Full steam ahead: Everything you need to know about Finland's sauna culture

There are around 3.2 million saunas in Finland. To put that into perspective, there are only around 5.5 million people in the country. More than just a place to sweat out some toxins, steam baths are a mode of relaxation that the Finns take very seriously indeed. In fact, the sauna is inseparable from the Finnish way of life. More than 60 per cent of Finns say they partake in the practice of sauna bathing once a week. The tradition is of such importance that last year, ‘Finnish Sauna Culture’ was added to UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; the global collection of cultural heritage practices that the UN deems worthy of safeguarding for future generations.

Steam bathing is an inherent part of cultures around the globe, from Russian banyas and Turkish hammams, to Native American sweat lodges. But it’s the word ‘sauna’ that has worked its way into multiple languages to become internationally synonymous with getting hot and humid. As Leena Marsio, senior advisor at the Finnish Heritage Agency, points out, ‘sauna’ is possibly the only word from the Finnish vocabulary that has made its way into everyday English and global parlance.

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The concept has certainly had plenty of time to take root. Although it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly when saunas were invented, the first renditions are thought to date back thousands of years, with the first written descriptions captured around 1100 AD. Today’s saunas evolved from suovdnji, the Sámi word referring to a pit dug out of snow or earth. Once they moved above ground, saunas became a central component around which a house would be built, giving credo to the old Finnish saying, “First build the sauna, then build the house.”

Traditionally, saunas were sacred spaces akin to sanctuaries, where women gave birth and the dying were tended to before their final rest. Today, they remain a place where reverence for nature and life can be felt in common silence. As Elna Nykänen Andersson, a journalist and cultural attaché at the Finnish Embassy in Sweden says, “For me, a sauna is a place to calm yourself, wind down, look inward. When I go to a sauna, I want to relax and sit in silence, and not talk too much.”

Andersson began sauna bathing with her family as a young girl. Finnish apartment buildings often have communal saunas in their basements and she recalls playing in the adjacent washing room before joining the adults in the steam. In the truest form of the Finnish tradition, Andersson began taking her own kids with her to the sauna when they were babies, starting with “just a few minutes” when they were four months old. "Some people think it’s dangerous to sauna bathe babies, but it’s perfectly safe, as long as it's not too hot,” she says. “Our kids have always loved it, especially during summers in Finland, which can be quite chilly. Being able to warm up in the sauna means you can swim in the lake even if it’s cold and cloudy outside."

The familial, communal aspect of saunas has remained integral to the experience over centuries. It is a democratising setting, in which participants sit without clothes and are subject to the same conditions, together. As Mikkel Aaland, author of the 1978 illustrated history of sauna bathing, Sweat, once said, “I can’t think of any human activity except eating that brings people together with such wholeness. Mind, body, and spirit are fused by the heat and steam, and we are collectively reminded of all the things that make us uniquely human.”

The medically proven health benefits of sauna bathing are far-reaching, so it is no wonder that the traditional Finnish sauna has become associated with the most modern of words: wellness. In today’s quick-fix culture that seeks extreme detoxification methods to ‘purify’ the body, the sauna is a perfect fit. However, it is important to note that its health benefits are not just a fad; they’re medically-proven.

Dr Jari Laukkanen, a cardiologist with the Central Finland Health Care District, conducted a 20-year study on the benefits of sauna bathing. His findings demonstrated that men who used the sauna four-to-seven times a week had an impressive 50 per cent lower cardiovascular-related mortality rate than those who visited saunas just once a week. Dr Laukkanen’s research also proclaimed that frequent steam baths are associated with reduced joint pain, improved sleep, clearer skin, better lung function and improved blood pressure.

Sauna users often speak of an endorphin high, which can assist in pain reduction and promote an improved mood, all of which is helpful for counteracting that pervasive contemporary affliction: stress. "There are two things I know will definitely take away my stress. One is playing tennis, and the other is having a sauna,” says sauna enthusiast Tia Tuhkunen Lagnefors. “The best is to combine the two, because the sauna not only relaxes me and has a calming effect, but as a bonus, it also takes away the aches and pains from tennis. And the good mood feeling lasts long after the sauna session."

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Many sauna sessions in the colder months are often coordinated with a cold contrast, such as a dip in icy water or snow. The act of 'steam, cool, repeat' is encouraged to experience the ultimate benefits of the body’s alternating reactions to heat and cold, and, as Andersson says, “the endorphins and the blood circulation you feel afterwards leave you with the most wonderful feeling.” The original Finnish sauna is the smoke sauna, or the Savusauna. Essentially a wood-fired sauna without a chimney. When wood burns on the stove, the room fills with smoke. Once the room reaches a desired temperature, the fire is put out and the room is ventilated, leaving behind war m air for bathers to enjoy.

Today, wood saunas are the most prevalent type of traditional Finnish sauna. The heat of their soft, humid air gradually diminishes, allowing sauna bathers to enjoy a longer, low-intensity return to basal body temperature. Wood-fired saunas are also partly revered for the totality of the experience they present, from gathering wood, to lighting the oven fire and fetching water, ideally from a lake. These saunas often have a small window from which the glow of the burning fire gives a uniquely calming light, reinforcing the peaceful atmosphere.

There are a few terms inseparable from the sauna experience. Löyly, describes the warm steam that rises from the stove when water is thrown on the stones. It is at the heart of the practice; a spirit-like release that wafts into the air and fills it with warmth. Equally important is the bundle of fresh birch twigs with which sauna bathers whip themselves. Called vasta or vihta depending on regional dialects, the whipping ritual serves to stimulate blood circulation and smooth the skin.

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Today, electric saunas are increasingly common, making the practice more versatile. No longer relegated to log cabins in the woods, saunas can now be found on wheels, floating on boats, or even in the sky. The SkySauna ferris wheel in Helsinki offers sauna gondolas that take to the air to provide bathing with a view. But you needn’t take to the sky to enjoy an authentic Finnish sauna experience. Part of the charm of the practice is that it is both accessible and affordable. At Helsinki’s Arla sauna, which was built nearly a century ago, visitors are encouraged to bring their own snacks and beverages. Over a thousand pounds of stones keep the space steamy from morning to night.

For a singular experience, there’s the Kotiharjun Sauna. Built in 1928, it is the last remaining public wood-burning sauna in the region. The Finnish Heritage Agency is preparing legal protection for a handful of its most iconic saunas. Once you’ve had an authentic Finnish sauna experience, it’s not hard to see why so many people are keen on protecting the culture. “It is such a special and essential part of Finnish life that it is something we want to keep going, and pass down to our children as well,” affirms Marsio. “It is a wonderful example of what living heritage actually is.”