The Beth Goodrham Podcast - Lifestyle & Health for Women

Why Saunas Are a Midlife Woman's Health & Lifestyle Secret

• Beth Goodrham

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 Episode Overview

In this episode, I’m diving into one of my favourite topics — saunas — and how they can transform women’s health and wellness in midlife.

If you’ve ever felt the effects of hormonal changes, disrupted sleep, or flagging energy as you’ve moved through perimenopause or menopause, you’ll love this one. I’m sharing how regular sauna use has become such an important part of my own wellness lifestyle — helping me feel calmer, sleep better, and keep that natural glow that sometimes feels like it’s gone missing in midlife.

I’ll also talk about how to make saunas feel enjoyable (even if you think you don’t like them!) and how a few simple tweaks can help you get all the benefits without the overwhelm.

💫 In This Episode, I Talk About:

  • How saunas support women’s health during perimenopause and menopause
  • The fascinating science of heat therapy and “heat shock proteins” — and how they help regulate hormones and inflammation
  • Why saunas can help with midlife metabolism and stabilising blood sugar
  • The skin benefits no one talks about — hydration, collagen, and that gorgeous natural glow
  • How heat therapy can calm your nervous system, improve sleep, and boost your mood
  • Simple, practical ways to make sauna time part of your wellness routine
  • And why I never go into a sauna without my trusty sauna hat!

As someone who’s spent years as a long-distance runner, I’ve always loved being active — but as I moved through midlife, I realised I needed more balance in my lifestyle.

Running and working out gave me energy, but they also raised my cortisol levels. I wanted something that helped me slow down while still supporting my health and fitness. That’s when I discovered the magic of saunas.

Now, I see sauna sessions as a form of mindfulness as much as a form of movement. I’ve done them everywhere — from wild beach saunas in Wales to moonlit sessions under the stars — and every time, I come out feeling grounded, glowy, and more connected to myself.

My Key Takeaways

  • Consistency matters: Try 2–4 sessions per week, 10–20 minutes each.
  • Glow from within: Saunas improve circulation and boost your skin’s ability to hydrate itself.
  • Sleep better and stress less: The heat calms your nervous system and helps you rest more deeply.
  • Wellness is better shared: Sauna sessions with friends are joyful, relaxing, and full of laughter.
  • Protect your hair and comfort: A sauna hat helps you stay cooler, protects your hair, and makes your experience much more enjoyable.

📚 Resources & Links I Mention

Hello and welcome to the Beth Gooden podcast where we talk about lifestyle, health, family, and business issues affecting us midlife women. In today's episode, we are going to be looking at the health benefits of saunas for midlife women. If you haven't joined me before, thank you so much for being here. I know how busy life can be. I really do understand that, and so I am so grateful if you've thought, oh, I'm just going to take a few minutes to see what this podcast is like, and if you stay until the end, that would be absolutely fabulous. So I just wanted to extend a hugely warm welcome to you and say, thank you for giving up your time to be here. If you're anything like me, you like to listen to podcasts when you're going out for a walk. Maybe when you are getting dressed in the morning, when you're putting your makeup on, even in the shower, I listen to them. And I hope that you feel that my podcast will sit somewhere into your daily framework. If you know me, you probably know how obsessed I am with saunas and with cold dipping. I'm even thinking of getting a sauna, and I already have my cold dipping pod, which I go in as many times a week as I can manage. If I'm under the moon, like I was the other night under the full moon in the cold dipping pod with the owl hooting. I am happy and if we throw a sauna into the mix, then that is even better. Now, I've always done a lot of exercise, and this isn't a podcast about exercise, but I'm just going to talk you through my journey and how I became so invested in the whole experience of having saunas, but as a long distance runner and as a fan of working out. As I approached midlife, I felt that I needed to engage in activities that were more mindful. I do yoga as well and I do my bread making. So as well as it being high cortisol activities and long distance running can create cortisol and race stress levels. I want to do things that were an antidote to that and to also protect myself as I moved through. Decades. Decades. I reached a stage where I was looking for activities that slowed me down, calmed me down, but which at the same time facilitated me continuing with my active lifestyle. And that's when I started to investigate the health benefits of saunas. And what I found that they do is they give me that option to rest, but still to feel like I'm doing something positive for myself because of all the different health benefits that they have. So as we reach midlife. Hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause bring a range, as you know, of physical and emotional shifts from disrupted sleep. I dunno if any of you have noticed that your sleep patterns have changed. Low energy is something that we have to contend with. Changes in our skin, oh my golly, that's probably one of the biggest things. And metabolism as well. A couple of years ago, I underwent a full hysterectomy as though my body was thrown into menopause, which obviously had an impact on me. And although there are lots of solutions profited about how we can navigate what can be a bit of a tricky time in life, there are few which are as naturally effective and as enjoyable as a sauna. Evidence shows that saunas offer us benefits way beyond relaxation. Now, if at this point you are thinking, oh, but I really don't like saunas. I don't like feeling hot. I don't like feeling sweaty. Let's just sit with it as I go through the podcast, and it's not that I want to persuade you that you are wrong. But sometimes it is just a case of maybe trying a slightly different approach. One of the things that I've done, and I've done this with friends, which has made a huge difference, is booking out a sauna just for four of us or six of us. They're inexpensive, which is great,. The first time we did it, it was nighttime. We arrived in Wales. It was pitch black. The rain was pouring, the wind was howling, and we got in this sauna, and because it was November, it was just the most beautiful, warming, hilarious antidote to life. We'd all just left the end of a very busy week. We'd piled in the car, we'd gone over to Wales and just that juxtaposition be between what we'd been doing only a few hours before, and then where we ended up in the sauna was incredible. We've had another beach sauna where we've run outta the sauna and gone into the sea. That was also in Wales. That was an ox switch. That was magical. That was daylight. So looking out of a sauna on a beach. A totally different experience, and we've also done other ones. In Wales, overlooking the mountains, overlooking the sea. That was a lovely one to do as well. And there was a cold plunge pool that went alongside that. So we'd come outta the sauna and go in the cold plunge. The first one, we'd come out of the sauna and go in a shower. The second one, we'd come outta the sauna, go in the sea. The third one, we came outta the sauna and went into a cold plunge. So there's. There's different ways of approaching this, which will hopefully just make you think, do you know what? I enjoy that. I can totally see that. If on a boiling hot day you tried to go into a sauna, it might be something that feels a bit sticky and a bit yucky, but doing it in winter, doing it with friends, doing it in the dark or doing it on a beach, not staying in for too long, making sure you're well hydrated. I I can do a whole nother podcast episode on that, but just let's, let's breathe into the idea of going into a sauna in a way, which you might not have done before, let's give ourselves the best chance to get on with them, because the benefits can be so, so great. Heat therapy, particularly through using saunas, has been shown to address many of the symptoms that are associated with perimenopause and menopause and the drop in estrogen and progesterone. That goes alongside it. What it does is it activates key systems in the body that regulate inflammation, circulation, and hormonal balance, and that is something that I find totally fascinating. Recent studies suggest that regular sauna use can help balance hormonal changes by activating heat shock proteins, otherwise known as HSP ss. These proteins protect cells from stress and inflammation, both of which increased during the menopausal transition. A 2024 study by the University of Massachusetts even found that daily heat therapy wait for this in menopause or mice. Who knew that mice could reach the menopause, reduced weight gain, and improved insulin sensitivity, suggesting that there's really powerful metabolic benefits to having a sauna. I mean, how cool is that? Saunas might not only be a wellness trend, but also a scientifically supported way to support hormonal health, stabilized blood sugar, which is another big issue for us, and reduce midlife weight gain. Again, this isn't all about weight gain, but it is just worth knowing that there is evidence out there to suggest that saunas may also help with midlife weight gain, which I know can be a big issue for people. So the other thing that saunas are really well known for is helping with the skin and helping to combat menopausal dryness. One of the more frustrating changes I noticed once I reached 50 was the sort of. Overnight, rapid decline in skin quality. Always great. 46. I've got photos. When I was 46. I quite liked the way I looked. 47, 48, 49. All fine. 50 bam. It's like everything fell off a cliff and everything seemed to change. More lines appeared. Saginaw set in. And it felt like my natural glow left the building. And as our estrogen levels drop, the skin loses collagen and it also becomes thinner. It also retains less moisture. I mean, this is sounding as if it's miserable, but it's not. I promise you. And this can often result in dryness, flakiness, and a loss of glow. How many of us have tried illuminators and something so that we get that natural glow back? Honestly, going in the sauna is the best way to get you glowing. Because I'd had a hysterectomy. It didn't particularly help any of these things, although it did solve many other problems for which I was very grateful. But recently I went to a dermatologist and he told me that I didn't have any oil whatsoever in my skin. This was down to the menopause. The only way I was going to get any kind of oil in my skin was from putting it externally, and there was nothing coming from the inside, which was a bit of a blow, but one of the most noticeable health benefits of saunas, and this is linked to the natural glow that we get after it is enhanced blood flow. So what happens is that sauna heat causes the blood vessels to dilate, which improves circulation to the skin. And then this rush of nutrient rich blood not only boosts cell regeneration. It also stimulates the skin's ability to hydrate itself. And so with improved circulation comes better delivery of oxygen and the building blocks that are needed for collagen production. And that is why they help the skin to look fresher and feel more supple. I mean, it's just an all round win-win because if you can go into a sauna, come out, having had a great time with your friends. And looking glowy and sleeping better, which we'll come to in a minute, and feeling warm and feeling invigorated because you've done the little cold showery bits in between. It is just an all round, brilliant thing to do It is true that more research is needed in this area, but many midlife women who take saunas say that they have plumper and softer skin over time. Additionally, of course, one of the main benefits of being in a sauna is that we sweat and sweating during a sauna session, encourages the release of natural oils, and these moisturize the skin surface. Again, reducing dryness and improving the skin's barrier function. So there's a whole host of evidence there around how saunas can help with our hormones and can help with our skin. Not only that, but they help to improve our sleep. And also to stabilize our moods. As we know, hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbances are classic hallmarks of menopause and they often go hand in hand with heightened stress and anxiety. I dunno about you, but over the last few years, I've definitely noticed. Inner stress levels rising. I would say something from inner talk, something going on, which we'll explore in another podcast episode and sauna use can help to calm the nervous system because what it does, and you will all have heard of this, is it triggers the parasympathetic response, which promotes relaxation and better sleep quality. As opposed to the sympathetic response, which is the fight or flight. So it's, it's the opposite of fight or flight. The heat. It also stimulates the release of endorphins, which are the body's natural feel good chemicals. And it's brilliant that we can get those without having to do a really tough workout, which is the other way that we're all taught that our body releases endorphins. And what the endorphins do is they help to lift mood and reduce anxiety. What they found is that Sauna Sessions become a meditative ritual that supports mental clarity and emotional resilience. And it may be that you have a toolbox of these things already. It may be walking, it may be doing jigsaws, it may be doing needle work. For me, it's making my sourdough bread, but it's just good to know that there are other things out there. And saunas are definitely becoming more popular. There's more of them around the country. I'm in the uk, there's lots of beach saunas now. There's saunas in the cities. There's all sorts of things going on with saunas that we can access way more easily than we could before. And just one little story, one little anecdote that I wanted to pop in here is that earlier in the year, I went on a retreat, fabulous retreat, and we did sauna and cold dipping, after which we had a session where we were learning about things. And so there was a whole group of us, probably about 12 of us. We had the sauna, we had the cold dip. We went into this lovely warm room to sit down and to learn and to also interact with the information we were learning about different food types. And half of us were just completely zonked out like zombies. So if you are somebody who suffers with lack of sleep, you are either you're not able to get to sleep or you wake up during the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, I would really, really recommend trying a sauna to see if it makes a difference because. Say for example, you do decide that you love saunas and you start taking them a couple of times a week, which means that you are at least getting two good night's sleep a week. That could be an absolute game changer for you, so just wanted to pop that in there in case it's something that might make you go, oh, do you know what? I have tried everything else. I have tried sleep sprays, I've tried magnesium, I have tried all the other supplements, all the other rituals. All the other advice that I've been given to have a good night's sleep and nothing is, is working or nothing has worked, give a sauna a go and just see how you get on. So a lot of people ask, how often should you use a sauna and to experience the health benefits of saunas? Again, it is, consistency is key. Now I try and do lots of things consistently, probably sometimes too many. But even if I try to do a few, I'll find out that a few of them stick and a few of them don't. And then when I've established really good habits around the ones that stick, I'll go back. And revisit the ones that have fallen by the wayside and reintroduce them. So I'm constantly habit stacking, constantly introducing new things, testing new things out partly so that I can come and talk about them on here. But I just find it a really interesting to way to live life. And what they found is that, again, for saunas, consistency is key. What they found is that for midlife women using a sauna two to four times per week for 10 to 20 minutes per session is a really great starting point. And maybe it doesn't need to get any more than that. Maybe that is sufficient for you and that is fine. But what tends to happen is. As with anything, as our bodies adapt to the heat, sessions can gradually be extended. Evidence and personal experience tells me that saunas for women of our age are really powerful and really far reaching from hormone support, and better metabolism to smoother skin, to deeper sleep. And there's more research coming out all the time about the benefits of saunas. And as research continues to grow, they're shown to be safe, natural, and restorative option for women who want to take charge of their health during menopause. Now, there's different kinds of saunas. There's a traditional steam sauna, or there's infrared saunas. But if you can find a way to make a sauna a part of your routine, whether it's at your local gym, whether it's like I say a beach sauna or a city sauna, or I know of people who are installing their own saunas, then that is something that is going to reap rewards for a long, long time to come. If you don't already know, I actually have a brand that sells Sauna hats on amazon.com, which if you're in the uk, is probably of no real significance whatsoever. But all I would say is that they are really, really good at insulating your head from the heat because obviously warm air rises. So if you're sitting on the, top. Bench of a sauna, your head will heat, even if you're sitting lower down, your head will overheat first, and that can be where people start to get uncomfortable. So what a sauna hat does is it insulates the head, helping to regulate the body temperature during the heat exposure, and by preventing overheating of the scalp and the brain and your ears and your hair sauna has allow you to remain in the sauna for longer and more comfortably. And what this obviously means is that you can. Access more easily the full spectrum of benefits, especially those that require sustained exposure, like improved skin health and deep detoxification. They are also great if you have. Colored hair or hair extensions or brittle hair because they do a great job of protecting your hair whilst you are in the sauna as well. So that's just something to bear in mind that if you are thinking of taking a sauna or incorporating'em as part of your routine, then a sauna hat is a great piece for you to have. In your toolbox of things to take into the sauna with you if it helps to know it all. And I will link in the show notes and in the blog post that will go with this podcast episode, I have got a free download called The Sauna Solution, A Simple way to Feel better in your body and in your life. And in that I talk about lots of different things to do with saunas and how you can incorporate them, the benefits of them, how to go about having them. Lots of Qs and ass that may be buzzing around your mind. I answer those in the Sauna solution. So if you would like to get a copy of that, like I say, there will be a link in the show notes. I hope you found that a helpful podcast episode. I really do think that they are. A massive health and lifestyle secret for us, that they're much underutilized, that there will be more research around them. There was a brilliant book that I read last year called The Power of Hot and Cold, and that is written by two ladies who are finished. So it's all about the sauna culture as well, because I think it's really important that we are respectful of the sauna culture. But that goes into great depth and it is fascinating how it's one of those places that. Babies are born into, and then bodies are prepared in before burial. So it's a real, from the start of the journey of life to the finish of the journey of life and lots of things in between. There's so many interesting things in the book about meetings that have taken place in the sauna. Often naked between world leaders who then can't go back on the agreements they've reached because there's something about making an agreement or a pact or a treaty when you're naked in the sauna, which is then very hard to go back on how a lot of the finished cabinet are female and how they have meetings in saunas. They're a brilliant place to go and unravel your life, to have chats, to make pacs, to decide on new ways forwards and things. So their benefits are far, far, far reaching way more than we probably ever thought. So I will also link to that book as well, the Power of Hot and Cold, in case you fancy reading that on cold, dark nights like I did. I'd just like to finish today by saying thank you so much for listening. If you found this episode helpful, please rate and review the podcast on your favorite podcast player. I really hate asking people to do things like that, but it does make a difference. It helps to get the podcast out there. It helps to find other people who might benefit from the episodes that I am producing. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. You can either do that on the blog post, which accompanies this podcast episode. I will link in the show notes. I've also got a link to my Instagram in my show notes, but you can come and find me on Instagram at Beth. Good drum. Or you can mail me at mail@bethgooddrum.com. I hope you have a fabulous rest of your day. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you've enjoyed the podcast episode and if you're a new listener, thank you so much for joining me and I look forward to seeing you again soon. Lots of love. Take care, and bye for now.