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The question of sauna frequency is one that the research has addressed more directly than almost any other aspect of sauna practice. The landmark Finnish studies — which tracked thousands of people over decades — provide dose-response data that is unusually clear for a wellness intervention.

The headline finding: frequency matters enormously. The difference between using sauna once a week and using it four or more times per week is not a marginal improvement in benefit. It is a step change.

What the Finnish Research Shows

The most cited sauna frequency study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2015 and led by Dr. Tanjaniina Laukkanen, divided participants into three groups by sauna frequency:

• Once per week
• Two to three times per week
• Four to seven times per week

The cardiovascular mortality data across these groups is striking:

• Compared to once-a-week users, people who used sauna 2–3 times per week had a 22% lower risk of fatal cardiovascular events
• People who used sauna 4–7 times per week had a 63% lower risk of fatal cardiovascular events

The dementia data shows similar dose-response patterns: four-to-seven-times-per-week users had a 65% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease compared to once-per-week users.

These are large effect sizes for a lifestyle intervention. The researchers adjusted for confounding variables — physical activity, other health behaviours, socioeconomic factors — and the associations persisted.

The Ideal Frequency: Three to Four Times Per Week

For most people with access to a sauna, three to four times per week represents the practical sweet spot: enough to achieve measurable cardiovascular and cognitive benefits, achievable within a normal lifestyle without the time commitment of daily sessions.

Daily sauna (five to seven times per week) provides incrementally greater benefit and is the Finnish cultural norm — but requires either a home sauna or a venue with very flexible access. For most people outside Finland, this level of frequency is logistically challenging.

Once a week provides real benefits — the physiological effects of a single good sauna session are genuine and worthwhile. But the research suggests that moving from once to three times per week delivers disproportionately more benefit than moving from three times to daily use.

Session Duration Within Frequency

Frequency and duration interact. The Finnish studies found that longer sessions (19+ minutes per session) at moderate frequency produced comparable cardiovascular outcomes to shorter sessions at higher frequency. But for practical purposes, the most consistent evidence points to: