ArticleInternational journal of circumpolar health2026
Sauna bathing: motivations, perceived benefits, and gender differences- a descriptive health promotion study.
Article in International journal of circumpolar health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Sauna bathing is a culturally significant practice in Nordic countries and is increasingly recogniced as a multidimensional health-promoting behavior. Although its physiological benefits are well-documented, less is known why people engage in sauna bathing and how they perceive its contribution to health and well-being. To investigate why Swedish women and men engage in sauna bathing and to describe their perceptions of sauna bathing as a health-promoting practice. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire completed by 588 regular sauna bathers (384 women and 204 men). The questionnaire included closed-ended items on health and sauna habits and open-ended questions exploring motivations for sauna bathing. Qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, and quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and analytic statistics. Thematic analysis generated a conceptual model of sauna bathing as a health-promoting practice comprising four interconnected themes: mental recovery, social togetherness, purification and physical health. Mental recovery was the prominent motivation among women, whereas social togetherness ranked highest among men. Participants described sauna bathing as promoting relaxation, reflection, social connection, physical recovery, and a sense of cleanliness and renewal. Women reported significantly better perceived sleep quality and reduced perceived bodily pain following sauna bathing, whereas no corresponding significant changes were observed by men. Sauna bathing was perceived as a multidimensional health-promoting practice integrating psychological, social, cultural, and physical dimensions of health. The findings provide a conceptual understanding of why people engage in sauna bathing and support its potential role as a person-centered health promotion strategy. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these self-reported findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.