5 Benefits Of Steam Rooms & How They Compare To Saunas

These days, it feels like everyone is trying to break a sweat in the name of longevity. Heat therapy is having a major moment, and many people are stepping into saunas in the name of cardiovascular, immunity, and metabolic benefits. But what about the sauna's steamy counterpart, the steam room? Do the health perks of extreme heat hold up once you add water to the mix?

A steam room, also called a steam bath, is a space filled with steam that's intended to cleanse and refresh the body and relieve tension.

Steam rooms are nothing new: Different cultures have incorporated steam into their bathing rituals for centuries. Roman bathhouses served as relaxing gathering places, while Turkish Hammam baths held major religious significance. England, Greece, and plenty of other countries have historical bathing rituals of their own, each with a unique cultural twist.

Fast-forward to the modern day and you'll find steam rooms in spas, gyms, urban bathhouses, exercise studios, hotels, and even in some homes. 

One randomized control study showed that steam rooms can significantly lower blood pressure and keep it there for half an hour1 after the initial steam session. 

The higher your blood pressure, the more at risk you are for subsequent health concerns like heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, so any activity that can keep your blood pressure low is a step in the right direction. 

You'll often find steam baths in gyms, largely due to the fact that they can help relieve muscle tension2 and provide a feeling of relaxation. 

"The heat and steam can soothe nerve endings and relax muscles, potentially easing joint pain3, arthritis, migraines, and headaches," explains longevity specialist Darshan Shah, M.D.

He adds, "The heat from steam rooms can trigger the release of endorphins, known as 'feel-good' chemicals, which reduce stress and can leave you feeling rejuvenated."

This may translate to better sleep too. One study done on 17 adult men with mild sleep concerns and anxiety found that those who spent 15 minutes with a steam-producing mask on before bed saw improvements in sleep quality4. 

Steam rooms, saunas, ice baths, intermittent fasting protocols, and some forms of exercise like HIIT all fall under the category of hormetic stressors. These practices put your body under just the right amount of strain to encourage resilience. 

Stressing yourself out in a controlled setting seems to have benefits for your life span, and hormesis is a focus of cutting-edge longevity research5.

If you book a facial at your local spa, you may be treated to a facial steam at the beginning of your session. Estheticians often use steam to help loosen dead skin, hydrate your complexion, open up the pores, and of course, relax your mood. 

"Facial steaming also dilates your skin blood vessels, which promotes healthy circulation to the skin," board-certified dermatologist Kim Nichols, M.D., founder of NicholsMD of Greenwich previously told mindbodygreen. In turn, stimulating blood flow often leads to a more radiant complexion. Not to mention, that extra hydration can also contribute to a brighter glow: "When your skin lacks water, it appears dull with an uneven skin tone," Nichols added.

However, steaming is not for everyone—some people just can't tolerate the heat, even sparingly. Those with inflammatory skin conditions like eczema, rosacea, or melasma may experience exacerbated symptoms with exposure to any kind of heat, steam included. 

Blowing your nose in the shower is a common habit, which demonstrates how steam affects your sinuses. "Steam helps loosen phlegm and mucus, improving congestion and breathing," Safdar Naueen, M.D., an internal medicine doctor at EHE Health previously told mindbodygreen.

"While steam rooms promote sweating, the concept of detoxing through sweat is not supported by scientific evidence," Shah notes. It's true that some toxins have been documented to be excreted via sweat7, but that process isn't completely synonymous with direct health benefits just yet. 

Rather, Shah says, "Toxins are primarily processed and eliminated by organs like the liver and kidneys." 

When choosing between a sauna and a steam room, you may first consider that the two can both have a place in your well-being routine. According to journalist and author of Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat Emma O'Kelly, Scandinavian sauna rituals typically included pouring water over the hot rocks, thus turning the sauna into a steam room too.

But the hybrid sauna and steam room design has largely been "lost in translation," O'Kelly says, so you may be left choosing one or the other. We've covered this comparison in-depth before, so here's a summary of the main takeaways: 

Steam rooms found in spas and gyms can come with a steep price tag, but you can reap some of the benefits at home in a more accessible fashion. By turning on your shower and filling a closed-door bathroom with steam, you'll be able to trigger sweating, decongestion, and relaxation as well.

However, it's often more difficult to hold a DIY steam room at a higher temperature given the presence of vents and fans, so fully equal benefits can't be promised. Plus, continuously running water for the sake of creating steam isn't the most climate-friendly practice.

As mentioned before, you can get even more benefits from heat therapy via saunas and steam rooms by adding an opposing cold force for peak hormetic stress.

"The drastic temperature change can invigorate the body and potentially boost the immune system," Shah explains, adding that this type of hold-cold therapy can enhance circulation, reduce muscle soreness, and speed up athletic recovery as well.

Those with preexisting heart conditions should consult their physician before using steam rooms regularly, as studies show steam bathing can cause rapid decreases in blood pressure1. This quick drop can also cause lightheadedness, so be sure to step out of the steam room immediately if you feel dizzy or nauseous. 

Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medication should also consult their doctor before electing for a steam bath.

The most common argument against steam room use is that saunas are simply more evidence-backed for health and longevity—which is true. However, some of the longevity benefits of saunas come from exposing ourselves to heat and then subsequently cooling ourselves off—all of which theoretically happens in steam rooms as well. 

That being said, experts recommend keeping steam room use to 15 minutes, so you can't spend quite as much time in steam rooms as saunas—and much of the leading sauna benefits research calls for upward of 20 minutes multiple times a week to be beneficial. 

Exposing your body to short bursts of heat can help speed up your metabolism8, ease inflammation9, promote recovery10, and even reduce your risk of cardiovascular events. However, the vast majority of the research on heat therapy has been conducted in saunas—not steam rooms.

While some sauna benefits may be transferable to steam rooms, others may not. Early research shows that regular steam room use may help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, help out your skin, and reduce congestion. However, in general, steam rooms don't get as hot as saunas, and we can't stay in them for as long, so they may not have the same effect on harder health metrics.

That said, you don't need to choose one over the other. If you have access to both saunas and steam rooms, feel free to switch things up as you wish. And if you prefer the feeling of a wet steam room over a dry sauna, chances are you'll still walk out of it feeling better than when you walked in.