The Ideal Sauna Temperature: A Complete Guide for Every Sauna Type
Quick Answer: What Is the Ideal Sauna Temperature?
Traditional saunas, whether electric or wood-burning, feel best at 160–190°F (70–90°C). Infrared typically runs cooler, 120–140°F (50–60°C). Steam rooms are lowest, at just 104–113°F (40–45°C), but can feel hotter thanks to near-100% humidity. Start lower, warm up 5–10 minutes, and hydrate.
Most people thrive with 15–20 minutes per session: lower temps for relaxation, mid-range for recovery, and higher (with breaks) for an intense sweat. Above all, listen to your body, not just the thermostat.
Want to learn more? Read on!
It’s tempting to think of specific sauna temperatures as something ancillary to the entire experience. After all, “hot” is “hot,” right? In truth, knowing the ideal temperature plays a key role in unlocking the full sauna health benefits you can realize while sweating yourself clean. So, what is the best sauna temperature? Well, that varies depending on factors such as the type of sauna, your individual comfort level, and the wellness outcomes you’re hoping to achieve.
With modern home saunas offering precise temperature control, it’s possible to fine-tune and find the ideal sauna temperature to suit your needs. As a sauna owner, you’ll want to know the perfect sauna temperature to fully enjoy all the health benefits of sauna use and enhance your relaxation experience. Let’s dissect all there is to know aboutt sauna temperature settings.
The Ideal Sauna Temperature for Different Sauna Types
There’s more complexity to this question than meets the eye. Depending on what sauna type you are using, you’ll wind up with different optimal sauna temperatures.
The Recommended Temperature Range for Traditional Saunas
Traditional saunas, which are heated by wood stoves, usually operate best at temperatures ranging from 70 to 95 degrees Celsius. The heat from a wood-burning sauna comes from an active fire, making it difficult to stabilize the sauna temperature precisely; therefore, the temperature range for a wood-burning sauna can vary significantly. Traditional wood-burning saunas are essentially rooms heated by the continuous burning of wood in a large stove. The more wood added to the fire, the hotter the sauna room becomes, so if you prefer a higher heat, simply add more wood to the stove; a larger fire means a hotter sauna.
However, wood-burning saunas also allow for quick temperature fluctuations, both up – and down. One of the most iconic parts of the Finnish sauna tradition is what, in many people’s eyes, makes a sauna a sauna: keeping a water bucket and ladle in the room and pouring a ladleful of water over the stove, producing the billowing steam called löyly. This lowers the sauna temperature, but raises the apparent temperature – in other words, it feels hotter.
Because wood-burning saunas have unstable temperature levels, it’s recommended to keep a thermometer inside to monitor the sauna’s overall heat.
Modern electric versions of the traditional Finnish sauna, however, don’t use an active flame for heat. Electric saunas replicate the dry heat of traditional wood-burning models while delivering greater energy efficiency and precise temperature regulation. With an electric sauna, or even an infrared one, you can adjust the heat to an exact degree for a truly customized experience.
Best Temperature for an Infrared Sauna
Infrared saunas typically operate between 40 and 55 degrees Celsius. This is noticeably cooler compared to the temperatures usually reached in traditional wood-burning saunas.. However, despite the lower temperature, infrared saunas can still feel intense. The reason for this is that infrared saunas are smaller, and the heat is directly absorbed by the user’s body. This minimises heat loss to the air. In contrast, a traditional sauna heats a larger space, causing more heat to escape through the walls and roof.
With infrared saunas, you can precisely control the heat level down to the exact degree. But there’s more to understanding the perfect temperature for infrared saunas. While you can set your desired infrared sauna temperature, the heat gradually increases over time. This may take longer if you have an infrared cabin sauna.
Unlike a wood-burning sauna, where you typically need to wait until it reaches the set temperature, you can enter an infrared sauna long before it hits its target heat. This gradual increase in temperature is one of the unique features of infrared saunas. You’ll also find that infrared sauna sessions are often considerably longer than ones in a traditional sauna, because they’re less taxing on the body. For full insights, see our guide on ideal sauna times.
Best Temperature for a Steam Sauna
Steam saunas, also called steam rooms, generally operate at temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius. Even though these heat levels are far below those of traditional wood-burning saunas, it’s the steam that truly makes the difference. This difference is primarily due to the way steam rooms are heated, typically using a central boiler. Modern steam saunas are powered by electric boilers, which focus more on controlling humidity levels than temperature. Anyone who has used a steam room can likely attest to how it feels much hotter, despite the lower temperature. High humidity creates a heavy, almost suffocating atmosphere, with the moisture wrapping itself around your skin.
In steam saunas, the humidity is often close to 100 percent. Although modern steam saunas allow for precise monitoring of both humidity and sauna temperature, it’s crucial to pay closer attention to humidity rather than temperature. The combination of high humidity and heat creates a unique environment that many sauna users find therapeutic.
Understanding the Ideal Sauna Temperature Range for Different Sauna Types
Knowing what we do about the health benefits waiting for us in saunas and steam rooms, it’s only natural to then question what temperature helps bring about those benefits most fully.
The good news is, it is exceedingly unlikely that a person’s sauna or steam room will be too cold or too hot to miss out on any of the major benefits that come from their use. To put it another way, you would have to be dramatically out of the ideal sauna temperature range to not get the benefits of a sauna, to the point where you would almost certainly notice it. The concept of an ideal temperature has much more to do with a person’s overall comfort.
For those new to saunas, the standard temperatures can feel uncomfortably intense. So it is more than worth it to consider ideal sauna temperatures both from the perspective of a total sauna newcomer and a sauna expert. The ideal temperature for either a sauna newcomer or an expert is likely entirely different.
The Ideal Sauna Temperature for Beginners
The ideal sauna temperature for a newcomer is approximately 75 degrees Celsius. Of course, since traditional wood-burning saunas are controlled by an active fire, it is impossible to set the temperature precisely to a specific digit. However, keep an eye on your sauna’s thermostat. Wood-burning saunas are generally quite challenging for newcomers to adjust to. A gradual approach, by incrementally raising the temperature over each subsequent visit, is often the best way to build up your heat tolerance in the sauna.
While experts recommend spending around 20 minutes per session in the sauna, don’t feel obligated to stick strictly to this number. Especially for beginners, spending 10 minutes (or even fewer) per sauna visit is perfectly fine; just make sure you get a good sweat going! Getting sweaty is the starting point for experiencing all the health benefits that come from sauna use.
How to Safely Adjust Your Sauna Temperature
Anyone planning to remain in a wood-burning sauna longer than 20 minutes should ensure the temperature stays under 95 °C. While there’s no outright danger in going above this, anything higher than 95 degrees presents a risk of rapid dehydration. Even an experienced sauna user can become dehydrated faster than anticipated in such conditions. Of course, when using a sauna at higher temperatures, the body will likely produce more sweat. Thus, any health benefits related to sweating will come about faster in a hotter sauna.
Infrared saunas offer users the ability to customize their target temperature with precision. The question often arises: what is the ideal sauna temperature? Most infrared saunas won’t let users go above 65 degrees Celsius for safety reasons. This is likely much higher than the average user needs. The ideal temperature for an infrared sauna falls between 40 and 65 degrees Celsius. Within this range, infrared sauna users can still receive nearly all the benefits of dry heat. Since infrared saunas take time to reach their peak temperature, you’ll likely experience a range of temperatures, usually between 40 and 65 degrees Celsius, throughout your session.
Why Don’t You Boil? Why Saunas Can Safely Get Above Boiling
If you’re new to the world of saunas, you may have noticed something – the upper bound we’re recommending for ideal sauna temperatures, 95 degrees Celsius, is just below the boiling point of water, 100 degrees Celsius/212 degrees Fahrenheit. How can you safely go into a sauna at that temperature, when boiling water will hurt you?
The answer is that air – especially dry air, and a sauna at that temperature will be very dry – is much less effective at transferring heat than water is. So it is possible to safely be in a sauna above 100 degrees Celsius without suffering injury. However, it should be noted that these temperatures should only be experienced for extremely short periods of time, and only for veteran saunagoers.
Humidity and Its Effect on Steam Sauna Heat Levels
The trick with steam saunas is that the temperature isn’t as important as the overall humidity. When using a steam room, the heat sensation is amplified by the steam in the room. Even if the steam room is comparatively cool, it can feel significantly hotter than it actually is. Beginners in steam saunas should set their rooms to approximately 40 degrees Celsius with around 70% humidity. This combination will likely make the steam room feel more comfortable for newcomers. As you grow accustomed to high-humidity environments, experiment with adjusting the humidity levels before increasing the temperature.
For steam sauna experts, it’s common to set the temperature to around 45 degrees Celsius with humidity close to 100%. As humidity rises in a steam room, the air grows denser and more stifling. While this is ideal for most steam room users, it can make long sessions more challenging. With higher humidity, the body sweats significantly more, so be sure to take regular breaks. Above all, pay attention to your breathing. Deep, consistent breaths are essential when in such high-humidity environments.
What Is the Ideal Sauna Temperature for Wet or Dry Saunas for Optimal Health Benefits?
Both wood-burning saunas and infrared saunas emit dry heat, while steam rooms deliver wet heat. Understanding the different ideal sauna temperatures between these types of heat can help you align your sauna experience with your specific goals. Don’t miss our detailed comparison of saunas and steam rooms to better understand how dry and moist heat influence your health.
Benefits of Dry Heat in Saunas
Unlike the moist environment of a steam room, dry heat, such as that found in wood-burning and infrared saunas, offers its own distinct health advantages. Perhaps the most significant benefit is its support for cardiovascular well-being. When spending time in a dry heat sauna, your body works to maintain temperature homeostasis by increasing heart rate and circulating blood faster. This process strengthens the cardiovascular system. There is evidence that shows dry heat may offer greater cardiovascular benefits than wet heat.
For those with respiratory issues such as asthma, dry heat is generally easier to inhale than moist air. High-humidity environments can exacerbate breathing difficulties, making dry heat saunas a more comfortable option for those with lung or breathing issues.
Regular retreats to a wood-burning sauna might not just relax your body — they could also give your brain a boost. Finnish research suggests frequent sessions may help lower the risk of dementia and other cognitive issues as you age.. Regular sauna use appears to contribute to improved cognitive health over time.
Another significant advantage of dry heat is its ability to relieve muscle soreness. After a strenuous workout, using a dry sauna can enhance blood flow to sore muscles, promoting recovery and reducing stiffness. This makes dry heat saunas a popular post-exercise treatment as stiffness sets in is a very common practice and for a good reason! Exposure to dry heat boosts blood circulation to the muscles, helping to ease soreness and stiffness.
Benefits of Wet Heat in Steam Rooms
On the other hand, wet heat in steam rooms offers its own set of unique health benefits. One of the standout advantages is its ability to improve skin health. The combination of water vapor and sweat in a steam room helps to further open pores, allowing for deeper cleansing. This can result in the release of more natural oils and sweat compared to dry heat environments like saunas.
Wet heat is also highly effective in reducing congestion. Breathing in the humid air of a steam sauna may clear nasal and throat passages, easing symptoms of colds, allergies, or bronchitis. This makes steam rooms an excellent choice for individuals seeking respiratory relief.
When it comes to muscle health, wet heat is equally beneficial. While dry heat is effective at alleviating soreness, wet heat in steam rooms may be even more efficient at preventing muscle stiffness and soreness after a workout. Heading straight to a steam room after exercising may aid in quicker muscle recovery and lessen soreness later.
Conclusion: Finding Your Perfect Sauna Temperature
The good news is that there’s really no wrong way to heat your sauna or steam room. Whenever your body is warmed and sweating, you’re enjoying the health perks of a sauna. Although higher heat can accelerate the effects, the true purpose of a sauna or steam room isn’t to hurry through — it’s to slow down, relax, and let your body and mind unwind.
Instead of focusing too much on the ideal sauna temperature, listen to your body. Set the sauna’s heat and your steam room’s humidity to a level that feels right for you. When you’re comfortably relaxing, you’re already reaping the main health benefits of these sessions. Whether your goal is better cardiovascular health, reduced muscle soreness, or simply unwinding, the focus of your sauna time is on enjoying the experience.
