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All 73 studies in the study browser
Included: human randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses on sauna bathing indexed in PubMed, plus prospective cohort studies. A PubMed search on October 15, 2026 returned 143 records. 73 remain after excluding protocols, retractions, comments and papers that did not study sauna bathing as the intervention or exposure. Below are all 6 reviews and the 25 highest-scored individual studies. The study browser has the rest.
Scores run from 1 to 5 and rate study design only. The rules and reason codes are on Study Scores. Each finding restates the abstract's own conclusion.
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| Score | Study | Design, n | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 (MA +large) | Pizzey, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 15 studies | Heat therapy is an effective therapeutic tool to reduce blood pressure and improve macrovascular function. Future research should aim to optimize heat therapy, including the mode and dose, for the prevention and management of... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Källström, 2018 | Meta-analysis, 1444 studies | Infrared sauna bath was associated with short-term improvement in cardiac function. More evidence is needed about long-term effects of sauna bath and the effects of a Finnish sauna on cardiovascular health among patients with HF... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Yamasaki, 2025 | Systematic review, 127 studies | In younger adults, hot spring and sauna use, particularly when combined with exercise therapy, may contribute to improved lipid profiles. Emerging evidence from intervention studies could inform future guidelines for integrating... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Harwood, 2021 | Systematic review, 76 studies | Future research should establish appropriate heat therapy protocols and implement more randomised trials to understand its effectiveness. PROSPERO: CRD42020187941. |
| 4 (MA) | Li, 2020 | Meta-analysis | Sauna treatment was found to play a positive role in improving cardiovascular function and physical activity levels, especially in patients with low cardiovascular function. These findings reveal that thermal intervention may be... |
| 3 (SR) | Ferreira, 2023 | Systematic review, 7 studies | On the other hand, local-heating therapy and sauna bathing seem to increase cardiac vagal modulation, opposing sympathetic modulation. Nonetheless, further studies should investigate acute and chronic effects of thermal therapy... |
| Score | Study | Design, n | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 (RCT open) | Lee, 2022 | RCT, n=47 | However, when combined with exercise, sauna bathing demonstrated a substantially supplementary effect on CRF, systolic BP, and total cholesterol levels. Sauna bathing is a valuable lifestyle tool that complements exercise for... |
| 3 (RCT open) | Tei, 2016 | RCT, n=73 | Waon therapy, a holistic soothing warmth therapy, showed clinical advantages in safety and efficacy among patients with advanced HF. |
| 3 (RCT open) | Pach, 2010 | RCT, n=80 | Inhaling hot air while in a sauna has no significant impact on overall symptom severity of the common cold. |
| 3 (RCT open) | Miyata, 2008 | RCT, n=188 | Waon therapy is safe, improves clinical symptoms and cardiac function, and decreases cardiac size in CHF patients. Waon therapy is an innovative and promising therapy for patients with CHF. |
| 3 (RCT open) | Papp, 2003 | RCT, n=79 | There is no reason to prohibit sauna-bathing with sutures in this patient group. |
| 3 (RCT open) | Winterfeld, 1988 | RCT, n=43 | Blood pressure after resting and on exercise was not influenced. Results are discussed on the basis of the literature and practical conclusions drawn. |
| 2 (COH) | Newson, 2026 | Cohort, n=1,907 | Study 3 further demonstrated that perceiving sauna use as a ritual, alongside experiencing emotional synchrony during sauna sessions, was positively linked to stronger sauna identities. Together, these findings suggest that the... |
| 2 (RCT open -n?) | Horiuchi, 2026 | RCT | We show that the traditional Japanese steam sand bathing may provide blood pressure-lowering benefits with reduced respiratory and perceptual strains compared to hot water bath and sauna. |
| 2 (RCT +blind -n<30 -pilot) | Ro, 2025 | RCT, n=15 | High adherence, minimal adverse events, and promising improvements in walking endurance support its potential as a scalable intervention for mobility preservation in aging. Findings highlight key considerations for future... |
| 2 (RCT open -acute) | Lee, 2025 | RCT, n=38 | There were no statistically significant differences between EXS and EXE for any of the HRV indices measured. Eight weeks of regular exercise conferred positive changes in both time- and frequency-domain measures of HRV. However,... |
| 2 (RCT open -n<30) | Schenaarts, 2024 | RCT, n=12 | A single infrared sauna session does not improve postprandial blood glucose handling in individuals with T2DM. Future studies should assess the effect of more prolonged application of infrared sauna bathing on daily glycemic control. |
| 2 (COH) | Kunutsor, 2024 | Cohort, n=2,012 | Frequent SB may improve levels of CRF independently of PA. These results warrant replication in robust definitive randomized controlled trials. |
| 2 (COH) | Kunutsor, 2024 | Cohort, n=2,221 | Frequent sauna baths and medium-high CRF levels appear to each independently decrease psychosis risk. However, frequent sauna bathing may be related to a reduced risk of psychosis irrespective of fitness levels and might be a... |
| 2 (COH) | Kunutsor, 2024 | Cohort, n=2,575 | Conclusions: This study reveals a potential interplay between SBP, sauna bathing, and mortality risk in Finnish men. Frequent sauna bathing may mitigate the increased mortality risk associated with elevated SBP. |
| 2 (RCT open -n<30) | Debray, 2023 | RCT, n=21 | Finnish sauna bathing reduced resting core temperature and improved sweating capacity, indicative of heat acclimation. Despite evidence of heat acclimation, Finnish sauna bathing did not improve markers of endothelial function,... |
| 2 (COH) | Laukkanen, 2023 | Cohort, n=2,575 | There might be an interaction between SBP, sauna bathing and CVD mortality risk in middle-aged and older Caucasian males. Frequent sauna baths may offset the increased risk of CVD mortality in men with high-normal SBP but not elevated SBP. |
| 2 (COH) | Kunutsor, 2022 | Cohort, n=2,575 | In a general Finnish male population, both hsCRP and FSB are each independently associated with all-cause mortality. However, frequent sauna baths appear to offset the increased all-cause mortality risk related to high hsCRP levels. |
| 2 (RCT open -n?) | Hussain, 2022 | RCT | These findings suggest the physiological effects of infrared sauna bathing are underpinned by thermoregulatory-induced responses, more so than exercise-mimetic cardiorespiratory or cardiovascular activations. |
| 2 (RCT open -n?) | Sitkowski, 2022 | RCT | Conclusions: The use of post-exercise sauna bathing with fluid intake restrictions does not provide any additional benefits in tested variables over endurance training alone. Thus, further evidence is required before... |
| 2 (COH) | Kunutsor, 2022 | Cohort, n=2,264 | In a general middle-aged to older male Caucasian population, frequent sauna baths attenuated the increased risk of pneumonia due to inflammation. |
| 2 (RCT open -n<30) | Bartolomé, 2021 | RCT, n=18 | Several of the observed responses seem interesting for sport performance and health promotion as well. However, this is a novel, extreme protocol which requires further research. |
| 2 (RCT open -n<30) | Perez-Quintero, 2021 | RCT, n=18 | The results suggest that passive and intervallic acclimation at high temperatures improves performance in hyperthermia. This protocol could be implemented in athletes when they have to compete in hot environments. |
| 2 (COH) | Kunutsor, 2021 | Cohort, n=2,275 | In a general male Caucasian population, a combination of high fitness levels and frequent sauna baths is associated with a substantially lowered future pneumonia risk compared with each modality alone. The implications of these... |
| 2 (RCT open -n<30) | Kominami, 2020 | RCT, n=19 | Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), tympanic temperature (TT), and peak and average flow velocity of the right radial artery (PFV and AFV, respectively) and right brachial artery (BA) diameter were measured during HPTT and... |
| 2 (COH) | Laukkanen, 2019 | Cohort, n=2,173 | Frequent Finnish sauna bathing is not associated with the risk of cancer in a middle-aged male Caucasian population. Further studies are required to confirm or refute these findings, particularly in women and other age groups. |