As stress levels rise, productivity in the average US office tends to fall. It becomes harder to concentrate or focus, and mistakes are likely to slip into your work. There’s nothing better than a sweat session in the sauna to boost endorphins and make you ready for the workday, or even a quick sauna at lunchtime to relieve tension and beat the afternoon slump. If you thought an outdoor sauna was a luxury reserved for the C-suite executives, think again.
Sauna therapy is a time-honored wellness solution
The idea of having a sauna at home or work might seem relatively new to American culture. But saunas have been used for therapy for millennia. The Mayans used sweat houses 3,000 years ago, and in Northern Europe, saunas go back even longer, to about 3,000 BC. Finland remains the world sauna capital, and there are an estimated two million saunas there – despite the country being home to only 5.5 million people!
Most people in the US tend to associate a sauna with beauty benefits, to give you healthy and hydrated skin, or to relax. But it can be highly beneficial in helping you work better and more productively, too. We use the phrase “working up a sweat” to mean putting in a lot of effort, but doing so can also help you manage physical tension and mental stress. That can only make you more effective in your work and a better team member or leader. But before we get into the details, let’s cover some practicalities.
Outdoor saunas are available in kit form
We said at the outset that you don’t have to live on Millionaire’s Row or be on a CEO salary to have an outdoor sauna at home. You can actually buy an outdoor sauna for less than $6,000. In the past, one common problem was the complicated installation, with a sauna demanding months of planning and several days work. But heritage prebuilt outdoor saunas are available in kit form so they can be easily assembled in a matter of a few hours and positioned anywhere. You don’t need a big garden, as these home saunas measure as little as five feet square.
Of course, larger ones are available too, and even a seven by eight sauna is still very affordable, with a price tag around the $10,000 mark, and simple to assemble. It’s simply a case of working out where you will position your sauna and then choosing one of an appropriate size in your preferred style.
Alternatives
If you are already a member of your local gym or health club, you might consider using the sauna there. It is an option used by millions of Americans, but it does have its downsides. The most obvious is cost. The average gym membership in the US is between $50 and $70 per month. Now, if you use the gym regularly for working out, swimming and so on, then that might represent value. However, if your main reason for going there is to use the sauna, then buying one for home or office will soon pay for itself.
Then there is the question of privacy and hygiene. In some cultures, for example in Northern Europe, a sauna is seen as a great place to meet people. But in the US, many of us feel a little uncomfortable sitting sweating among strangers dressed only in a towel. Also, we have all become more hygiene-conscious since the unprecedented events of 2020 and 2021. You simply can’t beat having a sauna of your own for privacy and hygiene.
Finally, there is the convenience factor. We don’t always have time to go to the gym before work, but with an outdoor sauna at home, it can become part of your morning routine. With many saunas, you can even preset the heater, so it is already for you at a set time, or even switch it on from a phone app if the opportunity arises to take time out for a sauna during the day.
How a sauna boosts productivity
Taking a sauna directly affects you both psychologically and physiologically to make you more productive during the workday. Let’s dive into the specifics.
Lowering stress hormones
Granted, some jobs are more stressful than others. But we all get stressed at work from time to time, especially in an office environment. When we take a sauna, we sweat, and when we sweat, it activates the body’s parasympathetic response. This helps relaxation, digestion and recovery. So if you’re drowning in a deluge of emails or a colleague is being confrontational or those end of month deadlines are stressing you out, you know what to do. Breaking a sweat in the sauna will boost endorphins and relieve the anxiety that is associated with these things, anxiety that can easily lead to depression. After sweating, the cortisol and stress hormone levels reduce. Simultaneously, other adrenal hormone levels adjust to ensure the correct electrolyte balance is maintained.
Boosting the blood flow to your muscles
If you are wondering why better blood flow to muscles will help you be more productive in a sedentary office job, the answer is easy. When you improve the blood flow to your muscles, you feel more energized. When you feel energized, you work more effectively than when you feel lethargic. Spending all day sitting at a desk brings about all sorts of potential issues and is a whole other topic. But starting the day with a sauna and getting that blood flowing is a step in the right direction.
Improving heart health
It is not just muscles that can suffer when you have a demanding desk job in an office. Plenty of office workers don’t take such good care of their overall health and wellbeing as they should, and one clinical study found that more than 50 percent of office workers have hypertension (high blood pressure). Taking a sauna can help reduce blood pressure, helping those with hypertension and lower the risk of people without hypertension developing it later in life.
Make a sauna part of a healthier and more productive lifestyle
A sauna won’t solve all your problems, but it is a great way to relax, and can help your workplace productivity, especially when combined with regular exercise, good sleep and a healthy diet.
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