Articles & news

Norway prescribes sauna baths

Norway is the first country I know of to prescribe sauna baths.

Read on NRK ↗

Sauna in Norway

Sauna in Norway – registration and programme.

Sauna Congress 2026 programme ↗

The Sorselestugan sauna gift

At the end of May the sauna cabin Uddskär DL, 8 sqm, a gift from Sorselestugan, was assembled on the Sauna Academy's sauna grounds. A pleasant addition that will deliver many lovely sauna baths for our members in the future. Fittingly, its premiere fell on the National Sauna Day.

Read more at Sorselestugan ↗

Own postage stamp

Tuula has been given her own postage stamp. Read more in the picture or in Haparandabladet. On 2 November there was a stamp release, and among this year's issues is Sauna and Winter Bathing. "The Sauna Doctor" Hans Hägglund gave a talk in connection with the release at the SFF and Sfu office in Älvsjö.

Read more at Postnord ↗

Building a sauna – step by step

Step-by-step instructions and inspiration for a freestanding wood-fired sauna. Have you also dreamed of building your own sauna but not quite known where to start? A practical handbook that guides you through the whole process, from the first hammer blow to the first scoop of water on the stones.

Reply from the Public Health Agency on sauna bathing during covid-19

The Public Health Agency does not consider that the new coronavirus can spread more easily in sauna environments than in other settings. The high temperatures have a negative effect on the virus's survival. The most important thing for avoiding the spread of infection is not to visit a public sauna if you have symptoms that could be signs of covid-19, and to keep your distance from other visitors. The inactivation of a virus is a combination of factors, above all time and temperature. Anything above 50 degrees is probably clearly negative for the virus, and the warmer it is the faster the inactivation. The most important point to emphasise is still distance, since a sneeze or cough can reach another person before the virus is inactivated, regardless of temperature. In a new assessment on 17 December 2020 the agency emphasised the national general advice that one should preferably not visit public premises such as bathhouses or facilities with spa and sauna where one meets other people. Kind regards, the Public Health Agency.

Lars Spolander honorary member

In 2020 the board of the Swedish Sauna Academy appointed Lars Spolander an honorary member. The diploma was presented by chairman Sven-Erik Bucht.

Watch Lars Spolander's acceptance speech ↗

22nd National Sauna Day completed

At the Annual Meeting Sven-Erik Bucht was elected the new chairman of the Swedish Sauna Academy. At the same time Göran Honkamaa was thanked, after 17 years as chairman, by being made an honorary member. Sven-Erik Bucht, from Karungi in the Torne Valley, is himself a great sauna enthusiast with no fewer than four saunas on his property. "Everyone in the Sauna Academy enjoys sauna bathing. By the association spreading information, about health and architecture for example, it becomes easier for each member to become an ambassador and spread good sauna culture." After the meeting, the 22nd National Sauna Day was celebrated with bathing in all of Kukkolaforsen's sauna facilities and dips in the rapids' 15-degree water. Interest was at a record high with 96 participants from all over Sweden and even Norway.

The sauna minister: "We are all equal in the sauna"

Reporter Katarina Lindmark takes a sauna together with former Minister for Rural Affairs Sven-Erik Bucht, the new chairman of the Sauna Academy.

Watch on TV4 Play ↗

The Emerging Science of Saunas

Sweat houses have been used by cultures for centuries. Now research is supporting claims that they're good for health.

Effects of sauna bath on heart failure

A systematic review and meta-analysis. Miikka Källström, Inga Soveri, Jonas Oldgren, Jari Laukkanen, Tomoko Ichiki, Chuwa Tei, Mark Timmerman, Lars Berglund, Hans Hägglund. Published in Clinical Cardiology, doi: 10.1111/clc.23077.

Sauna bathing can prevent stroke

A study from the University of Eastern Finland. Bathe four to seven times a week to achieve an effect. Hear Hans Hägglund, professor of haematology.

Listen on Sveriges Radio ↗

The Swedish Sauna Academy hosts the 2018 congress

It is now decided that the Swedish Sauna Academy will host the XVII International Sauna Congress 2018, held in Haparanda/Tornio and Kukkolaforsen on 7–10 June. We hope for many visitors and that this becomes the best congress ever.

Listen on P4 Norrbotten ↗