Steam room or sauna: which is better?
On the evidence, the dry sauna. Most health studies used one. A steam room is cooler, yet in one small study it pushed heart rates higher than a 91°C sauna. Wet air may be why.
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Steam room or sauna: which is better?
If you want the one with health evidence, pick the dry sauna. A dry sauna, also called a traditional or Finnish sauna, runs at 80 to 100°C with 5 to 25% humidity (water in the air).
A steam room, or wet sauna, is cooler at 40 to 70°C. But the air is full of steam.
| Dry sauna | Steam room | |
|---|---|---|
| Also called | Traditional or Finnish sauna | Wet sauna, steam bath or Russian banya |
| Heat | 80 to 100°C | 40 to 70°C |
| Air | Dry: 5 to 25% humidity | Full of steam |
| Health studies | Linked to fewer deaths from heart problems in Finnish men | Unclear. A major review left steam rooms out. |
| Strain on your body | Lower in one small study | Higher in the same study |
Sources: Pilch 2014; Hussain and Cohen 2018; Laukkanen 2015
Prefer the steam room? That’s fine. The health claims rest on dry saunas, and steam can feel harder on your body, so get out if you feel unwell.
Why does a steam room feel harder than a hotter sauna?
In one study, 10 healthy men aged 25 to 28 tried both. Each did three 15-minute rounds, with five-minute breaks and a cool shower in between.
| Dry sauna | Steam bath | |
|---|---|---|
| Room heat | About 91°C | About 59°C |
| Humidity | 5 to 18% | About 60% |
| Heart rate at the end | 126 beats a minute | 138 beats a minute |
| Rise in body heat | 1.16°C | 1.61°C |
| How it felt | Easier to bear | Harder to bear |
Source: Pilch 2014
The likely reason is your sweat. Sweat cools you as it dries off your skin. In wet air it can’t dry so well, so heat may leave your body more slowly.
Think of washing on a line. It dries fast on a dry day and stays damp on a muggy one. Your sweat is the same: in steam it stays wet, so you may stay hotter.
This was one small study, so treat it as a clue, not proof. If you feel unwell in a steam room, get out and cool down.
Are steam rooms good for you?
Nobody knows yet. A big review of sauna studies left out steam rooms on purpose, as it’s unclear whether steam affects the body like dry heat.
The best-known results come from dry saunas. A Finnish study followed 2,315 men aged 42 to 60. Those who went 4 to 7 times a week had fewer sudden deaths from heart problems than men who went once.
Regular sauna use was also linked to less high blood pressure. These are links, not proof, and only in men. More in sauna health benefits.
Hoping steam will clear a cold? A review of 6 trials of steam machines, not steam rooms, found it uncertain whether warm, wet air helps. Some got an irritated nose.
So use whichever you enjoy. See infrared vs traditional saunas and salt saunas.
Does a steam room or sauna help you lose weight?
Only water. You lose sweat, not fat, and 1 kg of weight is about 1 litre of sweat.
Sources: Pilch 2014; Podstawski 2014
So a lower number on the scales after a session isn’t progress. It comes back when you drink.
Having a blood test soon? Being low on fluids can change some results.
How to use a steam room and sauna safely
No one knows the best session length. A review found too little evidence to suggest a heat, how often or how long.
Before your next steam room or sauna
- Drink water during and straight after, to replace the sweat you lose.
- Skip alcohol. Half or more of sauna deaths in Sweden and Finland involved alcohol.
- Don’t go in alone if you can help it. Using a sauna alone was a common factor in those deaths.
- Get out and cool down if you feel dizzy, tired, sick, very hot, very thirsty, crampy or irritable. The same goes for a headache, or lots of sweat with pale, clammy skin.
- Pregnant? Ask your midwife before you use one. NHS exercise advice in pregnancy is to keep cool and stop if you feel too hot or unwell.
- Have a heart condition, such as chest pain? Ask your GP or heart team first.
Sources: Hussain and Cohen 2018; Podstawski 2014; NHS; NHS: pregnancy
Using both in one visit? Take a break between them to cool down and drink water.
Felt unwell? The NHS says to move somewhere cool, drink water and cool your skin.
You should start to feel better within 30 minutes. Keeping to the weekly alcohol guidance helps on other days too.
When to speak to a GP
Speak to a GP, or get help as below, if:
- You have a heart condition, such as chest pain, and want to use a sauna or steam room. Saunas have been reported to cause a lack of blood to the heart muscle, especially in people with unstable heart disease.
- You’re pregnant and unsure about the heat. Ask your midwife.
- You have signs of heat exhaustion that you’re struggling to treat. Call NHS 111.
- Call 999 for signs of heatstroke: still unwell after 30 minutes of resting somewhere cool, being cooled and drinking fluids; a very high temperature; hot skin that’s not sweating and might look red; a fast heartbeat; fast breathing or shortness of breath; confusion and poor coordination; a seizure or fit; or passing out.
Checking your heart health? See what a normal blood pressure is.