Using the sauna at the best possible time can help you feel the benefits more effectively. However, whether you have your sauna session in the morning or at night can depend on your routine as well as the kind of sauna that you have.
For instance, if you have or go to a traditional sauna, you should ideally use it in the morning. On the other hand, if you use an infrared sauna, the best time to have a sauna session would be at night.
There are several other things you need to know about using the sauna in the morning or at night. You can go through these below so that you can then make your decision.
Best Time to Use the Sauna
Using the sauna in the morning or at night can have varying effects on the body, not to mention that the type of sauna you have can also make a difference. Let’s explore this in some more detail.
Morning
If you want to feel some rejuvenation and prepare yourself for your day, then you can go ahead and use the sauna in the morning. Ideally, however, you should try to use a traditional sauna in the morning since this can help you stay alert even after the sauna session while an infrared sauna might end up making you feel drowsy.
When you use the sauna, your body temperature will rise and then cool down once you are out of the sauna, resulting in a relaxing experience that can help kickstart your day.
According to a study, using a sauna in the morning (the study made use of a mist sauna) can lead to productivity, alertness and work efficiency throughout the working hours during the rest of the day.
Using a sauna first thing in the morning can also be quite safe since the thermoregulation effects of your sleep are still quite recent and can prove to be beneficial when combined with the effects of the sauna.
There are several advantages and disadvantages of using a sauna in the morning that you can go through below.
Benefits
- You can relax enough to start your day with a good mindset.
- You can ensure more productivity and alertness for the rest of the day.
- You can better regulate your heart rate, even when there are stressors around you.
- Your memory, concentration and imagination can function better during the day.
Limitations
- If you use the sauna for too long or use an infrared sauna, you might end up feeling sleepy and drowsy.
- You might have to wake up earlier to accommodate a morning session, which can disrupt your routine a bit.
Night
If you are looking for a good night’s sleep, you can just as easily have a sauna session at night before you go to bed. An infrared sauna is ideal for a night session since the heat directly pierces your body and helps increase the production and release of melatonin.
The melatonin can then help maintain the circadian rhythm and ensure proper rest throughout the night. This can also be essential in keeping the sleep cycle in check, thus improving the quality of your sleep. This was also observed in athletes based on a study conducted on their sleep quality.
Saunas can also help bring about thermoregulation by increasing the temperature in the sauna and decreasing it once you are out, having a cooling effect on your body that can make for the ideal sleeping temperature.
Infrared saunas, through their light, can also modulate sleep and lead to several benefits even in the transition between sleep and wakefulness.
Using this sauna at night can also be quite safe as long as you wait a bit after your dinner. This can not only improve your sleep but can also help you wake up refreshed.
There are several benefits and limitations of using a sauna at night that you can go through.
Benefits
- You can maintain healthy sleep-wake routines.
- You can sleep better throughout the night.
- You can get the required number of hours of sleep.
- You can get rid of your day’s fatigue and stress before sleeping.
Limitations
- You might have to change your routine a bit to accommodate this kind of sauna session.
- It might take you longer to fall asleep if you end up using a traditional sauna since the combination of heat and humidity can end up disrupting your sleep pattern.
Is It Safe to Use a Sauna at Both Times?
If there are benefits to using a sauna in the morning as well as at night, is it okay to have sauna sessions twice? Technically, you can opt for this kind of combination as well, although it is important for you to limit how long you spend in each session.
On a regular basis, you can simply use the sauna for 15-20 minutes at a time if you are going to be using the sauna only once a day. For using the sauna twice a day, however, you might need to divide up the time between both sessions. This is because spending more than 20 minutes a day in a sauna can do more harm than good.
Thus, if you want to use a sauna in the morning and at night, you should only spend around 10-15 minutes each time. Moreover, the issue of the kind of sauna you use might also present a problem, since not everyone can access both a traditional and infrared sauna to suit the day and night sessions.
Overall, it is better and simply more convenient for you to use the sauna only once a day. If you have access to both saunas, however, you can go ahead and use both.
Final Thoughts
You can have your sauna session either in the morning or at night depending on the kind of impact you are looking for. For productive and refreshing effects, you can use a traditional sauna in the morning. For calming and relaxing effects, you can use an infrared sauna at night.
