The Journal
Notes from the bench
Slow writing about heat, craft, and the quieter corners of the sauna ritual. Essays, research, and field notes.
Featured · Science
The ten-second stand: what a one-leg balance test says about ageing
In one long-running study, the ability to stand on one leg for ten seconds tracked with living longer. What the research actually shows, why balance fades without announcing itself, and how to get it back.
Science
Heat before bed: what the research says about sauna and sleep
Regular sauna-goers often say the deepest sleep of the week follows an evening session. Here’s what the research on body warming and sleep actually supports — and when to finish the heat so the night gets the benefit.
Sauna ritual
Sauna in summer: why the ritual doesn’t stop in July
Most of us treat the sauna as winter kit and pack it away with the coats. The Finns do the opposite — midsummer is their biggest sauna night of the year. Here’s how to run the ritual through the warm months: evening sessions, gentler plunges and a slightly lower stove.
Sauna ritual
The box on the beach: how Britain is becoming a sauna nation
Wood-fired cabin saunas have appeared on beaches, rooftops and riverbanks across Britain — the British Sauna Society counted 45 public saunas in January 2023, 147 by January 2025, and now lists more than 800 on its UK Sauna Map. Here’s how a country that never had a sauna culture started building one, and where to find it.
Science
Steps, not miles: what the research says about walking and a longer life
The most evidence-backed longevity habit asks for no kit — only that you do more of it. A measured look at the research on daily steps and the target worth holding in mind.
Science
Heat, movement, and the long game: what the research says about sauna and barefoot living
Two old, unglamorous practices — the heat of the sauna and letting the foot move as it was built to — keep turning up in the longevity research. A measured look at what the studies actually support, where the evidence on barefoot movement is genuinely mixed, and how to begin without hurting yourself.
Science
One sauna session, six weeks of better mood: what the research actually says
A small 2016 trial in JAMA Psychiatry found a single hot session lifted depressive symptoms for up to six weeks. A careful read of what was measured, what wasn’t, and what it means for an ordinary evening round.
VivoBarefoot
VivoBarefoot Wild Swim Robe review: the changing robe we reach for after every outdoor sauna
A short, honest review of the VivoBarefoot Wild Swim Robe — the hooded organic-cotton changing robe the Amurr team now keeps on a hook by the sauna door.
VivoBarefoot
How to use a VivoBarefoot discount code
Step-by-step: how to use ASAUNA25OFF and ASAUNA15 at the VivoBarefoot checkout, which regions each one works in, and what to do if a code does not apply.
Sauna hats
How to care for a wool sauna hat
Air-dry, never tumble, spot clean only. A short maintenance guide for keeping a wool sauna hat felted in Britain in shape for ten years and more.
Sauna hats
How to use a sauna hat: a beginner’s guide to longer, calmer sessions
Put it on dry, sit on the right bench, take it off between rounds, hang it to air. A short, practical guide to using a wool sauna hat well — and to not damaging it on the first day.
Sauna hats
What is a sauna hat (and why wool changes the ritual)
A sauna hat is the smallest object in the room and the one that changes the experience most. Here is what it does, why wool felt is the traditional choice, and how to tell a good one from a tourist souvenir.
Sauna ritual
The cold after: a short essay on the plunge
Heat is only half of a sauna ritual. The other half — the part that makes the heat worth it — is what happens when you step out into the cold.
Sauna ritual
In praise of solitude: the quietest room in the house
Why the sauna is one of the few rooms left where you are expected to do nothing — and why that nothing matters more than ever.
Sauna ritual
Uncover the benefits of sauna: Boost Wellness & Elevate Your Ritual
What the Finnish cardiovascular research actually shows — and why the benefits sit in the longer rounds, the ones you only stay for once the room stops asking too much of you.
Science
Sauna Science: Research Reveals How Heat Supercharges Your Health
The first in a new series. Over the coming weeks, one theme at a time — the heart, the brain, sleep, recovery — taken at the same unhurried pace as the ritual itself.