The Sauna and Cold Plunge Routine For Compounding Benefits
There’s a Sauna Cold Plunge Routine that Andrew Hubeman, Dr. Susanna Soberg, Peter Attia, and Joe Rogan could all agree on.
Experiencing the power of sauna and cold plunge therapy can bring many health benefits. This routine, which couples authentic sauna with an invigorating cold, is one of the oldest habits in Nordic sauna culture, and the research is starting to catch up with it.
On the cold side, the best-studied benefit is less muscle soreness after hard exercise: a Cochrane review of 17 small trials found cold water at 41 to 59°F reduced soreness over the next four days compared with rest, though the trials were small and of low quality. Cold doesn't lower blood pressure; it raises it while you're in. Claims about body-wide inflammation are mostly untested in people. What nearly everyone agrees on is the profound relaxation afterward.
The aftermath? An elevated mood, a sharpened alertness, and a revitalized sense of well-being. The feeling afterward is why so many people find sauna and cold plunge addicting. While you may never like getting in the cold water, the elevated mood and euphoric feeling can last for hours.
*Talk to your doctor first if you have heart disease or high blood pressure, and never plunge alone.
START AND END COLD
Ending in the cold lets your body rewarm on its own, the idea behind the (Soeberg Principle), but it doesn’t have to be that cold!
The idea comes from Danish research on brown fat in winter swimmers; it's a theory about burning a little more energy, not a proven health effect. Here's a weekly routine based on what those experienced winter swimmers actually did. It describes their habits; nobody tested it as a protocol.
Sauna and Cold Plunge Routine
Routine: 2 or 3 rounds, ending in the cold.
Exposure and Frequency: About 11 minutes of cold and about an hour of sauna a week, spread over 2 or 3 sessions. Those were the weekly averages of the young Danish winter swimmers in Søberg 2021.
Cold Temperature: Uncomfortable but safe. Most recovery studies used water between 50 and 59°F, and colder water wasn't more effective. It doesn’t have to be ice water!
Hot Temperature: Saunas should be traditional (not infrared) saunas reaching temperatures around 185°F and relatively low humidity in the 10-20% range.
The Winning Combination (SAUNA AND CHILL)...
Step #2 Get Hot
The Finnish research was done in hot, traditional saunas with water on the stones. Heat, Steam, and Timeless Tradition.
Step #3 Get COLD Again
Step #4 Get HOT Again
Step #5 Get COLD Again
It Doesn't Have To Be Expensive
Getting started in the cold can be free. Start in the shower or a cold body of water.
Ice baths can be bought for under $200 on Amazon and sauna tents get you a real wood-fired sauna for under $1000.
Looking at a Plunge sauna?
Our Plunge sauna review covers the Standard, XL and Mini: what they cost all in, what your electrician needs, how they heat and what owners say.
Understand Your Triggers
Our body's responses to the sauna and cold plunge experience hinge on our skin's specialized warmth and cold receptors. Their primary task? Detecting changes in temperature rather than the absolute temperature within the 75.2°F to 95°F range. These temperature detectives alert us to extremes, triggering a protective mechanism against potential harm such as frostbite or burns.
Your Optimal Cold Plunge Temperature: How Cold Is Cold Enough?
The heat and cold sauna and cold plunge work in harmony, each playing its part in enhancing your health. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to plunge into freezing water to reap the rewards. In a 2026 meta-analysis, water around 41°F eased soreness no more than water at 50 to 59°F (Jeon 2026). Cold also activates brown fat, your body's "inner fire," as researcher Susanna Søberg puts it.
Power Up with Cold Exposure: Brown Fat & Thermogenesis
Unlike normal white fat cells insulating us from cold, brown fat cells generate heat, particularly during cold exposure. This "brown adipose" is an integral part of our survival instinct and can be increased and harnessed to provide warmth on demand.
Embarking on the Sauna Cold Plunge Routine
For beginners, a common routine consists of 10-15 minutes in the sauna followed by a 30-second to 2-minute plunge in cold water or an ice bath. Over time, and with more experience, the routine can be modified to include exercise and extended periods of cold exposure.
Note: the sequence matters! If you aim to exercise or train, conclude your session with a sauna. Conversely, if you focus on recovery, or brown fat activation then end in the cold plunge. The key is to listen to your body and work with a qualified trainer for optimal results.
If you lift for strength or muscle, keep the cold plunge away from the end of the workout. In a 12-week trial, men who took a 10-minute cold water bath after each strength session gained about a third as much muscle as men who did an active cool-down, and less strength (Roberts 2015).
Cold safety. Never plunge alone. Get in slowly, keep your face out of the water and don't hold your breath on the way in. The first minute brings the cold shock response, a gasp, fast breathing and a jump in heart rate and blood pressure, and it, not hypothermia, is thought to cause most cold-water deaths (Tipton 1989). After you get out, your core temperature can keep falling for a while; after one long cold swim it kept dropping for an average of 25 minutes (Drigny 2023). Warm up gradually. Alternating sauna and cold water also strains the heart more than either one alone (Kauppinen 1989), so if you have heart disease or high blood pressure, ask your doctor first.
Products to Enhance Your Wellness Journey
Since most humans live near a cold body of water at least seasonally, consider a portable tent sauna or mobile sauna to bring the sauna to the cold. Bringing nature into the mix makes it more fun. In open water, always go with a buddy.
Keeping your feet warm with sturdy scuba or neoprene boots will help you handle the cold better and easily navigate slippery rocks.
We recommend these for cold plunging in the wild.
Knowledge is Power: The Soberg Principle & Recommended Readings
To fully comprehend and master the sauna and cold plunge routine, we recommend delving into Susanna Soberg's work, specifically her book, "The Nordic Way Towards a Healthier and Happier Life: Winter Swimming." This handy manual provides insightful and practical advice for those eager to optimize their health through cold exposure.
Remember the Soberg Principle: Minimize hot showers and sauna sessions after the last cold exposure to stimulate metabolism and brown fat activation. Your body re-warming on its own is a major component of this principle.
Cold therapy can be integrated into any lifestyle, whether it's through winter swimming, ice baths, or simply turning the thermostat down. The secret is finding the routine that works best for you.
Benefits of Sauna and Cold Plunge: The Rewards Await
This combination trains your body's response to heat and cold, and plenty of people swear by the mood lift and the mental toughness. The research is strongest for sauna's links to heart health and for cold water's modest effect on muscle soreness; claims about immunity and inflammation are mostly untested.
So, as you venture on your wellness journey, remember: it's about embracing the elements, respecting your body's boundaries, and finding joy in the experience. Enjoy the sauna, brave the cold, and welcome the rewards.
The Nordic Way Towards a Healthier and Happier Life
Winter Swimming
By Susanna Soberg
This book, by Danish researcher Susanna Soberg is essentially the manual for starting a winter swimming routine from scratch.
Full of practical advice, research, and motivation that we guarantee will make the practice more enjoyable and durable.
This is the book that helped turn the heat-loving folks at SaunaMarketplace and SaunaShare into cold plunge addicts. This book will change your life.
Soeberg Principle: When using deliberate cold exposure to increase your metabolism, minimize hot showers & sauna after the last cold exposure. Forcing your body to re-warm on its own is a major component of the metabolism & brown fat (healthy, thermogenic fat) stimulation.
The thermal regulation system can actually be built up and improved by training it by exposure to extreme temperatures.
We know sauna is effective at one extreme, but if you want to really maximize the benefits you also need cold exposure.
Cold exposure can be achieved by ice baths, laying in snow, jumping in nearly frozen water, or just being outside in freezing temperatures with minimal clothing.
When you’re starting out, a typical routine will be 10-15 minutes in the sauna and 30 seconds to two minutes in the cold plunge. Try to slow down your breathing in the ice. Controlling your breath makes the cold much easier to handle. Never plunge alone.
Frequent sauna use is linked to better heart health in Finnish studies, cold water modestly reduces muscle soreness after hard exercise, and many people feel a big mood lift. The combination hasn’t been tested as a package in long-term trials.
Experienced Danish winter swimmers in one study averaged about 11 minutes of cold and about an hour of sauna a week, over 2 or 3 sessions. That describes their habits; it isn’t a tested prescription.
The cold plunge should be at an uncomfortable but safe temperature, Most recovery studies used 50 to 59°F water, and colder wasn’t more effective. The sauna should reach around 185°F with relatively low humidity in the 10-20% range.
Sauna is linked to better heart health in Finnish research, and cold water modestly eases post-workout soreness. Claims about immunity, lungs, skin and metabolism are mostly untested in people.
The body’s skin has specialized warmth and cold receptors, which detect changes in temperature and trigger protective mechanisms. Cold triggers a gasp, a faster heart rate and a jump in blood pressure (the cold shock response), and can activate brown fat. Heat opens your blood vessels and raises your heart rate.
Ready to get started? Check out the best cold plunges and barrel saunas.
HUUM HIVE Mini Electric Sauna Heater | 6, 9 & 10.6 kW
Price range: $2,502.00 through $2,785.00
HUUM HIVE Mini puts 331 lb of stones into a compact 18 1/8-inch floor heater for gentle, long-lasting steam. The current 2025+ version includes HUUM’s stainless steel air tunnel, engineered to improve airflow, speed warm-up, support the heating elements, and help them last longer. Choose 6, 9, or 10.6 kW for current 240V U.S. room ranges of 177 to 566 cubic feet. A HUUM UKU control and ten 33-lb boxes of 2 to 4-inch stones are required and sold separately.
We recommend UKU Wi-Fi Glass, preselected for new packages.
HUUM DROP Electric Sauna Heater | 4.5, 6, 7.5 & 9 kW
Price range: $1,334.00 through $1,751.00
HUUM DROP combines a wall-mounted, water-drop form with 122 lb of exposed stones for soft, abundant steam. This is the latest current U.S. generation, with HUUM’s reflector, heat diverter, element retainers, and element spacers included. Choose 4.5, 6, 7.5, or 9 kW for adjusted sauna volumes from 106 to 460 cubic feet.
Build your complete DROP system. Every new installation needs three components: the DROP heater, a HUUM UKU controller, and 122 lb of 2–4 inch sauna stones. We recommend UKU Wi-Fi Glass, preselected with the correct stones. Your complete subtotal updates below.
Hukka Pisarainen Soapstone Sauna Thermometer | Fahrenheit or Celsius
$59.00
40 to 280°F, on the one gauge you look at every round. Hukka carves the Pisarainen from Finnish Carelian soapstone in the shape of a water droplet, sets a steel dial into the round end and makes it in Tuupovaara, Finland, so the thing you check most often looks like it belongs on a sauna wall. Choose the Fahrenheit dial, or the Celsius dial if you learned to read sauna heat the Finnish way. It stands 7.6 in tall, sits 1 in off the wall and weighs 1.4 lb.
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