I’ll always be a hedonist and seek out joyful, endorphin-boosting fun. But where it used to be chasing the high and wild of the night, now it’s the heat of the sauna and the rush of a cold plunge, writes Emma Sola

It is early Saturday morning, and I am scantily clad in an enclosed space, sweating profusely and chatting to strangers. I reach for my water; now too warm to be of any benefit. Time to stumble outside for some fresh, sea front air.

I am not at Patterns or any other of the clubs in Brighton’s vibrant nightlife, however. Like so many of us been-there-and-done-that over-50s, I am enjoying one of the multitude of saunas that have appeared in recent years.

Brighton has taken sauna culture to its hedonistic heart

Where once we would venture out into the darkness, and stagger home as the birds started to sing, people of my age are increasingly choosing to get our kicks in the daylight whilst wearing a swimming costume (pointy felt hat optional).

There has been a wellness culture in Brighton since Dr Richard Russell’s highly questionable sea cure in the 1750s. And it is not for nothing that Hanover is known as ‘Muesli Mountain’. But sauna has moved from the fringes to the well and truly mainstream.

My first forays into the world of sauna were in 2021

And this was via sauna master, Jesse Devlin (@thesaunacorner), whose Inferno Wellness Warrior sessions at Beach Box, and then at her own sauna, were nothing short of legendary. Sunday mornings at 7am, we would arrive just as the ravers from the Volks Tavern were being disgorged onto the seafront, a neat reminder of our previous lives. Half an hour of kettlebells and one and a half hours of the most euphoric sauna rituals imaginable, I emerged a new person.

The high I felt in those moments I had previously only felt whilst dancing with complete abandon at places like the Shark Bar or the Zap in the early 90s. It was addictive.

Now, sauna has become an intrinsic part of my weekly routine. I arrive with the weight of a busy life on my ageing shoulders and leave lighter, freer, and at peace with the world. And the science agrees with me.

The first 15 minutes are like a warm hug that allows all the tension in your body to just melt away. Muscles and limbs relax, thought stills and the first beads of sweat start to glisten on your skin. The heat exposure triggers our parasympathetic nervous system, shifting us away from fight, flight or freeze and into rest.

Now it’s time for some cold…

Whether just being in the outside air, or using cold water, it is the contrast of temperature that stimulates and regulates the often overlooked vagus nerve. It’s an essential component of this “rest and digest” state that helps us to be less anxious, to digest our food effectively, and crucially, to sleep better.

Add to that a rush of the good stuff, the happy hormones (endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin can all be stimulated by a trip to the sauna), and you have one incredibly potent and beneficial cocktail.

Research shows potential multiple benefits associated with the regular use of sauna, from improved cardiovascular health to a reduction in the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. For those of us with ongoing health problems on top of age related concerns such as the effects of menopause, sauna can feel like a life-saver.

But sauna is more than just part of a healthy lifestyle

It’s an oxytocin-boosting social space. The sauna hosts are the first part of this, and at my sauna of choice, Luna Hut on the seafront, I know all these wonderful women by name. Although I love a silent sauna, I also love making small talk with strangers. Like the nightclub toilets, the talk can move from superficial pleasantries to deep and meaningful pretty rapidly on occasion.

I have been part of groups of strangers laughing uproariously together and others supporting people in the moments of grief and sadness that are sometimes released along with all of that bodily tension.

You can also build your own sauna community. My friends and family have started to celebrate birthdays or other important life moments in the sauna. It’s a great way to reconnect larger groups. One international pal hires the whole Nomadic sauna out for all of her friends when she visits the UK.

Sauna culture is inter-generational: my mum books one for the whole family on Christmas eve (Fire, Salt and Sea on Worthing beach) and my teenage son is a massive fan of both family sauna-time and going with his pals whenever he can. One of my friends, Martha, has trained to be a sauna master and leads sauna rituals using essential oils and birch leaves at regular sessions for her circle at Wild Spa Wo-Wo. Other friends have got a sauna tent in their garden and host us for yoga and sauna mornings. Sauna has become a way of life.

Because the positive effects are undeniable

Sauna calms and soothes. It detangles the knotted body; smooths and stills the frazzled mind. It places you in the present moment, focusing on the here and now. Some saunas even have special sessions that use ice, essential oils, music and movement to heighten the senses (aufguss). And these take me right back to the total spiritual, emotional, and physical connectedness of the dancefloors of my youth. No late nights needed.

Whilst a sauna habit is not free – a 30-minute community sauna session ranges from £8-15 – compare it to the cost of a gin and tonic anywhere, or the entry price to a club, and there is no competition. The joy of sauna means that you do have to take your clothes off to have a good time, but cherry wine is not required.

If you are sauna curious, what are you waiting for? Grab your swimsuit, and take the (cold) plunge. The endorphins are on me.