The Primal Shift 122: Paul Saladino Is Not a Fan of Sauna Anymore
The general consensus on sauna bathing is that it's a powerful tool for longevity, recovery and metabolic health. More sessions, higher heat, longer durations — all of these strategies are commonly assumed to produce better outcomes.
But after hearing Paul Saladino question whether sauna use can add unnecessary stress for people who already train hard or live under chronic pressure, I felt it was worth taking a closer look at when sauna therapy is best leveraged and when it might do more harm than good.
Here's the core issue: sauna use is a physiological stressor. It raises core temperature, increases cortisol, can lower HRV in the short term, and often causes temporary spikes in blood glucose.
And if your overall stress load is already high, adding another stressor on top of that won't necessarily improve recovery.
In other words, the thing you should be concerned about is total stress load.
When hard training, poor sleep, work pressure, and everyday life are already consuming most of your recovery capacity, spending long periods in very hot saunas can stop being adaptive and start competing with recovery.
At the same time, when you zoom out, the long-term evidence supporting sauna bathing remains strong — even for people who train regularly.
These benefits – including improvements in cardiovascular function, insulin sensitivity, heat tolerance and sleep quality – play out over years and decades, not session by session.
And I suspect the number of people who train so hard that their system is pushed to its limit is relatively low.
So in my view, discouraging sauna use is the wrong overall approach; for most people in most scenarios, the benefits far outweigh the risks.
Still, it can be beneficial to pay attention to dosage and timing. Long, very hot sauna sessions layered onto hard training and inadequate recovery can overwhelm your ability to recover, rather than support it.
Used more deliberately — i.e., shorter sessions, reasonable temperatures, and better placement within the week — time in the sauna often has the opposite effect, helping people unwind, sleep better, and recover more fully – even when their fitness trackers show short-term fluctuations.
Learn more:
Paul Saladino's Video: Why I Changed My Mind on Saunas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF4ID6_4BGY
Infrared vs Traditional Saunas [Blog Post]: https://michaelkummer.com/infrared-vs-traditional-saunas/ Benefits of Using a Sauna and Ice Bath Together [Blog Post]: https://michaelkummer.com/ice-bath-and-sauna/
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In this episode: 00:00 Introduction: Can sauna hurt your recovery? 00:45 Paul Saladino's arguments against sauna 05:27 Scientific perspective on sauna benefits 07:20 Debunking sauna myths 14:52 Practical sauna guidelines 20:21 Cold plunging insights 22:44 Conclusion: Finding the right balance
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[Medical Disclaimer]
The information shared on this video is for educational purposes only, is not a substitute for the advice of medical doctors or registered dietitians (which I am not) and should not be used to prevent, diagnose, or treat any condition. Consult with a physician before starting a fitness regimen, adding supplements to your diet, or making other changes that may affect your medications, treatment plan, or overall health.
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