the findings.
It is not the dramatic conclusion you might see in a wellness headline. But it is an encouraging step—and the kind of question that should have been investigated decades ago.
What One Sauna Session Actually Does
The second study I found was smaller, but I think it is even more interesting because it looked at what happened after a single sauna session—not years of habit, just one visit.
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Bristol conducted an experimental study involving 102 adults, published in the Journal of Human Hypertension. Every participant had at least one cardiovascular risk factor, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or a family history of heart disease. Forty-four percent of the participants were women, and the average age was around 52.
After one 30-minute sauna session at an average temperature of 73°C, or about 163°F:
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Average systolic blood pressure decreased from 137 to 130 mmHg
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Average diastolic blood pressure decreased from 82 to 75 mmHg
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Arterial stiffness improved, with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity decreasing from an average of 9.8 m/s to 8.6 m/s immediately after the session
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Systolic blood pressure remained below its pre-sauna level after a 30-minute recovery period
These were measurable short-term physiological changes in people with cardiovascular risk factors—not just healthy volunteers.
However, the study was non-randomized and did not include a control group. It also did not establish whether women and men responded differently or whether the changes resulted in lasting cardiovascular benefits.
What it does show is that one traditional sauna session can produce temporary, measurable changes in blood pressure and vascular function. It may also offer one possible explanation for the associations seen in longer-term sauna research.
Beyond the Heart
The cardiovascular data is the most rigorously studied part of the sauna story, but it is not the whole picture.
A large 2018 review in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, which brought together decades of sauna research, examined possible benefits related to:
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Lung function—including possible improvements in breathing capacity and ventilation
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Mood and stress—with sauna bathing potentially supporting relaxation and influencing pathways also activated by moderate exercise
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Sleep and quality of life—with some sauna users reporting better sleep and health-related quality of life
It is worth noting that the evidence in these areas varies considerably in quality, and much of the broader review still relies on the same male-dominated research base.
Many people—including me—find sauna deeply relaxing. That experience is real and meaningful, even when it is difficult to reduce to a biomarker. But personal experience and biological plausibility are not the same as proof of a specific health outcome.
What We Still Don't Know About Sauna Benefits for Women
I want to be honest about this part because I think it matters more than another list of benefits: sauna research involving women is still limited.
The studies above are a real step forward, but they represent only a fraction of the research base that exists for men. Areas such as menopause symptom relief, hormonal effects, and long-term outcomes specific to women remain largely unexplored or are supported only by small, early-stage studies.
Anyone telling you that sauna is a proven fix for hot flashes, hormonal symptoms, or “hormone balance” is getting ahead of the evidence. There may be reasonable biological theories worth exploring, but they have not yet been tested at the scale needed to support those promises.
At Liv, we believe the gaps belong in the story too. I would rather tell you what we actually know than oversell what we do not.
Building the Habit
Based on what the research does show, a few practical takeaways stand out:
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More frequent sauna use was associated with lower cardiovascular mortality in the combined cohort. This does not make four to seven sessions a week a prescription, nor does it prove that sauna use caused the lower risk.
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One session produced measurable short-term changes. A 30-minute session was followed by temporary changes in blood pressure and arterial stiffness, but the study did not establish a lasting health benefit.
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The research examined traditional Finnish sauna conditions. The findings should not automatically be applied to infrared saunas, steam rooms, or other forms of heat exposure.
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More heat is not necessarily better. The experimental study used a moderate temperature and a controlled setting—not an endurance test or a marathon sit.
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Sauna can complement healthy habits, but it cannot replace them. Movement, nourishing food, restorative sleep, stress care, and appropriate medical support remain the foundation.
A Note on Sauna Safety
If you are new to sauna bathing, begin with a shorter session and leave whenever you feel uncomfortable. Stay hydrated, avoid alcohol before and during sauna use, and stop immediately if you feel dizzy, faint, nauseated, or unwell.
Speak with a qualified healthcare professional before using a sauna if you are pregnant, have low or unstable blood pressure, have an existing cardiovascular condition, recently experienced a cardiac event, or take medication that may affect blood pressure, hydration, or heat tolerance.
The 30-minute session used in one research setting should not be treated as a universal recommendation.
The Bottom Line
I went looking for evidence that something I had always taken on faith—that sauna is genuinely good for you—actually held up for women specifically.
The answer is encouraging, but more nuanced than a simple yes.
The cardiovascular data is real and measurable, and women are finally being included. But these findings show associations and short-term physiological changes, not proof that sauna use prevents disease. We still need more research designed specifically around women and women’s health.
I also came away with more respect for how recent this shift is. Women’s health research keeps arriving late to conversations it should have been part of from the start. I would rather share the real data, gaps included, than repeat a list of benefits that was never fully checked.
Sauna does not have to be a miracle or the latest wellness hack to have a meaningful place in life. It can simply be a warm, grounding Nordic ritual—a moment to slow down, reset, and make space for yourself.
Balance over hype. Consistency over extremes.
That, to me, is a better way to Liv.
This article is provided for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
By Matilda Larsson,
Chief Marketing Officer at Liv Arctic Essentials
Read more:
The Nordic approach to long-term health →
Your Guide to Thriving Through Perimenopause and Menopause →
The Norwegian 4x4: The Heart Protocol Born in a Research Lab →
Sources
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Laukkanen, T., Kunutsor, S.K., Khan, H., et al. (2018). Sauna bathing is associated with reduced cardiovascular mortality and improves risk prediction in men and women: a prospective cohort study. BMC Medicine, 16, 219.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12916-018-1198-0 -
Laukkanen, T., Kunutsor, S.K., Zaccardi, F., Lee, E., Willeit, P., Khan, H., Laukkanen, J.A. (2018). Acute effects of sauna bathing on cardiovascular function. Journal of Human Hypertension, 32(2), 129–138.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41371-017-0008-z -
Laukkanen, J.A., Laukkanen, T., Kunutsor, S.K. (2018). Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 93(8), 1111–1121.
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/s0025-6196(18)30275-1/fulltext -
Kunutsor, S.K., Laukkanen, T., Laukkanen, J.A. (2018). Sauna bathing reduces the risk of stroke in Finnish men and women: a prospective cohort study. Neurology, 90(22), e1937–e1944. (Referenced within source 1 above.)
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Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study — background cohort context.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12878603/