The weather is warming up – you should be too. Whether you’re chasing muscle recovery, a place to meditate or just an hour off your phone, the Gold Coast’s sauna scene is the place to do it. Sweat it out in these Gold Coast saunas.
First, the science.
Sauna, steam room – same thing, right? Not exactly. A sauna offers dry heat, generated by hot rocks or a wood-fired stove, and it runs properly hot, often between 70 and 90-plus degrees. A steam room works the opposite way: cooler, but soaked through, with humidity sitting at 100 per cent.
That distinction is important. Saunas tend to be better for muscle recovery, circulation and building heat tolerance, while steam rooms come into their own for skin hydration and respiratory relief (if you’re congested or chesty, that’s the room for you).
Both work on the same basic principle, though: hormesis, or a small, controlled dose of stress that prompts your body to adapt and repair itself. It’s the same idea behind a hard training session or an ice bath, just applied in the opposite direction.
Regular heat exposure has been linked to better cardiovascular health, reduced inflammation and proper relaxation – not the ‘rest’ you say you’re getting when you’re scrolling on your phone. You don’t even need to follow it with a plunge into cold water either, though plenty of the spots below will happily offer you one. Heat does plenty of work on its own.
With that cleared up, strip down and get sweaty in one of these Gold Coast saunas.
