Sauna: Sacred space, community asset, or social prescription?
Earlier this month, the government announced £343 million to open up to 159 new NHS mental health facilities across England. 100 community centres and 59 dedicated crisis departments will be rolled out nationally, after six pilot sites were successful. The health secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced the scheme at one of the pilots in Sheffield. This particular centre was a converted library and community centre, built with local voluntary groups.
Such an approach reflects the NHS’s move towards community-centric approaches to health, putting it at the heart of the NHS 10-year plan with its Neighbourhood Health strategy. This movement is also developing at the same time as we in the sauna world are putting out our own petitions for the health and social benefits of sauna to be appreciated by local health providers and the general public, with the notable observation that saunas are fast becoming a community asset in themselves. Notably, the UK is leading on research that affirms this link, with recent papers gathering data to build the case for saunas to be socially prescribed (Sauna culture improves physical and mental wellbeing in the UK through social connection and ritual, Newson et al. 2026) and Rachael McGrath’s and Community Sauna Baths recent service evaluation providing a solid case study in how sauna can deliver wellbeing improvements for local communities.
At the same time, a ritual space with lineage and tradition being positioned as a clinical function can feel sacrilegious to many. Indeed, even the research led by Martha Newson found that the group ritual element to sauna use enhanced the wellbeing impact of the practice, suggesting that minimising the social and even spiritual elements would effectively blunt the benefits of the practice.
Getting to know those in the healthcare world over the past few years and understanding the challenges that they’re facing, I’ve come to appreciate that frontline healthcare workers and sauna practitioners align in their world views much more than they would expect. At conferences with GPs I’ve heard them advocate for whole-person or mind-body approaches, including sauna, as being the only way forward for a growing number of patients who are suffering from nervous dysregulation and treatment-resistant to traditional or pharmaceutical-first medicine. Equally, I’ve had educational conversations with Sauna Masters who have a deep understanding of human physiology and use it to enhance their rituals.
Dr Jane Packer, a GP who has been working with Kate Rawson of Sauna Pause to explore how sauna use can be integrated into established local health care, explains “The aspiration should not necessarily be for GPs to start ‘prescribing sauna’ in the same way that they prescribe medication. Sauna culture is not and should not, in my opinion, be viewed as a treatment pathway. It is a social, cultural, and recreational practice that many people around the world already find beneficial, where it is an unquestioned part of their life. Its value extends beyond measurable health outcomes to include community, relaxation, enjoyment, ritual, and connection.”
Dr Henry Aughterson, who has studied the wellbeing impact of social prescribing community schemes at University College London, argues that worries about sauna becoming too clinical are unlikely to materialise. He explains, “If you look at things like exercise, arts, community gardening and nature activities which have been heavily featured within NHS social prescribing for a long time, I don't think the general public perspective has shifted towards viewing those as ‘medical interventions’. I think, if anything, it has just led to a greater awareness of the ‘health’ benefits of these activities, which I think is a net good, and I hope will help us protect and expand them in the long-run.”
Terming it a ‘prescription’ - inescapable with it being the title of an effective and growing national health scheme - might be a bit of a misnomer. But Aughterson thinks it was vital to the success of the scheme, even if it might not be technically correct.
“Many GPs and link workers will ‘refer’ patients, but that's all they really do. It's still the patient who is the one who has to take ownership, attend a first session, and decide for themselves if it's something valuable to them. Whether that is doctors ‘prescribing’ it or not feels slightly semantic. The term ‘social prescribing’ was hotly debated for the first couple years in the NHS national roll out of link workers. Whilst most agreed it wasn't the perfect phrase, it acted as a Trojan horse to ultimately increase the importance of community in our provision and understanding of health.”
And yet, as Packer notes, “once healthcare systems become involved, questions emerge around eligibility, referral criteria, clinical governance, evidence standards, risk management, and commercial relationships. Community resources can find themselves navigating institutional requirements that were never part of their original purpose.”
“Recognition from healthcare professionals would likely help build credibility, improve understanding of the evidence base, and encourage partnerships that make sauna accessible to more people. Yet there are risks if the sector becomes overly focused on achieving formal medical endorsement. Activities that are attractive because they are enjoyable, social, and voluntary can begin to feel like treatments. Expectations shift from pleasure and participation towards outcomes and compliance. The language of medicine can sometimes overshadow the human experiences that made an activity valuable in the first place.”
This is undoubtedly a tension that will continue to arise as the NHS moves towards community ownership of health outcomes, and struggles to leave behind the status quo of a near century-old model of public health.
“The experience of Parkrun demonstrates both the opportunities and the tensions,” explains Packer. This scheme, entirely run by keen local volunteers, is incredibly popular with GPs and link workers who have become keen advocates for it. But, “increased recognition has undoubtedly expanded awareness and participation. Yet concerns remain that a grassroots community movement risks being reframed as a healthcare intervention.”
So how should sauna operators and practitioners, who are keen to bring the benefits of sauna to those who need it most, be engaging with the medical world?
Aughterson recommends thinking less about the healthcare system, and instead focusing efforts on developing local community relationships.
“Most referral routes into such community groups are not via the GP-link worker model, they are through word of mouth, social care, third sector groups, and other community referrals. The GP-link worker model route is an important one, but just one way in. For better or worse - often for worse I think - we as a society still give doctors and modern medicine enormous power in our minds. Patients come to doctors wanting evidence-based answers and solutions. We all contribute to this. And perhaps this is one of the big shifts we need to go through as a society, in order to empower people more with their health.”
Packer agrees, “I don’t think the goal here is a future of healthcare professionals ‘prescribing’ sauna. Rather, one where those professionals understand sauna, recognise its potential benefits and limitations, and feel able to discuss it intelligently with patients when relevant.”
“Sauna should remain what has made it invaluable for centuries: a cultural practice centred on the power of heat to bring restoration and social connection. Its greatest strength will be where it belongs still to people and communities, rather than healthcare systems.”
Which is why it’s enlightening to see that the NHS, in its new nationwide rollout, is embedding healthcare amongst community assets like banks, high streets and libraries. As awareness and enthusiasm for the physical, mental and social health benefits of sauna grows exponentially in the UK, it’s not hard to imagine that neighbourhood saunas will become a valued and supported part of community health provision in the near future.
