Hi everyone!
I’ve heard that in Finland, the sauna is not just for relaxation, but also a social place where people open up and talk more freely.
I find it really interesting that Finns are often described as shy or quiet in daily life, but more talkative in the sauna.
Why do you think that happens?
Is there a cultural or psychological reason behind it?
Also, I’d love to learn the authentic Finnish way to enjoy the sauna — for example, how to behave, how long to stay, whether to talk or stay silent, or any tips to really “get the true sauna experience.”
I’ve already checked some online resources about Finnish saunas, but I’d love to hear directly from Finns themselves — your real experiences and opinions!
In Japan, we also have a growing sauna culture recently, but it’s still a bit different — so I’d love to hear from real Finns about how you do it.
(I’m a Japanese student and learning English, so I hope my writing is okay. Thank you for your kindness!)
by Ricky_2303
20 comments
They typically bring alcohol to sauna.
Alcohol plus it’s too relaxing to be tense
I’d say people remove their social ranks and roles when they take off their clothes and go to sauna. Everybody is treated as equal there.
How long to stay: as long as it feels good and you can handle it. Nobody thinks bad of someone who sits in the sauna for a long time.
It’s ok to talk in the sauna if the other participants are receptive. Some strangers in the public saunas want to be alone.
I wouldn’t say more talkative. It’s just a different setting. It’s just you and someone else, in a room, naked. A whole different scenario. Yes, sometimes alcohol is involved.
“Kun soivat kiukaan mustat urut, unohtuvat arjen surut”
You relax and forget the everyday struggle just for a while, beer also helps.
Generally I think that this happens in setting where you’re in a sauna with people you know. Not so much in public saunas but of course some people have conversations there as well. Sauna makes you relaxed and you’re living in the moment. It’s much easier to have a relaxed conversation then.
Depends I guess, might be the alcohol, might be the fact that sauna is often seen as kind of a neutral, safe and place of healing kind of area were you can talk about a lot of things that are bothering you, or it might be just the fact that in sauna you’re all kind of equally in your birthday suit. Still can’t talk for every Finn, it’s always a very individual thing.
I’ll try to describe this best I can.
Sauna is a place where people are naked and vulnerable. All distracted and shields are off and there are just people naked in a hot room. It’s the place you can be most like yourself and without mental barriers. It’s not that Finn’s talk more in the sauna, it’s that Finn’s talk about meaningful things and deep things in the sauna. When I really want to talk about meaningful things and otherwise uncomfortable and/or hard subjects with family or friends, sauna is the place. My father did it with me and I do it with my kids with a 100% success rate.
In a public sauna? Stfu and throw the fucking löyly.
I say nah, some people like to talk in sauna, others not so much. If I go to sauna with my friends, we talk just as we talk outside sauna, there’s nothing special in the room itself. Idk if it’s a bit different for men, though. And yeah, it is somewhat common that people talk to strangers in public saunas, some may open up about personal things, but more often it’s just about the weather or similar.
About proper etiquette: there are not many rules. The following is mostly for public saunas, if you’re invited to a personal sauna, you can ask your host, Finns generally like to talk about the sauna culture.
So: Go naked or wrapped in a towel (in most mixed gender public saunas swimming trunks are also ok or even required). Talk if you want to and someone is eager to talk back (but avoid being loud talker), but it’s more than ok to stay silent. Stay as long as you’re comfortable, we don’t measure time in saunas.
There’s one rule though: When someone throws löyly, they’re expected to stay in sauna until the heat wave dissipates. So you can’t pour a lot of water to the stove and then decide it got too hot and leave the room. And if you empty the water bucket, you’re expected to refill it.
In my opinion and experience, as a native Finn, we Finns are actually quite talkative even though we don’t brag about it, we just belittle it. But when it comes to the sauna, there’s just more time to talk in a sauna when you’re not in a hurry and you’re not late for anything because of talking in the sauna and so you can talk as much and as long as you want (because we don’t engage in short, light chats and small talk, but rather have long conversations that can last from 15 minutes to two or three hours and time is precious).
And one of the most important sauna manners is not to make loud noises or shout or start a fight or argument, but to remain calm in the sauna and also respect other people in the sauna.
It is also customary to throw water on the sauna heater to create steam, whether it is wood-fired or electrically heated, and more water is thrown in at intervals that you feel are appropriate for you.
And you can also go naked in the sauna and it’s recommended, but it’s not mandatory if you don’t want to and it’s okay because we understand that not all cultures are as tolerant of nudity as we are.
And if it gets too hot in sauna, you can break up your sauna session with cool-down breaks, and after you have cooled down enough you can return to the sauna. And you can stay in the sauna for as long as you want (only sauna shifts have a time limit).
and if you go to the sauna in the summer, tradition includes gathering a bouquet of leafy birch branches called vihta or vasta (depending on the dialect) and whipping yourself with it in the sauna because it improves health, relaxes and speeds up blood circulation.
And when it comes to conversation in a public sauna, there is presumably a lot of regional variation and differences about is it okay or not, but for example in Central Finland, where I live, it is not a barrier and it is not unusual to get carried away talking to others in sauna to get to know them and to break the silence.
It’s kind of like a liminal space, something that exists beyond the mundane world and is separate from it. So we reserve stuff like heart-to-hearts for sauna with buddies etc.
15-20min of sauna is the usual, and you will reap the full health benefits if you stay that “long”. Decreased blood pressure, synapse regrowth, improved circulation, and more. These “boosts” will last up to 48hrs, so having a sauna every other day lets you enjoy them without pause.
Because it’s not permitted to swear, more space is allocated to the words between the swears
There are literally no ranks in a sauna. Even in the military.
I’ve visited Hokkaido a few times. My impression of the saunas in onsens is that they’re more about physical therapy. It seemed to me that most Japanese people went to the sauna to sit quietly and endure the heat (not always necessarily liking it) for a specific amount of time which they measured from a clock or a hourglass on the wall.
Compared to this, Finnish sauna is more about relaxation and enjoyment – you set the sauna as hot as you like it, and stay as long as you feel like staying (no clock), and this can vary a lot from person to person.
The setting is kinda like when elevator gets stuck so you start talking to the other person. Like what else can you do in a quiet room with nothing else to do.
Some rules are:
1. never leave the door open
2. If you throw löyly, you stay in the sauna for the duration of the löyly
3. Adults sit on the top bench(this is more of a norm not a rule)
As a norwegian, please don’t talk to me in the sauna
if it is a public sauna, you can vcomment something about the weather or how nice the sauna is, or any other general daily small talk. keep the conversation respectful and suitable for everybody.
if it is a sauna night with friends, you can joke, tell stories or get into deep meaningful conversations, all depending of the situation and the feel. the main rule is that no fighting or arguing in the sauna.
There’s actually a public discussion going on in Tampere about the loudness of some people in public saunas. Apparently the situation got to the point that one sauna had to create quiet hours.
I think it also has something to do with the ritual of removing clothes and most if not all barriers, masks and/or titles. Big company CEO is just a man/woman/attack helicopter when you are all sweating together in the sauna.
On top of what everybody else said, I think subconsciously knowing that the time is limited changes things. You can bring up awkward conversations, because you know there’s a socially acceptable end to to the conversation.
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