Home Saunas

Sauna is one of the most studied recovery practices there is, largely because Finland has been doing it for generations and researchers have followed the same population for decades.

The single most important finding across all of it is the dose. The benefits are associated with using a sauna four to seven times a week, not occasionally. Every figure below compares people at that frequency against people using a sauna once a week.

Cardiovascular health. The Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Study followed 2,315 middle-aged Finnish men for a median of 20.7 years and published its findings in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2015. Compared with once-weekly users, men who used a sauna four to seven times a week showed a 63 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death, a 48 percent lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease, a 50 percent lower risk of fatal cardiovascular disease, and a 40 percent lower risk of death from any cause. Session length mattered too. Men averaging more than 19 minutes per session showed a 52 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death than those under 11 minutes. A later study of 1,688 men and women found the same dose-dependent pattern.

Brain health. The same cohort was examined for cognitive outcomes and published in Age and Ageing in 2016. Men using a sauna four to seven times a week showed a 66 percent lower risk of dementia and a 65 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease than once-weekly users.

Growth hormone. Heat exposure triggers a measurable release of growth hormone, which is involved in tissue repair and recovery. Under normal use, two sessions of 15 to 20 minutes at 80 to 100 degrees separated by a cooling period, studies have recorded increases of up to five times baseline. Under sustained and far more demanding protocols the recorded increases run considerably higher, up to sixteen times baseline, though that is not a realistic way to use a sauna and the response diminishes with repeated days. The effect is a temporary pulse rather than a permanent change, and it works alongside training rather than in place of it.

Sleep. Core temperature rises during a session and falls afterwards, and that fall forms part of the same signal the body uses to initiate deep sleep. Research links regular sauna use with improved sleep quality, and most people notice they fall asleep more easily within the first week or two. Finishing one to two hours before bed produces the most pronounced effect.

Recovery from physical work. Heat increases circulation and drives blood to the surface, which may support the clearance of metabolic waste that leaves the legs heavy the following day. A session on a Sunday evening, after a long walk, a game, a hard training week or a physical job, makes Monday considerably easier.

Every study referenced here is cited in full in our research library.

Worth being clear on two points, because they change how you should read the numbers above.

These are observational studies, not clinical trials. The Finnish cohorts followed people who chose their own sauna habits. The associations are strong, they hold across two separate populations, and they survive adjustment for the obvious confounders including age, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, physical activity and fitness. But an association is not proof of cause, and people who use a sauna four times a week may differ from once-weekly users in ways no statistical model fully captures.

The long-term studies were conducted on traditional Finnish saunas. Hot rock stoves at 80 to 100 degrees, not infrared. The reason is straightforward: Finland has been building traditional saunas for generations, so researchers had decades of habitual users to follow. Infrared has not been in widespread use long enough for a twenty year mortality study to exist yet.

The early research on infrared is promising. Studies to date report comparable cardiovascular responses, including improvements in circulation and blood pressure, achieved at a lower ambient temperature and therefore with less strain on the body during a session. What does not yet exist is the decades of follow-up data that traditional sauna use has accumulated, and it will take another twenty years of infrared use before it can.

If the long-term Finnish research is specifically what draws you to a sauna, the Heritage Traditional is the model that matches it. We would rather say that plainly than let you assume the two are interchangeable.

The research is built on frequency sustained over years, which is the part most people underestimate when they are choosing where to put a sauna.

Something you will keep doing. Twenty minutes at home, with no booking and no travel involved. Four to seven times a week is achievable when the sauna is in the house and very difficult when it is not.

A clear end to the working day. Many people go from work to the couch to bed with nothing in between, and find their mind still on work late in the evening. Twenty minutes in a sauna creates a defined separation between the day and the night. Owners frequently describe this as the reason they keep using it.

Winter. July is the month owners report using a sauna most, and the one least considered by people shopping in February.

Shared use. Sessions with a partner or with the family are a large part of why people keep the habit going. It is worth factoring into the size you choose.

Neither is better. They are different experiences, and the right choice depends on what you want from a session.

Infrared heats the body directly using light rather than heating the air. It operates at 55 to 70 degrees, which most people find comfortable for a forty minute session. It reaches temperature in 20 to 30 minutes and can be used while still warming. It requires no drainage, no waterproofing and no structural work, which is why an infrared sauna can be installed in a spare room, a garage or a home gym without building work.

Traditional hot rock heats the air to 80 to 100 degrees using a stove and stones, and takes 45 to 60 minutes to reach temperature. Water ladled over the stones produces loyly steam, which intensifies both the heat and the sweat response. This is the authentic Finnish format, and the one the long running Finnish research studied.

For daily use with minimal preparation, infrared. For the ritual and the higher heat, traditional.

Heater output determines whether a cabin heats evenly, and it is worth understanding before comparing models on price alone.

A standard 10 amp household outlet supports around 2,400 watts, and continuous draw is generally rated below that. A number of saunas are designed to run from one, which makes them simpler to install. The trade off is total heat output.

Two things follow. The first is even heating. Heat rises, so a cabin without enough output to saturate the whole space leaves a cooler band at floor level. The upper body warms while the legs and feet do not, which means part of the session is lost.

The second is the temperature you are actually sitting in. A thermostat reads the air at the sensor, which is mounted high on the wall where the cabin is warmest. That reading is not the temperature at ankle height, and in a Sydney or Melbourne winter the difference becomes more pronounced.

The Elevate range runs 2,560 watts at entry level on a 15 amp outlet. The 2 Person delivers 3,400 watts on the same 15 amp outlet, and the 3 Person 3,700 watts on 20 amp. That output is what allows a cabin to reach temperature and hold it evenly from floor to ceiling.

A simple way to compare any sauna. Leave a cold drink on the floor for the length of a session. In a cabin with adequate output at floor level it will not still be cold at the end. You are welcome to try that in ours at the showroom.

Elevate Indoor Full Spectrum Infrared

Canadian Hemlock interior, 8mm tempered glass, low EMF mica panels working with front mounted full spectrum glass heaters. WiFi app control, 7 colour chromotherapy and Bluetooth audio across every model.

• Elevate 1 Person, $4,499. 900 x 900 x 2000mm. 2,560 watts on a 15 amp outlet. Fits a spare room corner. Full spectrum, at the price most brands sell far infrared only.
• Elevate 2 Person, $5,299. 1200 x 1000 x 2000mm. 3,400 watts on a 15 amp outlet. Our best seller, and the size most couples end up wanting.
• Elevate 3 Person, $6,299. 1500 x 1000 x 2000mm. 20 amp outlet. Enough room to lie down.
• Elevate 4 Person, $6,999. 1800 x 1100 x 2000mm. 20 amp outlet. The largest indoor cabin, with RGB strip lighting on top of chromotherapy.

Elevate Outdoor Full Spectrum Infrared

Aluminium exterior, Hemlock interior, tinted tempered glass. No oiling. No sealing. No silvered timber in three summers.

• Elevate Outdoor 3 Person, $9,999. 1500 x 1800mm footprint. Double bench with an L shaped lower bench.
• Elevate Outdoor 5 Person, $13,999. 2000 x 2000mm footprint. The biggest sauna we build.

Heritage Traditional

• Heritage 4 Person, $11,999. 8kW Harvia stove and stones, heat to 100 degrees, loyly on demand. Aluminium exterior over a Hemlock interior.

Not sure which size suits you? Talk to us and we will help you work it out before you order.

Full spectrum across the whole range, indoor and outdoor. Near, mid and far infrared delivered together, from low EMF mica panels combined with front mounted glass heaters. Near infrared reaches muscle and joint tissue, mid infrared penetrates deeper tissue, and far infrared drives the surface heat and sweat response. Full spectrum is often sold as an upgrade on a far infrared cabinet. In the Elevate range it is standard from the entry model.

Output sufficient to heat the full cabin. 2,560 watts at entry level, 3,400 watts in the 2 Person on a 15 amp outlet, and 3,700 watts in the 3 Person on 20 amp. Even heat from floor to ceiling, and a thermostat reading that reflects the temperature you are sitting in.

0.1 mG measured on the bench.

Low EMF is claimed widely in this category, so we have recorded our readings rather than describing them. TriField TF2 meter, magnetic field mode: 0.1 mG resting on the bench where you sit, 0.3 mG held mid cabin, and 1.1 mG with the meter pressed directly against the heater.

For context, ARPANSA gives typical background magnetic fields in an Australian home as around 1 mG, and the public exposure reference level adopted from ICNIRP at 50 Hz is 2,000 mG. Sitting on the bench in an Elevate sauna places you in a lower field than sitting in an average lounge room.

Australian certified. RCM certified to AS/NZS 60335.2.40:2019, with a 7 year warranty. Full terms are on our warranty page.

See one before you decide. Book an appointment at the Mulgrave showroom, compare a hemlock interior against an aluminium outdoor cabin, and work out what suits your space. Book a visit.

Delivery. Free East Coast Metro Delivery. We deliver the sauna to your address. Unpacking, positioning and assembly are arranged by you, so have help on hand and clear access to where it is going. Outside East Coast Metro, contact us and we will quote it.

Power. Worth arranging before delivery.

• Elevate 1 Person and 2 Person: a 15 amp outlet.
• Elevate 3 Person and 4 Person: a 20 amp outlet.
• Elevate Outdoor 3 Person and 5 Person: a 20 amp outdoor three pin flat pin power point.
• Heritage Traditional: a dedicated 40 amp circuit.

Worth knowing before you order: the standard power point in an Australian home is 10 amp. A 15 amp plug has a wider earth pin and will not fit a 10 amp socket, which is a deliberate safety feature of the Australian standard. Unless your laundry, garage or workshop already has a 15 or 20 amp outlet, one will need to be installed where the sauna is going.

All electrical work is carried out by your own licensed electrician. Enhance does not carry out electrical work. We recommend obtaining a quote before ordering and booking the work for the week of delivery, so the sauna is ready to use once it is in place. If you are unsure what you currently have, send us a photo of the outlet and we will tell you.

Space. Indoor: a flat floor and ventilation. No waterproofing, no drainage, no special flooring. Outdoor: a flat load rated base, decking, pavers or a concrete pad. Grass on its own is not enough.