Scandinavia is having a moment.

“Scandi” is the hottest trend in interior design, it’s becoming an increasingly popular travel destination and its pop stars, like Tove Lo, are dominating the charts.

They’ve clearly got a good thing going. While we’re looking towards Scandinavia for our furniture and party tunes, why not go full Scandi and go to a sauna? It’s a traditional pastime across the region, with Finland boasting an estimated 2 million saunas (amongst a population of 5 million people).

With winter finally making its departure, we’re all looking forward to a little more warmth. Saunas are the ideal way to fast forward to sweat-city.

The benefits of saunas

Having been used for thousands of years, there are a lot of health claims made about saunas: they’ll ‘detoxify’ your system (nope), help you lose weight (water weight, maybe), make your skin glow. Here are the ones that have actually been proven by science:

• Improved blood pressure
• Temporary improvement of asthma or bronchitis
• Improvement of psoriasis

Saunas also increase your heart rate by 30%,  and a longterm study of Finnish men found those who used saunas regularly were less likely to develop heart disease.

That said, the experts say if you have heart problems you should consult a doctor before using a sauna. They also strongly recommend against drinking alcohol while using a sauna, because it increases your chances of heart problems.

The number one health benefit reported? Relaxation and a sense of wellbeing. While that’s not as sexy as “detoxing heavy metals” or “increasing immunity”, it’s definitely something we could all benefit from.

A Nimbus & Co. sauna room

The latest in saunas

The new kid on the sauna block is the infrared sauna. Instead of heating the air, as in a traditional sauna, these use infrared lamps that warm your body through electromagnetic radiation. Which means you get a deep, satisfying sweat at a lower temperature, and all of the health benefits that come with it.

We tried an infrared sauna at Bondi’s Nimbus & Co., where your own private sauna comes complete with a system hooked up to Netflix and Pandora, for ultimate chill out vibes. If you don’t like the idea of sweating it out amongst semi-naked strangers, this is the way to go.

Go on, blow off those winter cobwebs.