This is one of the few sauna questions with a direct experiment behind it. The experiment is small, and the answer is more reassuring than the headline.
This article reports what was measured and what wasn’t. It sits under our overview of sauna health benefits. This is general information, not medical advice. If you are trying to conceive, your doctor is the right source.
Short answer: regular sauna use lowered sperm count and motility in a small 2013 study, and the numbers recovered after the men stopped. If you are trying for a pregnancy, medical advice is to skip the sauna for now. There is no evidence here of permanent harm.
The study
Researchers recruited 10 men with normal sperm parameters. The men “underwent two sauna sessions per week for 3 months, at 80-90°C, each lasting 15 min.”
At the end of the sauna period the researchers “found a strong impairment of sperm count and motility.” The result was statistically significant.
Then the men stopped, and were followed up. The authors report: “All these effects were completely reversed” at the last follow-up point.
Their summary: “Scrotal hyperthermia by exposure to sauna can induce a significant alteration of spermatogenesis.”
What the study can’t tell you
The authors name their own main limitation: “Absence of subjects with abnormal sperm parameters.” All 10 men started with normal results. The study doesn’t show what happens in men who already have low counts.
Ten is also a very small number. And the study measured sperm, not pregnancies. It didn’t test whether any couple took longer to conceive.
Why heat matters
A 2022 review explains the biology. The testes sit outside the abdomen, “warranting an overall scrotal temperature of 2°C-4°C lower than the core body temperature.”
A separate 2022 meta-analysis pooled 9 studies covering 356 men exposed to high ambient temperatures, mostly through work or climate, not saunas. It found lower semen volume, sperm count, concentration, and motility in the exposed groups.
So the sauna finding fits a wider pattern: sustained heat and sperm production don’t mix well.
The sources don’t all agree
An older review, from 2001, states that “sauna bathing does not influence fertility.” That review predates the 2013 experiment.
I’d weigh them this way, and this is my reading: the 2013 study measured sperm directly and found a temporary drop. The 2001 statement is about fertility outcomes overall. Both can hold if a temporary drop in healthy men doesn’t change whether they can father a child. Neither source proves that, which is why the cautious advice below makes sense.
What doctors advise
Cleveland Clinic’s article on infrared saunas says prolonged heat may temporarily reduce sperm count and health. Dr. Melissa Young’s advice for people trying to conceive: “it’s probably best to avoid saunas during that time.”
That is a low-cost precaution. You give up the sauna for some months. You remove one variable.
Does the type of sauna change this?
The study used a traditional sauna at 80 to 90°C. Infrared cabins run cooler.
| Model | Type | Stated maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Finnmark FD-4 Trinity | Hybrid, traditional stove | 190°F (about 88°C) |
| Sunlighten Solo Dome | Portable infrared | 150°F (about 66°C) |
| Dynamic Andora | Infrared cabin | 140°F (60°C) |
The Celsius figures are my conversions. No source used here tested infrared saunas and sperm, so I can’t tell you a cooler cabin avoids the effect. Cleveland Clinic’s caution was written about infrared saunas.
If you own a sauna and are planning a family
My rule of thumb: pause it and ask. A fertility specialist can tell you whether it matters in your case and for how long. The sauna will still be there. If you are still choosing one, the home sauna buying guide can wait a few months too.
Bottom line: one small study found a measurable but reversible drop in sperm count and motility with regular sauna use. If you are trying to conceive, skip the sauna and talk to your doctor.
Sources
- Garolla A, Torino M, Sartini B, Cosci I, Patassini C, Carraro U, Foresta C, “Seminal and molecular evidence that sauna exposure affects human spermatogenesis,” Human Reproduction, 2013 (abstract): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- De Toni L, Finocchi F, Jawich K, Ferlin A, “Global warming and testis function: A challenging crosstalk in an equally challenging environmental scenario,” Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2022 (abstract): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Hoang-Thi AP, et al., “The Impact of High Ambient Temperature on Human Sperm Parameters: A Meta-Analysis,” Iranian Journal of Public Health, 2022 (abstract): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Hannuksela ML, Ellahham S, “Benefits and risks of sauna bathing,” The American Journal of Medicine, 2001 (abstract): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Cleveland Clinic, “6 Possible Benefits of Infrared Saunas,” October 9, 2026: health.clevelandclinic.org
- Finnmark, Sunlighten, and Dynamic Saunas listings (maximum temperatures), checked September and October 2026