Experience Alex Bilmes’ full article, “Is a sauna worth the sweat?” here.
Img cred: Revitalise Urban Spa, East London.
Alex Bilmes’ Financial Times story charts the rise of sauna culture with wit, curiosity, and an eye for the cultural moment. Building on his observations, we explore how the UK’s sauna landscape is transforming, and what that transformation reveals about the way we choose to live, gather, and support our health.
Science, Heat, and the Quiet Drama of What Happens Inside Us
Heat feels good on the body (most people know that instinctively) but the mechanisms are intricate, almost theatrical.
As Bilmes writes:
“Sauna, an ancient Finnish tradition of rest, relaxation and perspiration – and public nudity, if that’s your jam – is suddenly the wellness hack to rule them all.” Blimes continues, “The science on much of this is encouraging, if not always conclusive, as numerous studies have suggested.”
During an interview with Dr Ash Kapoor, a “longevity and human optimisation physician”, Bilmes writes:
“Sauna is not,” he tells me, “a silver bullet”, but it does have multiple therapeutic benefits because it gets to a ‘root cause of all disease: inflammation’.”
Kapoor continues:
“As the body heats up,” argues Dr Kapoor, “mitochondria in our cells release adenosine triphosphate (often described as the ‘energy currency’ of the cell). Toxins are released in sweat, and nitric oxide, which aids circulation, is produced. Heat enhances neuroplasticity (the brain’s way of learning, or relearning). You enter hormesis, where ‘good stress’ heightens the body’s defences.”
Featured: Clearlight Sanctuary 4 Person Yoga Sauna.
The New Way to Socialise
It’s not only the science that’s evolving. It’s the social script. Bilmes refers to a GQ article with Glen Powell, who repositions sauna as a healthy alternative to the pub:
“When I socialise and bring guys together,” Powell confided, “instead of just going, ‘Hey, let’s all go grab a drink,’ a lot of times I’ll bring ’em all to a sauna and just load all my buddies in.”
In a wellness-aware society, many people are quietly craving connection without the haze of alcohol. And in London, this trend has mutated into something beautiful: the sauna rave.
Bilmes describes them with perfect deadpan:
“Powell and his buddies are not the only sober-curious millennials loading into saunas. In London, ‘sauna raves’ at facilities such as Arc in Canary Wharf – home to a 65-capacity sauna, apparently Britain’s biggest – and Sauna Social Club in Peckham involve DJs playing club classics to glistening revellers quaffing mocktails.”
Melanie C at NYC Sweat Club
This is the brilliance of sauna culture in 2025. It adapts to whatever season of life you’re in.
For some, it's a rave. For others, a ritual.
Or recovery. Or solitude. Or conversation. Or the one place where your phone cannot follow you.
The Home Sauna: Heat Without the Crowd
As public sauna culture explodes, many are also opting in for the privacy and consistency of a home setup. Infrared saunas, which allow heat therapy without steam, with super fast heat times, and without the need for architectural renovations.
Clearlight® saunas have play a pivotal role in the cultural shift, offering:
- a quieter, more meditative version of heat
- luxurious, modern design that fits into UK homes of all sizes
- infrared heat that warms from within, safely and efficiently
- a space that can be connective… or exquisitely solitary
Infrared doesn’t replace the classic sauna experience. It offers something consistent, time-saving, and easier to enjoy daily. And with Clearlight, you get it all, supported by a Lifetime Warranty.
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