Sauna bathing frequency in Finland and the impact of COVID-19

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved..

OBJECTIVES: Recent research has revealed multiple potential health benefits of frequent sauna bathing. Finland is a country with extraordinary sauna culture and bathing opportunities. However, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic introduced regulations and unprecedented closures to shared sauna facilities. In this study we aimed to examine the previously unknown baseline bathing frequency and its possible change during the epidemic.

DESIGN: We investigated several aspects of sauna bathing with self-reports: the frequency, its possible changes, reasons for change, and beliefs about its health effects among a representative sample of thousand Finns aged 18-75 years. This online survey was administered in May 2020.

RESULTS: Before the pandemic, 59 % of our respondents had enjoyed sauna at least once a week. Since the pandemic began, up to 23 % had reduced or stopped their bathing. This was often due to restricted sauna access. However, 11 % of respondents bathed more frequently and attributed this change to seeking relaxation and passing time. These findings demonstrate a surprising flexibility in this health-promoting national pastime. Men were more active bathers than women overall and women under 35 enjoy sauna more seldom than older women. Only 7.9 % of all respondents bathed at least four times a week, exceeding a suggested threshold for maximum health benefits.

CONCLUSIONS: Finnish people are active sauna bathers. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the frequency of bathing is dependent on good access to sauna facilities. This flexibility and wide access could be exploited to improve public health in the long term if more frequent bathing became a standard.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2021

Erschienen:

2021

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:56

Enthalten in:

Complementary therapies in medicine - 56(2021) vom: 25. Jan., Seite 102594

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Liikkanen, Lassi A [VerfasserIn]
Laukkanen, Jari A [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

COVID-19
Finnish sauna
Health benefits
Journal Article
Sauna bathing

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 04.01.2021

Date Revised 04.01.2021

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102594

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM317650467