Why you should start doing regular sauna sessions
By Dan Kauna, June 26, 2026Most estates have a local gym with a steam room or a small sauna attached. It is where people go to unwind after a heavy workout or a long week at work.
While sitting in a hot room feels like pure relaxation, it actually triggers big physiological changes that protect your heart.
What happens to the body in extreme heat
The health benefits of regular sweating go far beyond basic relaxation.
In a 2015 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers tracked over 2,300 middle-aged men for two decades to observe how heat affects longevity. The clinical data showed that “increased frequency of sauna bathing is associated with a reduced risk of SCD, CHD, CVD, and all-cause mortality.”
Specifically, those who visited the sauna four to seven times a week had a 63 per cent lower risk of sudden cardiac death than one-time weekly users.
This happens because intense heat puts the body through a mock cardiovascular workout. When skin temperature rises, blood vessels widen and the heart pumps faster to keep the core temperature steady.
This response closely mirrors the effects of moderate aerobic exercise. At the same time, extreme heat triggers the production of heat shock proteins; these are specialised cellular mechanics that protect other proteins from breaking down under metabolic stress.
Can the local steam room match a Finnish sauna?
While classic research focuses on the dry, 80°C heat of a Finnish sauna, most Nairobi wellness spots offer steam rooms instead. A standard steam room operates at a lower temperature, usually around 45°C, but maintains 100 per cent humidity. This difference in moisture completely changes how the body handles heat.
In a high-humidity room, sweat cannot evaporate from the skin, which makes the air feel much hotter than it is. Steam rooms are excellent for expanding the airways, relieving sinus congestion, and deeply hydrating the skin.
They also successfully elevate the heart rate to provide moderate cardiovascular conditioning. However, because steam rooms do not reach the extreme ambient temperatures of dry saunas, they do not trigger the same high level of heat shock protein activation or the precise long-term mortality drops seen in the Finnish trials.
For the everyday Nairobi resident, consistency matters more than perfection. Spending 15 to 20 minutes in a steam room or sauna still offers solid circulatory support.
To stay safe, drinking water before and after each session is vital to replace fluids lost through accelerated sweating.