If you or your partner is trying to get pregnant, you can read several horror stories online about saunas. Saunas are supposed to be too hot for men, thereby limiting the chances of conception. For women, claims that the high temperatures also interfere with pregnancy.
Fortunately, several studies have investigated the effects of saunas on the ability to conceive (1; 2; 3). Generally, infrared saunas are extremely safe for women during the preconception period. After becoming pregnant, it’s recommended to only expose yourself to limited amounts of heat. So, a short 15-minute relaxing far infrared sauna session or a short time using outdoor sauna kits, will be fine for a pregnant woman. However, intense sweating where you push your limits of your heat tolerance is not recommended.
For men, the story is more complicated, and, of course, only the preconception period matters for men. Studies do show that with repeated intense heat exposure, the number of sperm cells can go down – but, this fact needs to be placed within more context though.
For instance, there are many factors influencing the overall fertility for men. Below I’ve added a short list of important factors:
That’s just a shortlist – other factors could be added but you get the idea. Now, there is a situation in which I would recommend decreasing exposure to high heat infrared saunas if you’re a man. If you’ve already implemented all of the advice listed above, and you still have problems achieving pregnancy with a woman, you could cut down on infrared sauna exposure as a man.
But, clinically, that situation seems to be extremely rare. So in normal circumstances, if there are no (complex) health conditions present, conception should be possible. From the perspective of detoxification and improving overall health, infrared saunas are an extremely helpful addition in a health regimen.
Now here’s the deal:
Men only need to remove the infrared saunas from their lives until conception is achieved. According to the science, it takes about 5 weeks for sperm levels to return to normal after heat exposure is removed. Sperm counts also go down after just one week of exposure to intense heat. As stated before, saunas are just one factor among many that influence overall fertility in men so it’s not a problem for many men.
The risk of saunas impeding the chances of conception are generally overblown. Only in very rare cases, where the man has pre-existing health conditions and has problems with his fertility that are established by a medical doctor would I recommend avoiding infrared saunas.
Women, on the other hand, can always enjoy infrared saunas during the preconception period. After conception, women will need to be far more careful though, and only expose themselves to limited heat.
Overall, it’s better to focus on general health during the preconception period. That means that men and women should try to implement a healthy overall lifestyle, instead of avoiding saunas in the first place.
References:
- Hannuksela ML, Ellahham S. Benefits and risks of sauna bathing. Am J Med. 2001 Feb 1;110(2):118-26. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(00)00671-9. PMID: 11165553.
- Wähä-Eskeli K, Erkkola R. The sauna and pregnancy. Ann Clin Res. 1988;20(4):279-82. PMID: 3218901.
- Brown-Woodman PD, Post EJ, Gass GC, White IG. The effect of a single sauna exposure on spermatozoa. Arch Androl. 1984;12(1):9-15. doi: 10.3109/01485018409161141. PMID: 6476971.
3 comments
Good article but I’m still standing against my pregnant wife using an infrared sauna. Increased risk of overheating, dehydration, low blood pressure that’s something definitely not good for unborn baby.
Also does it depend on whether you are used to going in the sauna as a pregnant person?
Of course – In a similar way to exercise. If you normally lift weights, you can carry on safely, but it’s probably not a good idea to start your lifting during pregnancy.