There are a good handful of electric sauna heater options out there. Wall mounted heaters, tower heaters, big baskets of rocks, small baskets of rocks, exposed elements, protected elements, Wi-Fi controls, and different shapes, sizes, and kilowatt ratings. And increasingly,
I spent the better part of a week in Oslo immersed in sauna research, sauna culture, sauna people, and a whole lot of time on the bench with like minded thermal enthusiasts. First came the 1st International Heat Therapy Research
In this episode of Sauna Talk, Glenn Auerbach sits down with Risto Elomaa, outgoing president of the International Sauna Association, on the eve of the International Sauna Congress in Oslo. After 16 years as ISA president—and two decades on its
What happens when we stop performing and start remembering who we actually are? In this live conversation from Sauna Days 2026, Glenn Auerbach sits down with longtime friend Harvey Martin for a wide-ranging Sauna Talk about performance, identity, intuition, nervous-system
This summer, I sent out a short survey to SaunaTimes followers. Just five questions. I kept it simple, with no login, passwords, or two step authentications. Just a quick way to take the pulse of the SaunaTimes community and find
August 30, 2026, by Jen Veralle A mid-week getaway to Big Round Lake in Hayward, WI, at the peak of summer season in a haze of the Boundary Waters wildfires, brought nine women together to forge female camaraderie at its
Swimming and sauna: they are like peanut butter and jelly. they go hand in hand. While sitting on the bench, the time to leave the hot room is usually when the idea of an ice cold lake swim is about
In Sauna Talk Episode 138, Glenn sits down with longtime friend and fellow “thermal soul brother” Jeff Pyzyk—a Wisconsin sauna enthusiast with more than two decades of experience and an estimated 3,500+ sauna sessions under his belt. Jeff shares how
There are many different sauna microclimates. That’s one of the things I love about sauna. And we’ll discuss a few of them. Two rooms can have the same thermometer reading and feel very different. Change the stove, the rocks, the
Sand timers. Watches on the wrist. Clocks on the wall. Q: How long should you stay in the hot room? A: it depends. Some rounds last a long time. You take steam like, “Thank you sir, may I have another.”
What does it mean to be “3 Percent Finn” yet feel deeply connected to Finnish sauna culture? For Sauna Talk Episode 137, Glenn sits down with Michael Nordskog, author of The Opposite of Cold: The Northwoods Finnish Sauna Tradition, recorded live
In this episode of Sauna Talk, the roles are reversed as Mossy Ben interviews Glenn Auerbach about Sauna Days 2026 at Larsmont Cottages on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Glenn shares the origin story of Sauna Days, from a
Every year, employers prepare for predictable workplace hazards. They inspect equipment, refresh safety training, and plan for seasonal risks. Yet one of the most predictable hazards of all—environmental heat and cold—is often addressed only after dangerous conditions arrive. What if
In Episode 135 of Sauna Talk, Glenn Auerbach welcomes psychotherapist Sierra Blake for a live conversation recorded at Sauna Days 2026 on the shores of Lake Superior. Sierra brings a graduate background in mental health psychology from the University of
Robert Hammond, President of Therme US and founder of Culture Bathe-ing. @thehighlineguy @thermegroup @cultureofbatheing https://cultureofbathing.substack.com/ https://cultureofbathe-ing.com/ https://www.thermegroup.com/therme-group-us President of Therme US and founder of Culture Bathe-ing. @thehighlineguy @thermegroup @cultureofbatheing New York City has so many bathhouses and sauna offerings. That’s
A sauna heater is not simply a device that makes air hot. It is part of a complete thermal system involving the firebox, steel, firebrick, stones, room surfaces, ventilation, and bathers. The real question is not whether a heater uses
For this special July 4 edition of Sauna Talk, Glenn reflects from island cabin country near the Superior National Forest in northeast Minnesota, looking out across open water and thinking about sauna in America: where it came from, what it
Good sauna heat is an environment. Step into most any sauna and, sure, you’ll likely notice the thermometer on the wall. But in a good sauna, what we notice is the feeling of being surrounded. Fully surrounded. By warmth that
The Authors Panel at Sauna Days 2025 | Garrett Conover, Jesse Coomer, Harvey Martin | Sauna Talk 133 In Episode 133 of Sauna Talk, I host a special live authors panel recorded at Sauna Days 2025 featuring Garrett Conover, Jesse Coomer, Harvey
The wind whipping off the Chicago River usually signals a time to retreat indoors, but at the foot of the Magnificent Mile, a new kind of warmth is rising. Tucked away on the Chicago Riverwalk, in a space that usually
A couple years ago, I wrote about something that seemed almost too simple to matter: entering the lake butt-first instead of diving headfirst. That article is here. At the time, some readers chuckled. Others probably figured I was running out
By Dan Woods, SaunaTimes Correspondent After Dan Woods reviewed February’s Culture-of-Bathing Sauna Festival in Brooklyn, I asked him to cover Sauna Days held north of Duluth, Minnesota in early May – Glenn Auerbach, publisher of Sauna Times and organizer of
In this live session from Sauna Days 2025, I sit down with Jake Newport from Finnmark (UK) for a wide-ranging conversation on where sauna culture is headed, and what happens when tradition meets innovation across continents. Jake shares the story
A smoke sauna¹ is probably the purest example of all three heat transfer methods working together at once: A smoke sauna leans heavily radiant Why: We also talked about the “jazz trio” analogy: And in a smoke sauna, all three
SaunaTimes recently had the pleasure of connecting with Ingrid G. Motrøen, Chief Marketing Officer at The Well, the largest spa and wellness destination in the Nordic region, located just outside Oslo, Norway. With the International Sauna Congress coming to Norway
SaunaTimes is pleased to introduce Jack DeGonda, a Gustavus Adolphus College and University of Minnesota Structural Engineering graduate. He currently works for an engineering firm as well as founder of DeGonda Custom Sauna Builders. Jack is keen to help other
In this episode of Sauna Talk, I am joined bench-side by Josh Letty of Get Sweaty with Letty and sauna builder Leif Kjorness of Excelsior Saunas for a wide-ranging conversation recorded after multiple sauna rounds and lake ice hole plunges
Sauna Days 2026 brought nearly 300 people together: an incredible evolution from the first gathering in 2019, when about 30 of us showed up for sauna in nature. And like all Sauna Days, we celebrate an environment where everybody is
by Stephen A. Colmant, Ph.D., MA, Prescribing Psychologist, Las Cruces, NM, and longtime SaunaTimes contributor We hear about the physiological benefits of sauna almost daily and still very little attention is given to its psychological effects. Sauna may be psychologically
Guest post from Tim, a high level AI Technologist, who takes us through Circuitry Versus Steam Let’s talk about it. That two-letter word that is both very exciting and also induces a gag-reflex: AI. I work in technology. Computers from
In this live panel from Sauna Days, I welcome two leading voices in sauna research: Dr. Ashley Mason of UCSF and Earric Lee of the Montreal Heart Institute for a candid conversation about where sauna science stands today. Both Ashley
April 22, 2026 – In Minneapolis, the City Council is actively considering whether to reverse a nearly 40-year ban and re-legalize adult bathhouses—directing staff to draft ordinances that would license and regulate venues where sexual activity between consenting adults is
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