There is something immediately satisfying about stepping out of a sauna.
You feel warm. Relaxed. A little quieter than you did when you stepped in. And sweaty.
But after spending more than 72 hours in the sauna over the past nine months, I’ve come to believe that some of the greatest benefits of sauna aren’t necessarily found in any single session.
Sauna benefits compound over time.
At the beginning of 2026, I set a goal of taking 100 saunas over the course of the year. By the end of September, I had taken 83.
This isn’t a science experiment. I’m not measuring biomarkers or trying to prove anything. I simply wanted to commit to making sauna a consistent part of my life and pay attention to how the experience affected me.
In June, I traveled to Finland for the World Sauna Forum, where I experienced dozens of saunas—from smoke saunas built into the hills, to massive electric saunas, mobile wood-fired saunas and sauna tents. I even tried the world’s first hydrogen-powered sauna.
I visited Sompasauna, Helsinki’s free community sauna, where I shared the bench, conversation and laughs with people from Finland, Estonia, Turkey, India and Norway, followed by a nude swim in the Baltic Sea. It was cold.
I visited the Kyro Sauna Bar at the Superterassi festival in Helsinki - and met some incredible sauna lovers from Finland, Estonia, and Japan.
Sipoonjoen Perinnesauna — Sipoo, Finland
Helsinki, Finland near the entrance to Sompasauna (where phones are prohibited).
Kyrö Sauna Bar at the Superterassi festival in Helsinki, Finland.
Kyrö Sauna Bar, Helsinki, Finland
While attending the World Sauna Forum in Jyväskylä, Finland, I met with sauna experts and entrepreneurs from around the world, toured Harvia’s headquarters in Muurame, Finland, home to the world’s largest sauna-heater factory, and completed a Finnish sauna ritual training — learning more about how to guide the löyly and the traditions and practices that make sauna much more than simply heating up a room.
One of my biggest takeaways from Finland — and from my experience taking 83 saunas so far this year (and counting) — is simple:
Sauna is at its best when it stops being an occasional luxury and becomes part of everyday life.
As sauna has become a regular practice for me, its value has gone beyond repeated exposure to heat. It has created a recurring place to look forward to, where I know I can slow down, put my phone away, connect with myself and others, and step outside the constant stream of screens and tasks.
That’s what I mean when I say the benefits compound.
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