How to take a sauna properly: a session step by step

A sauna is not an endurance contest, even though many people treat it as one the first time. A proper sauna is the rhythm of heat, cold and rest, repeated a few times, and most of what you go for happens in the breaks.

Before the sauna

Shower and dry off well. Dry skin starts sweating faster than damp skin: not superstition, but the physics of evaporation.

Drink water. You will lose a fair amount during a full session, and it is better to start well hydrated.

Not on a full stomach and not after alcohol. The second is not a polite recommendation: alcohol combined with great heat is behind most serious incidents in saunas.

The first round

8–12 minutes. If it is your first time or a long time since the last, sit on the lower bench. Between the upper and lower bench there can be 20 °C, which is a completely different experience.

Go out before it becomes unpleasant. There is nothing to gain by sticking it out: after about a quarter of an hour the body stops responding well and simple overheating begins.

Cooling down

A cold shower, a plunge tub, a lake or simply fresh air. Start with your feet and hands, then the body. Cold water suddenly over the neck and head is a shock to the circulation.

In winter a few minutes outside is enough. The contrast is then entirely natural, and that is exactly what you put the sauna in the garden for.

Rest: the most important part

As long as the round in the heat, or longer. Sit or lie down and do nothing.

During this phase your pulse settles and the relaxation arrives. Anyone who cuts the breaks short to “fit in more rounds” spoils the effect and goes home exhausted instead of refreshed.

Drink water. Now is the best moment.

More rounds and steam

The second and third rounds can be longer, up to 15 minutes. Three rounds make a typical, complete sauna. More than four bring no extra benefit.

Throw water only when the stones are properly hot, one ladle at a time, not a bucket. The steam makes the felt temperature jump, so tell the others first.

Use essential oils sparingly and always diluted in the water for the steam. Never directly on the stones, as oils are flammable.

Signs to get out at once

Dizziness, spots before the eyes, a racing heart, pressure in the chest, nausea, or sweating suddenly stopping.

These are not things to sit out or to prove something. Get out immediately, sit down somewhere cool and drink water.

If you have a heart or circulatory condition, are pregnant or take regular medication, ask your doctor before using a sauna. This is general guidance, not medical advice.

Afterwards

A cool shower, a calm cool-down and a glass of water. Do not get dressed until you have stopped sweating, or you will go on sweating in your clothes for another half hour.

Leave the sauna door ajar for a quarter of an hour so the moisture can escape. It is the cheapest maintenance there is.