As stress levels rise, productivity in the average US office tends to fall. It becomes harder to concentrate or focus, and mistakes are likely to slip into your work. There’s nothing better than a sweat session in the sauna to boost endorphins and make you ready for the workday, or even a quick sauna at lunchtime to relieve tension and beat the afternoon slump. If you thought an outdoor sauna was a luxury reserved for the C-suite executives, think again.
Sauna therapy is a time-honored wellness solution
The idea of having a sauna at home or work might seem relatively new to American culture. But saunas have been used for therapy for millennia. The Mayans used sweat houses 3,000 years ago, and in Northern Europe, saunas go back even longer, to about 3,000 BC. Finland remains the world sauna capital, and there are an estimated two million saunas there – despite the country being home to only 5.5 million people!
Most people in the US tend to associate a sauna with beauty benefits, healthy, hydrated skin, or relaxation. But it can also help you work better and more productively. We use the phrase “working up a sweat” to mean putting in a lot of effort, but doing so can also help you manage physical tension and mental stress. That can make you more effective at work and a better team member or leader. But before we get into the details, let’s cover some practicalities.
Outdoor saunas
We said at the outset that you don’t have to live on Millionaire’s Row or be on a CEO salary to have an outdoor sauna at home. For example, you can buy a quality outdoor sauna from Norse Steam for around $6,000. In the past, one common problem was the complicated installation, with a sauna demanding months of planning and several days of work. No more; Heritage prebuilt outdoor saunas come in kit form, so you can assemble them in a few hours and place them anywhere. You don’t need a big garden, as these home saunas measure as little as five feet square.
Of course, larger ones are available too, and even a seven-by-eight sauna is still very affordable, with a price tag around $10,000. It’s simply a matter of deciding where to place your sauna, then choosing an appropriate size in your preferred style.
Alternatives
If you are already a member of your local gym or health club, you might consider using the sauna there. Millions of Americans use it, but it has downsides. The most obvious is cost. The average gym membership in the US is between $50 and $70 per month. If you use the gym regularly for working out, swimming, and so on, that might be worth it. However, if your main reason for going there is to use the sauna, then buying one for home or office will soon pay for itself.
Then there is the question of privacy and hygiene. In some cultures, such as Northern Europe, a sauna is seen as a great place to meet people. But in the US, many of us feel a little uncomfortable sitting and sweating among strangers dressed only in a towel. Also, we have all become more hygiene-conscious since the unprecedented events of 2020 and 2021. You simply can’t beat having your own sauna for privacy and hygiene.
Finally, there is the convenience factor. We don’t always have time to go to the gym before work, but an outdoor sauna at home can become part of your morning routine. With many saunas, you can even preset the heater, so it is already for you at a set time, or even switch it on from a phone app if the opportunity arises to take time out for a sauna during the day.
How a sauna boosts productivity
Adding saunas are increasingly recognized as a powerful tool for boosting work productivity and improving staff well-being. Companies like Wise have embraced this trend by installing indoor saunas in their offices, such as their London location, to create a wellness-focused environment. By giving employees a space to relax and recharge, businesses can reduce stress, improve focus, and build a healthier, more productive workforce.
Taking a sauna directly affects you both psychologically and physiologically to make you more productive during the workday. Let’s dive into the specifics.
Lowering stress hormones
Granted, some jobs are more stressful than others. But we all get stressed at work from time to time, especially in an office environment. When we take a sauna, we sweat, and sweating activates the body’s parasympathetic response. This helps with relaxation, digestion, and recovery. So if you’re drowning in a deluge of emails, a colleague is being confrontational, or those end-of-month deadlines are stressing you out, you know what to do. Breaking a sweat in the sauna will boost endorphins and relieve the anxiety that is associated with these things, anxiety that can easily lead to depression. After sweating, cortisol and stress hormone levels reduce. At the same time, other adrenal hormone levels adjust to maintain proper electrolyte balance.
Boosting the blood flow to your muscles
If you are wondering why better blood flow to muscles will help you be more productive in a sedentary office job, the answer is easy. When you improve the blood flow to your muscles, you feel more energized. When you feel energized, you work more effectively than when you feel lethargic. Spending all day sitting at a desk can bring up all sorts of potential issues, and that’s a whole other topic. But starting the day with a sauna and getting that blood flowing is a step in the right direction.
Improving heart health
It is not just muscles that can suffer when you have a demanding desk job in an office. Plenty of office workers don’t take such good care of their overall health and well-being as they should, and one clinical study found that more than 50 percent of office workers have hypertension (high blood pressure). Taking a sauna can help reduce blood pressure, helping those with hypertension and lowering the risk of people without hypertension developing it later in life.
Make a sauna part of a healthier and more productive lifestyle
A sauna won’t solve all your problems, but it is a great way to relax and can help your workplace productivity, especially when combined with regular exercise, good sleep, and a healthy diet.
Need Office Space? We can Help for FREE!
