From floating saunas to clinical trials: How heat might help mental health
Researchers are investigating the potential mental health benefits of heat exposure, specifically through sauna use, as the practice gains popularity globally. While historical and anecdotal evidence is strong, scientists are now conducting clinical trials to validate these claims.
Why it matters
Validating non-pharmacological interventions for mental health could provide accessible, low-cost wellness strategies for the general public.
The belief that heat can benefit the mind and relieve psychic suffering has a long history across human societies. But when Eva Hilland scanned the scientific literature for the kind of evidence that would support recommending heat as a legitimate intervention for mental health, she came up with very little.
Living Better Scientists are discovering that sauna's health benefits aren't all hot air "There are many knowledge gaps," says Hilland , a cognitive neuroscientist at Oslo Metropolitan University. Although, what existing evidence she did find seemed promising. "So we just saw the potential."
Sauna-going – sometimes paired with cold plunges or winter swimming – is attracting a new generation of followers, from the U.S. to Hilland's sauna-steeped country of Norway.
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