May 26, 2025 08:00:00

Why is it dangerous to drink alcohol before going into a sauna?

Sauna culture has grown rich and diverse across borders and history, and is now more popular than ever not only in countries such as Finland, Japan, and Mexico, but also in the UK. Many people in the UK enjoy both alcohol and saunas at the same time, but Dan Baumgard, a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience at the University of Bristol, explains that 'it is very dangerous to consume alcohol before saunas.'

Fancy letting off steam with a beer before the sauna? Here's why that might be a bad idea

https://theconversation.com/fancy-letting-off-steam-with-a-beer-before-the-sauna-heres-why-that-might-be-a-bad-idea-255703

There has been a lot of research done on the potential health benefits of sauna use.

For example, Japanese researchers have studied the effects of Waon therapy (low-temperature sauna therapy) on patients with ischemic heart disease , a condition in which narrowing of the arteries increases the risk of heart attack, and have shown clinical evidence that it improves the patient's condition. Other studies have shown that Waon therapy is effective in peripheral arterial disease and recovery after a heart attack .

Previous studies have also shown that saunas can help manage high blood pressure and certain lung diseases, promote wound healing , and lower the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease .

But when you consume alcohol, 'things change,' Baumgardt points out.

The hypothalamus , deep in the brain, which regulates body temperature, responds to heat by increasing blood flow to the skin and promoting sweating to cool the body. But this also increases the risk of dehydration. And when combined with alcohol, which has a diuretic effect, the risk of dehydration increases significantly, Baumgard noted.

Additionally, both alcohol and heat have been shown to affect cardiovascular function, lowering blood pressure and increasing heart rate, and research has shown that consuming alcohol while taking a sauna bath increases the risk of arrhythmia.

There's also another effect on the brain: Alcohol impairs judgment and coordination -- things you definitely don't want to be impaired by in the heat, slippery floors, and steamy room that is a sauna, Baumgard says.

Taking all this into account, drinking alcohol and then going into a sauna can make you dehydrated, hot, and intoxicated, increase your heart rate, and cause your blood pressure to plummet, which can lead to dizziness, fainting, and confusion, and increase your risk of falling, getting burned, or drowning, Baumgard said.

In fact, collapsing or losing consciousness in a sauna can be extremely dangerous. In

one case published in the American Journal of Forensic Pathology , a man spent just seven minutes in a sauna before suffering serious injuries, including burns, and ultimately dying. Another study from Finland found an increasing association between sauna deaths and alcohol poisoning.

With this in mind, Baumgardt said, 'The important thing is that if you are going to drink alcohol, it should be after the sauna, not before or during. People who are intoxicated should avoid saunas, or at least be closely supervised.'