Exploring the Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing

March 16, 2025 updated by: The Centre for Health

Exploring the Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing - a Pilot Study

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in Aotearoa New Zealand, with hypertension being a major risk factor that remains difficult to manage with medication. Finnish sauna bathing (FSB), a widely practiced form of heat therapy, has been linked to lower risks of CVD, stroke, and overall mortality. Traditionally, FSB is combined with cold water immersion (CWI), but the combined effects of these therapies remain under explored. While sauna research often focuses on physiological aspects, this study aims to take a holistic approach to understanding its impact on cardiovascular health.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Aotearoa New Zealand. High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for CVD, with nearly half of older adults in Aotearoa diagnosed with hypertension, and it being relatively intractable to attempts thus far at treatment via antihypertensive medications.

Finnish sauna bathing (FSB) is one form of heat therapy, characterised by the use of a wood-fired sauna in which water is thrown over hot stones to create steam. In Finland, the sauna is not only a common therapy but also deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric, with many households having their own sauna. Traditionally, saunas were communal places where people came together to relax and share experiences thus fostering social connections. Lifelong sauna use is associated with markedly lower risk for chronic diseases such as; CVD, stroke, and all-cause mortality. Integral to the FSB experience is the practice of cold water immersion (CWI) which typically involves a plunge into icy waters, or exposure to freezing temperatures, in between sauna bathing.

Sauna bathing is typically researched with a physiological / biomedical lens and in isolation, that is, the additive effects of sauna bathing and cold-induced adaptations from cold-water immersion are not well understood, highlighting a gap in this research area. Additionally, the health benefits of sauna are wide ranging, therefore our focus is to use a holistic lens to explore the impact of sauna bathing cardiovascular health.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

12

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • SBP: 110-179 mmHg; DBP 60-99 mmHg)
  • 18 - 70 y old.
  • Participants who are prescribed anti-hypertensive or dyslipidaemia medications will be included but must be on a stable dose for at least 30 days.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • stable or unstable angina
  • recent myocardial infarction (<3 months)
  • orthostatic hypotension
  • severe aortic stenosis
  • pregnancy
  • acute infectious diseases
  • rheumatoid arthritis in the acute inflammatory phase
  • fever for any reason
  • any other medical condition deemed a risk.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Sauna Bathing
Participants receive the sauna bathing treatment (1 session per week for 8 weeks)
Device: Sauna bathing
Finnish sauna bathing, participants will sauna once per week for 8 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
24 hour ambulatory blood pressure
Time Frame: 8 weeks
This measure will be taken before and after the intervention. There are four sections of the questionnaire. The first two sections use the scale 1 - 5 where 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = occasionally, 4 = regularly, 5 = constantly. A higher score means a worse outcome. Section three uses the scale 1 - 5 where 1 = not at all, 2 = not really, 3 = sometimes, 4 = yes, 5 = yes, absolutely; in this section a higher score means a better outcome. Section four uses a scale 1 - 5 where 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = not sure, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree; a higher score means a better outcome.
8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of life questionnaire
Time Frame: 8 weeks
This measure will be taken before and after the intervention
8 weeks
PROMIS Sleep Questionnaire
Time Frame: 8 weeks
This measure will be taken before and after the intervention. There are four questions which uses the scale is from 1 -5. 1 = Not at all, 2 = a little bit, 3 = somewhat, 4 = quite a bit, 5 = very much. There are three questions that use the scale 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often, 5 = always. One questions uses the scale 1 = very poor, 2 = poor, 3 = fair, 4 = good, 5 = very good. In all questions the higher score means a better outcome.
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The Centre for Health

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anna Rolleston, PhD, The Centre for Health

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

March 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 9, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 9, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 16, 2025

Last Verified

March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Sauna

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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