Sauna – is it safe if you have high blood pressure?

Especially in Nordic countries, regular sauna visits are a natural part of everyday life. Besides being a way to maintain social contacts, they are also said to benefit health. But does that hold true when blood pressure is elevated? Could sauna even have a positive effect on blood pressure levels?

Sauna can also broadly mean a steam room or an infrared cabin, but here we refer to the classic Finnish sauna. This is characterized by very high temperatures of 80 – 100 degrees Celsius with relatively low humidity. The wooden sauna cabin is heated by a stove with stones on it. Pouring water, often mixed with fragrant essences, onto these stones briefly raises the humidity and promotes sweating.

Sauna sessions usually dont last very long, typically between 10 and 15 minutes, and sometimes shorter depending on how you feel. They end with a cold shower or a brief plunge into cold water, followed by a rest period before the next sauna session.

It is well established that this practice strengthens the immune system and that regular sauna users catch colds less often assuming the sauna user is healthy.

So what about existing high blood pressure? Are regular visits to the hot room possible or even recommended for people with hypertension?

A sauna session does put strain on the cardiovascular system thats a fact. The bodys temperature rises during the stay in the sauna (it can reach up to about 40 °C), triggering a stress response comparable to light physical exercise. Stress hormones are released, heart rate increases, and blood pressure rises during the time you are sitting or lying in the sauna. Only during the rest period after or between sauna sessions does blood pressure fall, and it often stays lower for some time afterward.

Therefore, for people with high blood pressure, sauna visits are possible provided blood pressure is well controlled, including under stress. However, especially for people who are untrained or who have other medical conditions, a doctor should first check whether they can tolerate the strain. Some conditions, such as heart failure or repeated severe blood pressure spikes, may rule out sauna visits.

If the doctor gives the green light, you should start slowly and get used to lower-temperature saunas first, like a bio-sauna or a steam sauna, which have much higher humidity. You should also increase the time spent in the sauna gradually until a training or habituation effect sets in.

It is important for people with high blood pressure to cool down gently after a sauna session. That means avoiding the ice-cold waterfall shower or plunge pool and instead cooling down slowly in the air or taking a lukewarm shower. The mandatory rest period between two sauna sessions should not be shortened the 30 minutes of rest should be observed.

Those who follow these recommendations do, according to studies, also do their blood pressure long-term a favor. Blood pressure does not only drop briefly right after a sauna session, but often also decreases over time. This was observed in, admittedly not randomized, studies. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure in regularly sauning people with hypertension fell noticeably. After 3 months, systolic pressure decreased by 23 mmHg and diastolic by 9 mmHg.

Studies suggest that regular sauna visits particularly benefit the blood vessels. Heat appears to have anti-inflammatory effects and also reduces stress. This also applies to the cardiovascular system; sauna sessions seem to have a positive effect on cardiovascular health. Some researchers even suggest that regular sauna bathing could, in some cases, replace a workout session.

Conclusion:

Regular sauna sessions are possible for people with high blood pressure and can offer health benefits. However, blood pressure must be well controlled and there must be no other medical conditions that argue against sauna use. Before your first sauna, have a doctor check whether and at what intensity sauna visits are safe for you. After each session, avoid a cold shock in the plunge pool or under a cold waterfall shower opt instead for gradual cooling in the air or a lukewarm shower.

Sources:

This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands monitor their blood pressure every day. Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 01/2026).

Author Sabine Croci is a qualified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care, and has led BloodPressureDB's specialist editorial team since 2015. Thanks to her extensive additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder and in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides solid, practical and reliably reviewed information.

Sauna – is it safe if you have high blood pressure?

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