Full video

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Today, we're at Löyly in Helsinki to

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walk you through a very special cultural

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tradition here in Finland, the sauna

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experience.

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Find out why the sauna has become the

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bedrock of my country and a few tips on

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how to sauna like a true Finn.

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I'm Jasper Pääkkönen. I'm an actor and

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owner here at Löyly. Though many may

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think of a sauna as a luxury, to finish

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people they're an essential part of

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daily life and a fundamental part of our

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culture. In this country of just 5 and

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1/2 million people, there are over 3

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saunas and counting.

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This is a Finnish sauna experience.

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Almost every Finnish home, vacation

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cottage, apartment building, and hotel

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have a sauna. And here in Helsinki, we

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have several public saunas like Löyly.

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Public saunas offer a social

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environment, sense of community, and a

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way to pause in the midst of everyday

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life.

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Before you head to sweat it out in the

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sauna, make sure you're hydrated. The

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sauna is meant to be a cleansing

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experience. Some people might even say

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spiritual. Washing before entering is

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essential, so jump in the shower before

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you get in.

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It's customary to be naked in the sauna,

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although in public mixed saunas, bathing

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suits are required.

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Once you're ready, come meet me in the

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sauna.

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Hello.

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Welcome to an authentic Finnish

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wood burning sauna. I don't think

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there's anything as distinctly Finnish

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as saunas. Having a sauna is just as

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essential as having a bathroom or a

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kitchen or a bedroom. We start going to

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the sauna when we're only a few months

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old. Many people in Finland go to the

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sauna every day, but saunas are also a

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very important way to celebrate

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birthdays or parties or you name it. We

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always come up with a reason to go to

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the sauna.

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One of the most important saunas on an

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annual scale is a Christmas sauna. Sauna

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is actually an average Fin's version of

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going to the church. There's about 3.3

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million saunas in Finland, and it's safe

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to say that every single one of those

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3.3 million saunas is unique and

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different. And people in Finland build

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saunas in in the weirdest places. There

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are saunas on wheels and inside ice

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hockey arenas. But traditionally people

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have saunas at their home, either

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electric heated saunas or wood burning

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saunas, which is the traditional way of

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building a sauna.

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The most authentic way historically was

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building smoke saunas. So before

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chimneys were invented, just a room or a

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little hut with a pile of rocks and you

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would burn wood inside the pile of

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rocks.

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And before you start using the sauna,

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you'd open a little hatch and you open

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the door and you blow out all the smoke

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and all the walls would of course be

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covered in black soot, but there's no

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more toxins. We Finns value the smoke

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saunas, the most traditional saunas,

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uh at the highest level.

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Every traditional sauna needs to have

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water thrown onto the sauna heater's

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rocks

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because that steam raises the humidity

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level for a little while. For about a

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half a minute to a minute, the sauna

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feels a lot hotter, but the temperature

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doesn't actually change. The name of

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that steam is löyly. It's kind of like

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the spirit of the sauna, and each and

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every sauna has its own distinct löyly.

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Okay, I think we've done enough for this

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first sauna session. Let's go out and

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take a little dip in the Baltic Sea.

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How long you choose to stay in the sauna

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is up to you, but be sure to take enough

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breaks. The Finnish sauna method is

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heat, cool down, repeat. People

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typically sit in the sauna anywhere from

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5 to 30 minutes and then cool down

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outside in the shower, or if you want an

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extra rush of endorphins by taking an

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icy plunge.

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You ready?

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Remember to hydrate with plenty of water

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during your breaks. You can go in the

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sauna once or as many times as you feel

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comfortable, but always listen to your

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body and don't stay past your limit.

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The history of the Finnish sauna is

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difficult to pin down, but some say its

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primitive form dates back 10,000 years.

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Over the ages, saunas served a multitude

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of functions, having been the most

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practical place to wash during cold

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months, a sterile environment to give

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birth. My grandmother was born in a

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sauna. And in a full circle moment, a

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space to prepare the dead for their

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final rights. Though these days it's

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less common that you'll meet a Finn who

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was born in a sauna. It's still dubbed

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the poor man's pharmacy, proven to

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prevent and cure a variety of illnesses.

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Also in the wartime, in the Second World

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War, traditionally, building a sauna in

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the field was a very essential part of

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the way Finns survived. And nowadays,

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when Finnish peacekeeping troops, for

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example, travel to a new location, the

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first structure that they build is the

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sauna.

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And in 2020, the Finnish sauna was

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placed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural

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Heritage list.

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You may be asking yourself why you'd

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want to go into an 80° C

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room and sweat it out. You'll just have

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to try for yourself.

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In the sauna, you may be handed a vihta

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or vasta, a bunch of birch branches that

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you dip in water and then use to whisk

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yourself. This is not as weird as it

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sounds. It can help cleanse your skin,

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stimulate circulation, and it gives off

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a nice aroma.

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Beyond the cultural and social aspects,

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the sauna can have important benefits

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for physical and mental health,

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including improved circulation and

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immune function, muscle relaxation,

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stress reduction, and better sleep.

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We don't really have a strong sense of

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hierarchy in Finland. It's a very flat

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social structure in terms of equality,

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but nowhere else than inside a sauna is

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that more true. When you strip away from

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your clothes, you leave your clothes and

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your wallet, everybody's basically bare

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and uh quite literally bare.

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Stripped away from titles, from their

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wealth.

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The way Löyly was built was for both

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people in Helsinki to have that

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traditional sort of communal sauna

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experience and a place to meet up and

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gather and have spontaneous

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conversations in the sauna with

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strangers, but also for foreigners to

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experience a very traditional

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wood-heated sauna. You know, you can't

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really visit Finland without visiting a

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sauna because it's it's not you haven't

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experienced what true Finland and true

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Finnish culture is all about.

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We Finns don't sweat and run. When

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you're finished in the sauna, shower off

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with soap. Taking a shower will calm

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your heart rate and complete the

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experience of physical and mental

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cleansing.

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Then continue this experience with a

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cold drink and a snack to hydrate and

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restore the sodium that you sweat out.

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Conveniently here at Löyly, we have a

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restaurant with plenty of refreshing

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options. I recommend the traditional

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fish soup.

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The most important thing now is to take

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some time to enjoy the blissful

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post-sauna feeling.

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Some Finns might love the sauna for the

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social aspect. Others might love this

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experience for the physical and mental

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benefits. What's universally agreed upon

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in Finland is that the sauna is the

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perfect way to let stress melt away. It

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just might be the key to why Finns are

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the happiest people on Earth.