Living in Florida, sweating isn't exactly something I have to work hard to do for most of the year. Between the heat, humidity, working out in my garage, and spending time outside, my summer-loving body is usually sweating plenty.
(Although, there was a time when it took SO MUCH for me to break a sweat. More on that later!)
But when fall — and I’m talking maybe the end of October here in Florida — and winter roll around, that crisp chill in the air doesn't exactly get the sweat flowing anymore. Plus, it's getting darker for longer, so there just isn't as much opportunity to get outside and soak up the sunshine.
And that's one of the reasons I've come to love my sauna.
But before we get into the benefits of sauna, let me share a little backstory.
My relationship with sweating, skin health & the sauna
I used to barely sweat. I would finish a workout, and the people around me would comment that it didn't even look like I'd exercised.
At first, I took it as a compliment. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that sweating very little during exercise wasn't necessarily something to celebrate. I would also go to a local sauna and it would take me 20 minutes to start sweating, which by that time my session was basically over!
Another thing I struggled with was acne, especially on my back. For years, I noticed that my breakouts would get significantly worse during the winter months. I always found this odd because I had been told that sweat was a culprit behind acne, yet my skin seemed to do better during the summer, when I was sweating more. Of course, skin health is complex. Temperature, humidity, habits, clothing, hormones, diet, and other factors can all play a role. But the experience made me more curious into what else was going on in my body.
As a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner with training in functional medicine, I'm naturally drawn to looking at the bigger picture. I want to understand the patterns, ask questions, and explore. As part of my digging, I did hormone and gut testing (find out more about that here) to uncover some underlying causes that could be contributing to the acne. These finding showed poor methylation, less than optimal estrogen clearance, and some gut imbalances. Along with targeted supplements and lifestyle changes, I decided the sauna would be a great tool for me to use as part of my treatment.
And once I did, I noticed SO MANY benefits. Not only was my sluggish detoxification pathways now open, my skin was better, I felt so restored with sleep, my muscle recovery improved and overall I just felt better in my body. I also loved the warmth, the opportunity to slow down, and the feeling of intentionally setting aside time for myself. Yes, I do the sauna during the summer, but I definitely increase my frequency as the seasons change. It becomes a ritual I especially look forward to.
So, what are the actual benefits of sauna, and why might you want to make it part of your fall and winter routine?
1. It’s good for your heart and circulation
One of the well-established physiological responses to sauna is increased blood flow. As your body warms up, blood vessels widen, and your heart rate rises as your body works to regulate its temperature. As a result, regular sauna use has been associated with better cardiovascular outcomes. I’m a big believer in movement and strength training, but I also love practices that let me slow down and care for my body in a different way. For me, sauna is a nice complement to my usual workouts and a reminder that supporting my health isn't always about doing more or pushing harder.
2. It supports your mood
The sauna is like a cozy reset button. Fall and winter get busy. The holidays, the schedule changes, the dark by 6 p.m. Sitting in warmth for 15 minutes with my phone out of reach is such a quick way to tell my body, “Okay, you can slow down now.” Research studies have also found that whole-body heat therapy affected symptoms of depression, which also tends to increase in the winter months. It helps your body shift out of stress mode and helps with chronic stress. Sauna gives your nervous system a signal to relax and settle, which creates better conditions for your body to rest, repair, and defend itself.
3. It improves your skin
You know I have a whole history with winter skin that I talked about above. Less sweating always left my skin feeling off this time of year. Your skin is your largest organ, and it’s more than a barrier. It’s also one of the ways your body releases waste, through sweat. In a study, researchers compared a regular sauna group with a non-sauna control group. The sauna group showed increased skin hydration and a more stable skin barrier. Their skin pH was also better balanced, which matters because an off-balance pH is linked to issues like eczema, acne, and irritation. Everyone’s skin is different, but I found those findings interesting given my own skin history.
TCM tie-in: In TCM, the Lungs govern the skin and the pores, and are also the organ of fall. Sweating is considered one way the body releases what it doesn’t need. Skin issues are often viewed as a reflection of what’s happening internally and often a issue of the lung system in TCM.
4. Immune health & seasonal wellness
Your body already knows how to use heat. When you get sick, you run a fever, which is your body deliberately raising its temperature to make it harder for invaders to thrive and to get your immune system moving. A sauna session creates a gentle, controlled version of that warmth, without an actual illness behind it. The heat widens your blood vessels and speeds up blood flow. Your blood is how immune cells travel around your body, so better circulation means they can move more freely to where they’re needed. Heat is also a mild stressor, so the sauna gives your body a manageable stress that helps it practice adapting and recovering. Think of it like exercise for your cells.
TCM tie-in: In TCM, there’s a concept called wei qi, your “protective” or defensive energy that circulates near the surface of the body and guards against external cold. Winter is considered the season to nourish it with warmth, rest, and good food, which is exactly why a warm ritual like this feels so right to me in the colder months.
A Little Wisdom from Traditional Chinese Medicine: Why Warmth Matters for Women
Long before saunas had studies behind them, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) placed a lot of importance on warmth, especially for women. Winter is considered the most yin season: cold, dark, and inward. In TCM, it’s the time to conserve energy, rest deeply, and protect the body’s warmth, which is closely tied to the kidney system and your foundational energy.
Cold slows things down. In TCM, cold is thought to constrict and cause stagnation, meaning the flow of qi (energy) and blood can feel sluggish. That’s why many TCM practitioners recommend warm foods, warm drinks, and keeping your lower belly, lower back, and feet covered, especially in cooler months. Sauna feels like the ultimate version of that: warmth from head to toe.
Women’s health is often described through warmth and circulation. TCM places a lot of emphasis on keeping the lower abdomen and womb area warm, and on smooth circulation of qi and blood. Cold and “stagnation” are traditionally associated with things like menstrual discomfort. It’s why so many women feel instinctively drawn to heating pads, warm baths, and cozy blankets during their period.
Balance matters, too. TCM is all about harmony between yin and yang, which is part of why I named this space Harmonized Womanhood. Too much heat or too much sweating can leave you depleted, so the goal isn’t to sweat as much as possible. It’s to find a gentle rhythm. Keep sessions moderate, hydrate well, and rest afterward.
How to incorporate sauna into your fall & winter routine
Start slowly. Begin with a short session at a comfortable temperature and gradually increase your time as tolerated.
Hydrate before and after. You'll lose fluid through sweating, so make sure you're adequately hydrated.
Listen to your body. Leave if you feel dizzy, faint, nauseated, or uncomfortably overheated. Longer sessions aren't necessarily better.
Shower afterward. Especially if you're prone to breakouts, rinse away sweat and change into clean, dry clothing.
Make it a ritual. Put your phone away, relax, and allow yourself time to unwind without turning it into another task to optimize.
Want to bring the sauna experience home?
My personal sauna recommendation:
One of my favorite ways to make a wellness practice more sustainable is to make it easier to access. When something fits naturally into your life, you're more likely to return to it over and over again. And rather than treating self-care as an occasional luxury, you can begin to weave it into your everyday routine.
If you've been interested in incorporating sauna into your wellness rituals, a home sauna is totally worth exploring. I personally have a far-infrared Relax Sauna. I have the Silver Elite Sauna model. I absolutely love that it is portable, making it easy to put away when we need the space. All I have to do is plug it in, turn it on and it’s instantly ready to use. Having it at home has made it so easy to create a routine and create a dedicated space for relaxation, warmth, and post-workout unwinding without needing to travel to a gym or spa
*A note on why I love far-infrared sauna: Not all saunas work in exactly the same way, and one of the things that drew me to Relax Sauna is its far-infrared technology. Far-infrared (FIR) is primarily experienced as radiant heat. Rather than relying on heating the air around you, far-infrared energy is absorbed by the body and contributes to a warming response. Relax Sauna differentiates its technology through specialized semiconductor emitters designed to produce concentrated far-infrared energy. The company focuses on the potential whole-body effects of this technology, rather than the more surface-focused applications commonly associated with red light therapy.
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