How Saunas May Help Us Cope With Heatwaves

You Should Know: Heatwaves, unfortunately, are a fact of life. And there are only so many things you can do to get a good night’s sleep when it’s hot out. What if, instead of trying to beat the heat, we try to adapt to it? (We know — a little dystopian, but hear us out.) A growing body of evidence begs the question of whether “heat training” could help people prepare for heatwaves. 

Going Deeper: Research suggests that repeated heat exposure via saunas may help the body acclimate by increasing sweat production, improving blood flow to the skin, lowering heart rate during heat exposure, and making it easier to regulate temperature. This technique is already used by endurance athletes training for hot-weather events. But there’s a catch: most studies have been conducted in tightly controlled settings, and researchers caution that using a sauna during extreme heat could increase the risk of dehydration or heat illness.

Takeaway: Regular sauna stay may help healthy adults become more heat tolerant over time, but it remains critically important to stay hydrated, seek shade when outdoors, and avoid exposure to dangerous heat as much as possible.

Bottom Line: Sauna training is a promising area of research, but larger real-world studies are needed to prove its efficacy.