Can you use a sauna on your period?

You've booked a sauna session and your period has turned up. Do you go? For most people the answer is yes. The questions that matter are practical ones: what to wear, how you'll feel in the heat, and whether the venue has its own rules.

Is it safe?

Yes. Health services don't list periods as a reason to avoid a sauna, and the NHS even lists a warm bath or shower among the things that can help with period pain. The usual sauna advice still applies: don't stay in too long, drink water and get out if you feel unwell.

Most of the reasons people hesitate are about hygiene and comfort, not health. Those are easy to sort out.

Heat and period pain

Heat on the tummy is a familiar remedy for cramps, and it has some decent research behind it. In a 2001 trial in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 84 women with period pain wore a heated or unheated patch on the abdomen for about 12 hours a day, for two days, alongside ibuprofen or a dummy pill. The heat patch worked about as well as ibuprofen. Procter & Gamble supplied the patches for the trial, which is worth knowing.

A 2018 review in Scientific Reports pooled six small trials and found heat eased period pain better than no heat and, in a couple of trials, better than painkillers. The authors noted how few studies there were.

A sauna isn't the same as a heat pad. It warms your whole body for 10–20 minutes rather than one spot for hours, and nobody has tested it for period pain. Plenty of people say it helps, and it's reasonable to try. If you'd rather not go in, a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel does a similar job at home.

Will it make you bleed more?

You'll read online that heat makes your period heavier. We couldn't find any study showing that. The idea comes from the fact that heat widens blood vessels and increases blood flow, which makes it sound plausible, but plausible isn't proof. Doctors quoted on the subject say there's no evidence that hot baths increase bleeding. A period sheds the lining of the womb on its own schedule, and twenty minutes on a sauna bench is unlikely to change that.

If your periods are very heavy anyway, that's worth raising with a doctor whether you use a sauna or not.

Tampons, cups and what to wear

• Tampon or menstrual cup. These are the practical choice, especially where saunas are nude or swimwear is required. Put in a fresh one just before you go in, and change it again afterwards.
• Period swimwear. Fine for a light day in a sauna where swimsuits are worn. On heavier days it's better as a backup to a tampon or cup.
• Pads. They don't stay put in swimwear and aren't an option in nude saunas.
• Your towel. Sit or lie on a towel that covers the whole bench under you. A dark one saves worrying.
• Shower first. Everyone should anyway, and it helps you feel fresh.

For the general rules on swimsuits and nudity, see what to wear in a sauna.

Feeling tired or dizzy

Some people feel more tired or light-headed during their period, and heat lowers your blood pressure on top of that. So be a little gentler than usual: shorter rounds, a lower bench, longer breaks, and a drink of water between rounds. Our guide to staying hydrated in the sauna has more. If you feel faint, get out, sit or lie down, and get up slowly.

Hammams, onsen and shared pools

A sauna bench is one thing. Sharing water or a heated stone with strangers is another, and some places have rules.

• Japanese onsen and sento. Many baths ask women not to get in during their period. It's a house rule rather than a law, and it varies: some accept a tampon, others ask you to skip the bath completely. Many people simply avoid the shared baths on heavy days. Our onsen etiquette guide covers the other rules.
• Hammams. You lie on a shared heated stone, then get scrubbed. A tampon or cup works fine. If you'd feel more comfortable, mention it to the attendant or skip the scrub this time. See what is a hammam? for what happens.
• Pools and hot tubs. Wear a tampon or cup, just as you would to go swimming.

If in doubt, ask the venue before you go.

Who should be careful

See a doctor if your periods are very heavy, last more than seven days, or leave you tired or short of breath much of the time, or if you have severe pain that stops you doing normal things. Don't use heat to mask pain that's new or unusual. If there's any chance you're pregnant, read sauna use in pregnancy first.

This guide is general information, not medical advice.

Where to go

If you'd like more privacy on your period, a private sauna you book for yourself takes the worry away completely.

Do Not Disturb Atlanta

Atlanta · Private sauna suite

Kodawari Studios

Tampa · Private sauna

Hürrem Hammam Wellness & Spa

Miami · Hammam and saunas

Frequently asked questions