How do you use a sauna for the first time?

Shower, dry off, sit on a towel on a lower bench and stay 5 to 10 minutes. Step out, cool down with a shower or fresh air, drink water, and repeat once only if you feel well. Avoid alcohol and leave immediately if you feel dizzy or nauseated. Build up time gradually over a few weeks.

What should you wear in a sauna?

Wear as little as the venue allows: a towel, or a clean swimsuit at most gyms and mixed public saunas. Many Finnish saunas are nude and single-sex. Avoid street clothes, workout gear, jewelry and anything with metal, which gets hot. Always sit on a towel so sweat does not soak into the wooden benches.

How long should a beginner stay in a sauna?

Start with 5 to 10 minutes per round and no more than two or three rounds. Harvard Health advises limiting sessions to 15 to 20 minutes even once you are used to the heat. Cool down for at least a few minutes between rounds, and drink two to four glasses of water afterward.

Does the sauna help with a cold?

There is no reliable evidence that a sauna cures a cold, and Harvard Health advises that anyone who is ill should not take a sauna. Heat adds stress while you are recovering, especially with a fever. Regular sauna use when healthy may support general well-being, but skip sessions until you feel better.

How to Use a Sauna: Beginner Steps, Etiquette, What to Wear

Q: Do you wear shoes in a sauna?

No, shoes stay outside the hot room. Wear sandals or flip-flops to and from the shower area for hygiene, then leave them at the door. Some people keep them under the lower bench in gym saunas, but never on the benches. Bare feet on wood are standard in traditional and infrared saunas.

Q: Why am I not sweating in the sauna?

The most common reasons are a sauna that has not fully preheated, a lower bench, a short session, low hydration or simply individual sweat rate. Infrared saunas also run cooler than traditional ones. Drink water beforehand, take a warm shower, sit higher and give it 10 minutes. Rarely, poor sweating can signal a medical issue worth checking.

Short answer. To use a sauna, preheat it, shower, sit on a towel for 5 to 15 minutes, then step out to cool down and drink water before any second round. Beginners should start on a lower bench with short rounds, skip alcohol, and leave immediately if they feel dizzy. Most of sauna etiquette comes down to hygiene, quiet and sharing the heat.

This article is general information, not medical advice. People who are pregnant, have heart disease, low or high blood pressure or other conditions should talk to a doctor before using a sauna.

What is a sauna, and how does it work?

A sauna is a small wood-lined room heated to dry, high temperatures for sweat bathing. The word is Finnish, and a Finnish sauna typically runs at 70-90 °C (158-194 °F), according to the Finnish public information service InfoFinland. What makes a sauna a sauna is the combination of high heat, low humidity, wooden benches and rest periods outside the hot room.

There are two common ways a sauna works:

Traditional (Finnish) sauna. An electric or wood-burning stove heats a pile of rocks and the air. Ladling water onto the rocks creates a burst of steam called löyly, which briefly raises humidity and makes the heat feel stronger.
Infrared sauna. Infrared heater panels warm your body directly rather than heating the air first. Mayo Clinic notes this produces sweating and a raised heart rate at lower air temperatures (Mayo Clinic). Cleveland Clinic puts typical infrared temperatures at 110-135 °F (43-57 °C), compared with 150-195 °F (66-91 °C) for traditional saunas.

A steam room is different again: near 100% humidity at lower temperatures. See sauna vs steam room and types of saunas for the full comparison.

How to turn on a sauna

At a gym, the sauna is usually already running; staff control the temperature, and members should not adjust the thermostat. At home, the steps are:

Check the room is empty and nothing is on or near the heater, including towels.
Switch on at the control panel and set the temperature, for example 80 °C (176 °F) for a traditional sauna or 50-55 °C (122-131 °F) for infrared.
Set the timer if the panel has one.
Preheat: traditional saunas commonly need 30-45 minutes; infrared cabins often need 10-20 minutes. Check your manual.
Confirm the temperature on the thermometer before entering.

How to use a sauna properly: step by step

The best way to use a sauna is a few short rounds with real cool-downs in between. This routine works for a dry sauna or an infrared cabin.

Hydrate. Drink a glass of water beforehand. Skip alcohol entirely.
Shower. Wash and dry off. Dry skin starts sweating sooner.
Sit on a towel. Use a bench towel under your whole body, including feet if you lie down.
Choose your bench. Heat rises, so the top bench is hottest. Beginners should start low.
Stay 5-15 minutes. Leave sooner if you feel uncomfortable.
Add löyly (traditional only). Pour small amounts of water on the rocks, and ask others first.
Cool down. Take a lukewarm or cool shower, step outside or rest for 5-10 minutes.
Repeat 1-2 times if you feel well.
Rehydrate. Harvard Health recommends two to four glasses of cool water after a session (Harvard Health).

Round	Time in heat	Cool-down	Notes
1	5-10 min	5-10 min	Lower bench for beginners
2	8-12 min	5-10 min	Optional; move up a bench if comfortable
3	8-15 min	10+ min, then rest	Experienced users only
Total heat time	15-30 min		Harvard advises no more than 15-20 min per session

For timing by experience level, see how long to sit in a sauna, and for temperature choices see the sauna temperature guide.

How to sit in a sauna

Sit upright with feet on the bench below, or lie down if space allows; lying flat keeps your whole body at the same temperature. Before standing, sit up for a minute to avoid lightheadedness, since heat widens blood vessels and blood pressure can drop when you rise quickly.

What to wear in a sauna

The sauna dress code is "as little as the venue allows, and nothing that traps heat."

Setting	Typical dress code	Avoid
Gym or health club	Towel wrap or clean swimsuit	Workout clothes, sneakers
Mixed public sauna	Swimsuit or towel	Street clothes
Finnish single-sex sauna	Often nude, towel to sit on	Swimsuit may be discouraged
Home sauna	Whatever you prefer	Metal jewelry, glasses

Sauna clothes should be breathable and clean. Cotton or linen towels and robes work well; synthetic gym gear holds sweat and bacteria. What a woman should wear in a sauna follows the same rules: a towel wrap, a swimsuit or nothing, depending on the venue, with long hair tied up or under a wool or felt sauna hat. Remove jewelry, which can heat up and burn skin, and contact lenses if your eyes feel dry.

Do you wear shoes in a sauna?

No. Wear sandals to and from the showers, then leave them outside or under the lowest bench. Shoes on sauna benches are a hygiene problem.

Sauna etiquette and rules at the gym

Gym sauna etiquette matters because the space is small and shared. Common sauna rules include:

Shower before entering, and never enter sweaty from a workout without rinsing.
Always sit on a towel.
Keep the door closed quickly; every opening dumps heat.
Keep conversation quiet, and no phone calls.
Ask before pouring water on the rocks, and only where the heater is designed for it.
No shaving, nail clipping, or hair dye.
Do not hang towels or clothes on or near the heater.
Leave room for others and do not reserve bench space.

To use a sauna at the gym for the first time, read the posted rules; some ban water on the stones, others set time limits.

Why am I not sweating in the sauna?

Not sweating in the sauna is common in the first few sessions. Likely causes:

The room is not fully heated. Check the thermometer.
You are on the lowest bench. Air near the floor is noticeably cooler than air near the ceiling.
Infrared runs cooler. You may need 10-15 minutes before sweat appears.
Dehydration. Drink water 30-60 minutes beforehand.
Individual variation. Sweat rates differ between people and improve with heat acclimation.

To sweat more in a sauna, take a warm shower first, dry off well, sit higher and stay a few minutes longer within safe limits. If you rarely sweat in any heat, ask a doctor, as reduced sweating can occasionally point to a medical issue.

Sauna safety: who should be careful

Sauna use is well tolerated by most healthy adults. A 2018 review in Mayo Clinic Proceedings by Laukkanen and colleagues concluded that sauna bathing is safe for most healthy people and many with stable cardiovascular disease, while listing contraindications such as unstable angina and a recent heart attack (Laukkanen et al., 2018).

Key sauna safety points:

Avoid alcohol before, during and after. A study of Finnish sauna deaths from 1990 to 2002 recommended preventing alcohol use around sauna bathing (Kenttämies and Karkola, 2008).
Do not use a sauna when ill or feverish. Our guide to using a sauna with a cold explains why.
Pregnant people, people with multiple sclerosis, and anyone with heart or blood pressure conditions should consult a doctor (Cleveland Clinic).
Children should be supervised and use shorter, cooler sessions.

What about infrared sauna colors?

Many infrared cabins include colored LED lights, sometimes sold as infrared sauna color therapy or chromotherapy. Red, blue and green settings are mainly for ambiance; the research behind specific color benefits is limited. This is separate from red light therapy, which uses specific wavelengths at measured doses, explained in red light therapy vs infrared sauna.

If you are choosing a sauna to use at home, Mars Sauna builds both traditional stove saunas and infrared cabins in 110-120V or 220-240V versions; the sauna finder helps match a model to your space.

Key takeaways

Preheat, shower, sit on a towel and stay 5-15 minutes per round, with cool-downs in between.
Harvard Health advises no more than 15-20 minutes per session and two to four glasses of water afterward.
Wear a towel or swimsuit depending on the venue; no shoes, workout gear or metal jewelry in the hot room.
Gym sauna etiquette: rinse first, keep quiet, close the door and ask before adding water to the rocks.
Not sweating usually means the room is not hot enough, you are sitting low or you need water.
Skip alcohol, avoid saunas when sick, and check with a doctor if you have heart or blood pressure conditions.