Should You Use Sauna Before or After a Workout?

Saunas have long been celebrated for their relaxing and detoxifying effects, but when should you really indulge in this steamy ritual to get the most benefit—before or after your shower? Both timings offer unique advantages, especially if you’re integrating it into a fitness or wellness routine. Let’s dive into the effects of home sauna use before and after showers, backed by research and physiological insights.

Related Read: How To Use Sauna the Right Way

Benefits of Using Sauna Before Shower

Warming Up

Starting with a sauna session before your workout or shower can raise your core body temperature, which helps loosen the muscles and increase blood flow. This can be particularly beneficial as a pre-workout warm-up. It makes the muscles more pliable and ready for exercise, potentially reducing the risk of injury.

Enhanced Heat Shock Proteins

Exposure to the heat of a sauna initiates the production of heat shock proteins. These proteins play a critical role in helping cells cope with stress, promoting better protein repair, and reducing the risk of protein aggregation, which is crucial for cellular health and longevity.

Deep Cleansing for Skin

Utilizing a sauna before taking a shower can help open up the pores of your skin due to the high heat and steam. This process helps loosen and remove deeper layers of dirt, oil, and toxins from the skin more effectively than showering alone. As the pores open, the sweat carries out impurities, which are then easily washed away during a subsequent shower, leading to cleaner and clearer skin.

Cultural and Hygienic Practices

In many cultures, particularly in places like Finland and Japan, there is a traditional practice of using a sauna before cleansing with water. This method is not only seen as a hygienic practice to remove impurities but also as a ritual that enhances mental relaxation and physical purification before completing the cleaning process with a shower.

Some Drawbacks

However, there are some considerations to keep in mind. While the idea of a pre-workout sauna session sounds beneficial, studies suggest that the immediate cooling and decrease in heart rate post-sauna might not be ideal if you’re heading straight into a strenuous workout. One study highlights that the expected increase in performance might not materialize due to the physiological cooling and relaxation effects that follow a sauna session, which may lower the heart rate below its normal resting state.

Benefits of Using Sauna After Shower

Optimized Recovery

Post-exercise sauna use can be extremely beneficial for recovery. By incorporating sauna bathing after a workout and a shower, you can enhance blood flow to tired muscles and facilitate the removal of lactic acid and other metabolic waste products. The heat from the sauna helps in dilating blood vessels, which increases blood circulation and aids in muscle relaxation and recovery.

Stress Reduction

The sauna’s heat has a profound ability to increase levels of relaxation and decrease stress by enhancing the release of endorphins—the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. A post-workout sauna session followed by a shower can provide a substantial reduction in stress levels, as indicated by improved heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of the heart’s ability to respond to stress. Sauna use can significantly enhance HRV, indicating a shift toward a more relaxed, parasympathetic state.

Enhanced Detoxification

Following up your workout with a sauna session can also promote detoxification. The intense sweating induced can help flush toxins from the body. While sweating, the body can eliminate heavy metals like lead, zinc, nickel, mercury, and chemicals—all of which are toxins commonly absorbed just from interacting with our daily environments.

Hydration and Cooling

After a sauna, taking a shower can help cool down the body efficiently and provide a refreshing end to the sauna experience. It’s also a perfect opportunity to rehydrate the skin after profuse sweating, helping to maintain skin hydration and elasticity.

Choosing between a sauna session before or after a shower largely depends on your personal goals and activities. If relaxation and muscle recovery are your primary goals, post-workout and post-shower sauna sessions might be more beneficial. On the other hand, if you’re looking to enhance your workout performance through increased blood flow and muscle elasticity, a brief pre-workout sauna could be the answer—just be sure to monitor how your body responds to changes in heart rate and blood pressure.