The rise of sauna culture in Canada

Sauna culture is picking up steam, but the tradition of sweating with others in an enclosed space is nothing new. Indigenous people have long viewed sweat lodges as sacred spaces for introspection, meditation and spiritual healing, while ancient Romans considered their thermae (public baths) to be social hot spots integral to civilization. The modern approach to sauna rests on the combined benefits of enhanced well-being and a sense of community.

In 2022 and 2023, the Global Wellness Institute listed "social sauna-ing" among its top hydrothermal trends, citing Toronto's Othership spa as one of the businesses driving the sauna renaissance.

Medical research has also bolstered sauna's profile in recent years. The practice has been linked to reduced risk of heart disease — a leading cause of death in Canada. Before starting a sauna practice, however, it's important to note that the intense heat may not be suitable for everyone. If you're pregnant or have any medical conditions, consult your doctor to ensure it's safe to participate.

In 2015, Dr. Jari Laukkanen, a cardiologist and professor at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, released the results of a 20-year study of 2,315 Finnish men. It found that those who used a sauna two to three times a week were 22 per cent less likely to die from sudden cardiac arrest. Men who used a sauna four to seven times per week fared even better, with a 63 per cent reduction in risk. Since then, heat therapy has also been linked to a decreased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and stroke. 

It's undoubtedly easier to start a regular sauna practice in Finland, where there are an estimated three million saunas to warm a population of 5.5 million. But as the practice grows in popularity in North America, modern saunas, bathhouses and Nordic spas are increasingly popping up in our own backyard in both urban centres — like Oak Leaf Sauna in Calgary and Nature Folk in Dartmouth, N.S. — and rural areas — such as Vetta Nordic Spa outside Barrie, Ont., and Thermëa Spa Village's locations in Quebec and Ontario. 

Socialization through perspiration

If the first thing that comes to mind when you think "sauna" is a cedar room engulfed in silence, then you've yet to encounter the essence of the practice — at least as it's traditionally experienced in Europe.

Marci Hotsenpiller, founder of Ritual Nordic Spa in downtown Victoria, drew inspiration from the convivial atmosphere of her Finnish grandmother's sauna as she conceptualized her own urban spa. 

"When my grandma and grandpa fired up the sauna and invited friends and neighbours, it was like a joyous, kind of neat communal thing," she said. "I saw the potential of sauna to be something that could make people happy and bring them together."

Othership also embraces the communal element of sauna-ing. "We're absolutely huge on the social element. One of our values, in fact, is 'building belonging,'" said co-founder Harrison Taylor. "It's a true sense of community, where people come here and inhibitions are just naturally shed at the door." 

Toughing it out in the sauna's high heat leads to a more social atmosphere, he said: "[You're] going through something hard together. And so when you do that … you're just naturally inherently bonded, and conversation — whereas it's hard to strike [up a] conversation with strangers elsewhere in the city because our guards are up — it just naturally flows so beautifully."

A new Friday night hot spot

Building on the notion of togetherness, saunas are also emerging as an alternative to weekend clubbing. "We see a lot of people coming into Ritual who want to do something social on a Friday night with their friends that doesn't centre around the bar," said Hotsenpiller. 

Forgoing a night at the club for a steam, however, doesn't necessarily mean missing out on entertainment. An increasing number of spas and bathhouses, including Nordik Spa-Nature in Chelsea, Que., offer guests experiences like aufguss (German for "infusion"), a sauna-based ritual involving music, towel-waving and essential oil snowballs placed on hot coals.

Othership's Taylor and co-founder Amanda Laine said part of their vision was to transform the sauna into a show space mimicking the 200-person amphitheatres they visited when they were training as sauna masters in Europe.  

"We kind of took, like, a mini-version of what we saw in Europe in terms of layout and how all the seats face towards the stove," Laine said. "And that allows for the facilitator — or the guide, we call them — to stand at the front and address the whole audience, all the journeyers, and lead them through this experience." 

The science behind the sweat

Sauna has long been associated with detoxification but — regardless of whether you're using a Finnish-style sauna, a steam room or an infrared sauna — science refutes these claims (although trading tequila shots for towel-waving will undoubtedly make for less toxic weekends overall).

What the research does show is the practice's link to better vascular and heart health and decreased inflammation. 

Dr. Daniel Gagnon, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute and a professor at the University of Montreal, began studying the benefits of heat therapy in 2016 shortly after Laukkanen's study was released. His results back up the findings that sauna practice can support our health. 

"We saw reductions in blood pressure that lasted," said Gagnon. "Blood pressure goes down during the sauna, but it also stayed lower [for] up to roughly an hour afterwards." His team also noted improvements in vascular health as study participants' blood vessels became more reactive post-sauna. 

The practice can also mimic low-intensity exercise, he said. 

When our body's temperature increases, it reacts by trying to maintain our core temperatures. "The two mechanisms that the body has to defend itself are to send more blood towards the skin surface … and to produce sweat," he said. 

When those things happen, the heart has to work harder. "It has to pump more blood more frequently," Gagnon explained. While a person's resting heart rate may typically be 50 to 60 beats per minute, he said, it can easily increase to 70 or even 100 beats per minute in the sauna.

Studies have also linked sauna usage to better mental health, particularly in those with mild depression. Heat can also trigger serotonin-releasing neurons in a region of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus, according to research by Christopher Lowry, a professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Hotsenpiller calls this release of serotonin a "sauna buzz." "I really do feel positive and elated and relaxed at the same time after a sauna session," she said. "And personally, I sleep better at night when I've had a sauna in the day."

Tips for the sauna-curious

Modern saunas are accessible, welcoming and judgment-free. Hotsenpiller prides herself on offering an affordable service, similar in price to a yoga class, so the practice remains within reach of those who want to explore or even make a habit of it.

At Othership, guides show first-timers the ropes, so it's less intimidating. 

A classic sauna circuit will incorporate heat, cold and rest. There's no ideal amount of time to spend in the heat, but between 10 and 20 minutes is commonly recommended. "As long as [your] internal body temperature goes up, as long as there's a bit of sweating, as long as [your] heart rate is going up and the blood is circulating, then that could technically provide health benefits," said Gagnon.

Taylor suggests following your time in the heat with 15 seconds to two minutes of a cold plunge, followed by five to 15 minutes of rest, and then repeating the cycle two to three times. 

As for rules, there are just a few to observe, said Hotsenpiller: always sit on a towel to protect the wood, no sex or eating (which hopefully goes without saying), and no bad vibes. 

At Othership, you'll also need to leave your phone in a locker, which ties into what is perhaps sauna's greatest benefit for some: the digital detox.

"It's interesting to watch," said Laine. "Some people, that first time [they hand over their phones], it's like, 'Whoa, this feels interesting. It feels different.' And then it's like this escape. They can't wait to put their phone in the locker. They can't wait to come in and just start to connect with people again."