Dementia and saunas

There are lots of habits I’ve changed since my dad’s dementia diagnosis. Like many children of dementia, I carry a huge fear that it’s coming for me too, and I want to do everything in my power to make sure I don’t put my children through the same horrendous experience. Living with that fear makes every headline about brain health feel personal.

This week, I stumbled across an incredible statistic.

A study in Finland found that middle-aged men who took a sauna more than four times a week were two-thirds less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

The researchers followed 2,315 men aged 42–60 for 20 years. They adjusted for age, blood pressure, alcohol use, smoking, cholesterol, and other health conditions. The results were striking: men who used a sauna 4–7 times per week had a 66% lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia compared with those who went just once a week. Their likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease was also reduced by 65%.

66%! How had I not heard this before?

By chance, this summer I joined a rather lovely gym with saunas, and I’ve been enjoying them regularly after my workouts. At first it felt like an extravagance, but now that I’ve seen these statistics, it feels less like a luxury and more like an investment in my future self.

Why saunas? They improve circulation and reduce blood pressure – both good for brain health. They also lower inflammation, which is increasingly linked to dementia. According to Men’s Health, saunas “trigger your body to make special proteins that promote neuroplasticity (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and proper protein folding in the brain (heat shock proteins) – potentially warding off dementia.”

I’m not here to raise awareness in any formal way – there are plenty of excellent organisations doing that – but I can’t help sharing this. It feels like the kind of finding that should be shouted from the rooftops. Honestly, local councils should be building saunas everywhere.

And let’s face it: it’s one of the most pleasant prevention methods I’ve come across. I try to stay healthy in other ways, like cutting down on sugar or avoiding ultra-processed food, but those are uphill battles. After a long day of work and parenting, it’s all too easy to reach for convenience. A sauna, though, is something I want to do. It feels indulgent, yet it might also be protecting my brain.

When I come out of the sauna, I feel incredibly relaxed, almost zen. My worries recede, and for a while I’m wrapped in a lovely sense of wellbeing. During our cold, dark winters, it feels like an act of self-care that warms both body and soul.

Of course, I remind myself that saunas aren’t a silver bullet. Not everyone can access one, and the study focused on Finnish men, so we should be cautious about applying the results universally.

But even so, having one thing I can truly enjoy that might also protect me from dementia feels like a gift. When you’ve watched someone you love disappear into the fog of cognitive decline, the urge to take control of your own future is fierce.

So yes, I’ll be keeping up my sauna habit.