Sauna After Workout: Benefits and Drawbacks

Saunas have become more popular over the last few years due to data from research showing real health benefits from using a sauna room to recover after a tough workout. After being popular for centuries in Finland and slowly spreading across the globe, sauna use dropped off early in the 20th century. However, the modern use of saunas is usually paired with a complete workout routine, which maximizes its benefits. 

Regular sauna use has been linked to reduced high blood pressure, improved cardiovascular function, enhanced muscle recovery, and potentially increased heart health, so a post-workout sauna could be an excellent way to improve your fitness routine. In this article, we’ll dive into the advantages and potential drawbacks of using a sauna after a workout, and share tips for making your sauna sessions both safe and effective.

How Does a Sauna Help After a Workout?

After a tough workout, a sauna session can spur a faster recovery. But, try to avoid the sauna before a workout, which can pre-fatigue the body because it’s working hard to keep you cool. However, if you want to use the sauna on a cold day to warm up for a few minutes before your workout, you should be fine.

The heat from the sauna keeps blood vessels dilated for longer once a workout has ended, allowing blood to flow throughout the body with ease as it delivers nutrients to and removes waste from the muscles you just worked. Relaxing in the heat can also help shift your mental state away from your training session to a more introspective state where you connect to your breath and heart rate. If you exercise in the evening, warming the body before going to bed can help with sleep quality since body temperatures drop as you go into deeper sleep states. Having a higher starting temperature should make the drop more dramatic, allowing for a deeper sleep state. This is the reason hot showers are recommended at night, and cold showers/baths are better in the morning (these create feelings of alertness).

In the context of recovery and performance, using a sauna enhances muscle and nerve recovery, helping both muscles and nerves recover more quickly after an exercise session. Warming the body in temperatures of 170 degrees to 212 degrees Fahrenheit encourages the body to produce heat shock proteins that help repair other types of proteins, including rebuilding muscles and improving cellular functions. There is also a decent amount of data showing sauna sessions can improve cardiovascular fitness without the impact or central nervous stress typically caused by traditional cardiovascular exercises. Sauna sessions lead to a core temperature increase, which mimics the effects of a moderate intensity cardio workout and supports cardiorespiratory fitness.

Common sauna types

There are a few common types of Saunas:

• Traditional Finnish saunas use dry heat generated by a stove, often with heated sauna rocks that can be sprinkled with water for steam.
• Infrared saunas use infrared panels to directly heat the body, rather than the air, and typically operate at lower temperatures, making them more tolerable for longer sessions. Infrared heat penetrates deeper into the body, and can be especially effective to combat post workout muscle soreness.
• Steam rooms, also known as wet saunas, use high humidity and moist heat, which can be especially soothing for respiratory conditions.

Many VASA gyms feature a variety of traditional and infrared saunas and Steam rooms, find a location near you to see what amenities are available.

Main Benefits of Using a Sauna After Workout

Improved Physical Fitness and Endurance

Regular sauna use post-exercise can potentially boost cardiovascular performance by mimicking the effects of moderate-intensity cardio. Over time, this heat exposure helps improve oxygen efficiency, supporting greater endurance and overall fitness.

Cellular Repair For Decreased Inflammation

The heat from saunas can stimulate cellular stress responses, encouraging the production of heat shock proteins that aid in cellular repair. This helps reduce inflammation and accelerates recovery from muscle and joint strain.

Better Immune System Response

Frequent sauna sessions can potentially enhance your immune defense by increasing white blood cell production. This immune boost helps your body fend off illness and recover faster from the stress of intense physical activity.

Improved mental health

Saunas can promote the release of endorphins and serotonin, which can elevate mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety or depression. The peaceful environment can be a space to practice stress management techniques like meditation while you enjoy the post workout sauna.

Reduced Risk of Hypertension

Spending time in a sauna can help lower blood pressure by improving blood vessel function throughout your skin and neuromuscular system, and reduce arterial stiffness. These cardiovascular benefits contribute to a lower long-term risk of hypertension and heart-related issues.

Muscle Relaxation for Reduced Pain

The heat relaxes tight, overworked muscles and soothes joint tension, easing post-workout muscle soreness and pains. This natural relief can reduce dependence on pain medications and speed up recovery between sessions.

Improved blood circulation

As your body heats up, blood vessels dilate and circulation increases, delivering more oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. This enhanced blood flow aids muscle recovery and supports overall cardiovascular health.

Improved body-temperature management

Regular sauna exposure trains your body to regulate its internal temperature more efficiently. This can lead to better performance during workouts, especially in warm conditions, by increasing your heat tolerance and sweating efficiency.

Potential Drawbacks of Using a Sauna After Workout

Increased Dehydration

When discussing hydration and safety, be aware that entering the sauna immediately afterward without rehydrating can increase the risk of body overheating, which can lead to heat-related illnesses such as heatstroke—a life-threatening condition caused by excessive heat. Immediate treatment is crucial if symptoms of heatstroke or severe muscle cramps occur.

Heart Health Risk Considerations

Saunas can offer cardiovascular benefits, but they aren’t suitable for everyone, especially those with existing heart conditions, like heart disease or previous heart failure. The heat prompts the body to cool itself by redirecting blood flow to the skin, which makes the heart work harder. While this added workload can be beneficial for healthy individuals, and may even prevent heart disease for some, it could overwhelm a heart that’s already under stress. People with stable heart conditions might still tolerate sauna use well, but it’s important to consult a board certified clinical specialist or doctor before using a sauna.

Male Reproductive Health

Heat exposure from sauna use can temporarily lower sperm count and reduce sperm function, even in men with otherwise normal levels. These effects, such as lower sperm count and impaired sperm function, are reversible after stopping heat exposure, but males who are trying to conceive should typically avoid sauna bathing.

General Recommendations For Using a Sauna After Workout

If you are sensitive to heat or have never been in a sauna before, start by spending three to five minutes in the room slowly and build up over time to avoid negative reactions to heat exposure. A few minutes in the sauna several days per week is shown to be most impactful—three 20-minutes sessions each week is a good goal to work towards. 

Placing a towel over your head while in the sauna will decrease the sensation of heat on the face and could make your sauna session more enjoyable. A key to recovery and great sauna experience is to stay hydrated. For every 10 minutes in the sauna, we recommend drinking an additional 16 ounces of water to replenish what you’ve lost through sweat. 

Benefits of a Post-Workout Sauna Session 

After a tough workout, a sauna session can spur a faster recovery. But try to avoid the sauna before a workout, which can pre-fatigue the body because it’s working hard to keep you cool. However, if you want to use the sauna on a cold day to warm up for a few minutes before your workout, you should be fine. 

The heat from the sauna keeps blood vessels dilated for longer once a workout has ended, allowing blood to flow throughout the body with ease as it delivers nutrients to and removes waste from the muscles you just worked. Relaxing in the heat can also help shift your mental state away from your training session to a more introspective state where you connect to your breath and heart rate. If you exercise in the evening, warming the body before going to bed can help with sleep quality since body temperatures drop as you go into deeper sleep states. Having a higher starting temperature should make the drop more dramatic, allowing for a deeper sleep state. This is the reason hot showers are recommended at night, and cold showers/baths are better in the morning (these create feelings of alertness). 

Use a Sauna After Your Workout at VASA 

Spending time in a sauna after a workout is a great way to promote recovery and improve your overall fitness. On its own, sauna bathing use shows promising positive changes in the body. When combined with an exercise routine of strength training, cardio, and mobility, you can start to maximize the health benefits, which are directly correlated to improved quality of life, sleep, metabolism, and future performance in the gym. Just like any other component of your fitness routine, start light and build up time and frequency of sauna sessions over time. Check out the sauna at a VASA near you!