A series of studies about the mental and physical benefits of sauna bathing has found evidence that the emotional synchrony and rituals such as aufguss improve wellbeing and feelings of belonging.

In the face of rising levels of loneliness and a range of associated health challenges, UK researchers have published the results of three separate studies to understand how feelings of connection grow via sauna bathing.

• A cross-sectional cohort of 32 London-based sauna users self-reported changes to their physical and mental wellbeing before and after a traditional aufgus ritual at a community sauna. They were also asked, “Do you feel a sense of belonging or community when using the sauna?”
• A community sauna’s annual sauna survey, which received 1,798 responses, focused on the self-assessment of perceived physical and mental health improvements and frequency of use. These participants were asked the same question as this cohort regarding belonging.
• Seventy-four people took part in the third study at a sauna event, responding to survey links that asked about perceived emotional synchrony with the sauna community before and after a sauna ritual. Participants were asked to pick from a sliding scale of ven diagrams, known as a pictorial identity fusion scale, for how connected they felt to other members of the community.
  

The results showed significant positive effects for both mental and physical health. While both monthly and weekly sauna visits predicted improved mental health (compared to rare visits), only weekly visits predicted improved physical health.

The second and third studies tested the idea that sauna bathing could have a possible social cure effect. Weekly sauna use was significantly associated with a stronger sense of belonging compared to rare visits. Higher levels of identity fusion predicted higher positive affect scores after using the sauna and those who were more “fused” experienced the best outcomes. The researchers believe this is because more fused participants were more susceptible to emotional synchrony and mystical experiences, which contributed to more positive affect after sauna use.

The authors of the series of studies suggest social prescribing of sauna bathing warrants further investigation as the UK’s sauna community continues to grow and the National Health Service (NHS) increasingly adopts this approach to reduce strain on primary care services.

The efficacy of rituals in supporting or maintaining the social bonds driving wellbeing improvements during sauna sessions is key to the next layer of research.

The organisations that facilitated the research include the University of Greenwich, University of Oxford, University of Kent, The London Interdisciplinary School and the British Sauna Society.