Sauna users in northern Sweden reported better health and wellbeing than non-users in a 2022 survey

A 2022 cross-sectional survey drawn from the long-running Northern Sweden MONICA population study compared the health profiles, demographics, and lifestyle characteristics of adults who reported regular sauna use against those who did not. Among the 971 respondents who answered the sauna question, those who used saunas tended to report better general and mental health, more restful sleep, higher happiness and energy levels, and lower rates of self-reported hypertension and pain.

What the study found

This was a cross-sectional observational study embedded in the 2022 wave of the Northern Sweden MONICA survey, which randomly sampled adults aged 25–74 from population registers in Sweden's two northernmost counties. Of 1,180 total participants, 971 answered the sauna-use question, and 641 of those — roughly two-thirds — were classified as sauna users.

Sauna users, compared with non-users, were more likely to be younger and male, and as a group showed a healthier overall lifestyle profile. They also self-reported lower rates of hypertension diagnosis and less chronic pain, alongside higher scores on measures of happiness, energy, sleep satisfaction, and both general and mental health. Because the study is cross-sectional, it is not possible to determine whether sauna use contributed to these differences or whether healthier, more active individuals are simply more likely to use saunas.

One pattern that emerged from the frequency data was that the favorable associations with sauna use appeared to level off after roughly one to four sessions per month, suggesting diminishing returns at higher frequencies — though the observational design means this gradient should be interpreted cautiously.

Overall, the results are consistent with prior epidemiological literature linking sauna habits to cardiovascular and wellbeing outcomes, while adding population-level descriptive detail from a Nordic region where sauna culture is well established.

Limits worth knowing

As a cross-sectional survey, this study captures a single point in time and cannot track changes within individuals or rule out reverse causation — people in better health may simply be more inclined to use saunas. The sample is geographically restricted to two counties in northern Sweden, a population with cultural familiarity with sauna that may not generalize elsewhere. Self-reported outcomes introduce recall and social-desirability bias. The study did not objectively measure health outcomes, sauna session characteristics, or confounders such as physical activity level in detail. Funding was listed as non-U.S. government research support; specific funders and any potential conflicts of interest are not detailed in the available information.

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