The hot spot: World Sauna Congress convenes in Oslo as global interest skyrockets

At the World Sauna Congress in Oslo, NPR's Will Stone covers how scientists and enthusiasts are exploring heat exposure as a growing global trend to boost wellbeing and fight social isolation.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Sauna is gaining popularity. Right now, around the world and this week, hundreds of sauna experts and enthusiasts gather in Oslo, Norway for what's known as the International Sauna Congress. BJ Leiderman, who writes our theme music, is not expected. The congress takes place every four years, and NPR health correspondent Will Stone joins us from Oslo, where he's been soaking it all in. Button up your bathrobe, will you?

WILL STONE, BYLINE: I'll do my best. Thanks, Scott.

SIMON: What's a sauna congress?

STONE: Well, first, Scott, one thing I learned is that it's actually Sow-na (ph) from the Finnish and not sauna.

SIMON: I beg your pardon.

STONE: Yeah. The president of the International Sauna Association made sure to point that out. This congress kicked off the other day at Oslo City Hall. It was in the same room where the Nobel Peace Prize is given out. And it's basically a chance for the sauna world to nerd out. You have scientists, business operators, advocates. They're all here for a few days to talk about everything from the health benefits to the finer points of sauna culture.

SIMON: The finer points of sauna culture. Sauna has a long history in Europe, especially Scandinavia. What's the mood now that it's catching on around the world?

STONE: A lot of excitement. I've heard the phrase sauna boom quite a few times these days. What's interesting is that while sauna has been part of the culture here for a long time - I mean, going back to the Vikings - it's still enjoying a kind of renaissance, and that's tied to the growth of sauna as a form of social connection - so not just in the basement of the gym or in the home. Here's what Lasse Eriksen told me. He's chair of the Norwegian Sauna Society. And just a note, in Norway, their term for sauna is badstue.

LASSE ERIKSEN: In Norway and the Nordics, you know, we have grown up with sauna and badstue and all these things. It's a natural day of life, but we had it more privately. But what we have seen, the resurgence, is the communal one. The communal baths are coming back.

STONE: And I saw an example of this in Oslo, where they've constructed these floating sauna villages on the fjord, and that's helped revitalize the harbor just over the last decade. And in the U.S., you are seeing something similar - more of these communal saunas in the Midwest, around the Great Lakes, the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere.

SIMON: Why do you think it's taking off now?

STONE: It's a number of things. A big one was the COVID-19 pandemic. That really supercharged people's desire to find connection. Certainly, the broader wellness movement and the industry has a role here too. There's a lot of interest in the health benefits. I spoke to Mikkel Aaland about this. He wrote an influential book almost 50 years ago called "Sweat," and it was about sweat bathing culture around the world. And he explained to me that, at the time in the '70s, there was a mini sauna boom in the states, especially on the West Coast, but that stopped somewhat abruptly, and a big reason was HIV/AIDS.

MIKKEL AALAND: It really took down the feeling of being safe in a bath. And this is when I realized that these three things I mentioned - the social, the spiritual and the physical - if any of one of those is removed - they're like pillars, and if you remove one of them, the bath loses its stability. It just went quiet.

STONE: So as a sauna evangelist, Aaland is hoping this current sauna movement isn't just a fad, and he supports efforts to revive rituals and traditions from the past and integrate that into the modern sauna-going.

SIMON: I have to ask, finally, Will. What do we know about health benefits of sauna?

STONE: So the short answer is the evidence base is still pretty limited because there are just not many high-quality human studies. But that is starting to change. I've been speaking with scientists from all over Europe, the U.S., New Zealand, who are now conducting controlled studies on cardiovascular health, metabolism, mental health. So there is growing momentum in the scientific world, as well. And that was a major focus of this meeting - how do they advance this field of study? and I'll be reporting more on that soon.

SIMON: NPR's Will Stone. Thanks so much for your intrepid and selfless reporting.

STONE: Thanks very much, Scott.

(SOUNDBITE OF NILS PETTER MOLVAER'S "SAUNA")

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