Sauna, cold water and testosterone: what one study found
A small study tested whether alternating hot sauna and cold water changes stress and sex hormones. Cortisol fell; testosterone did not rise.
The short version
In this small study, 30 young, physically active men did four 12-minute sauna sessions at around 90°C, each followed by a brief cool-down that included one minute in 10-11°C water, about 72 minutes of sauna exposure in total. Cortisol fell significantly afterward. Testosterone and DHEA-S changed only slightly, in opposite directions, and neither change was statistically significant. The finding lines up with other small studies: sauna and cold water may lower stress hormones, but there is no good evidence that they raise testosterone. This was one session in young men, not a long-term test.
Keep in mind
A single round of sessions in 30 young, active men, with no control group. The testosterone and DHEA-S changes were tiny and not statistically significant; this does not show cold water or sauna raising testosterone.
What they found
Cortisol fell significantly, from an average of about 13.6 to about 9.7 µg/mL.
Testosterone rose only slightly (about 4.0 to 4.2 ng/mL) and DHEA-S fell only slightly, neither change was statistically significant. Prolactin also showed no significant change.
The authors note this lines up with other studies, including a 1986 sauna study also covered in this library, that found no significant testosterone change from sauna exposure.
What this means for your practice
If the goal is raising testosterone, this study, like others, gives no support for using sauna, cold water, or the two together to do that.
The clearer, repeated finding across studies is a drop in cortisol after heat and cold exposure, which is a stress-hormone response, not a testosterone effect.
Methods and limitations
What the researchers did
Thirty young, physically active men (average age about 23) each did four 12-minute sauna sessions at around 90°C in one visit, with a short cool-down after every session that included one minute in 10-11°C water, about 72 minutes of sauna exposure in total.
Researchers measured cortisol, testosterone, DHEA-S and prolactin in blood samples taken before and after the sessions, in the same men.
There was no separate control group who skipped the heat-and-cold protocol; every participant did the same sequence.
How much can this tell us?
A single round of sessions in 30 young men, with no control group, is enough to say cortisol fell here, but not enough to rule out a testosterone effect completely, only to say this study didn’t find one.
The men were young, active and healthy; this doesn’t tell us what happens in other groups, or with repeated exposure over weeks or months.
This study measured hormones in blood, not any downstream effect on strength, mood or fertility; those are separate questions this data doesn’t address.
What makes it useful
- Directly tests a specific, widely repeated claim
- A same-session, repeated-measures design in the same 30 men
- Measured several hormones, not just testosterone
What limits it
- No control group
- One round of sessions, with no data on repeated or long-term use
- Young, physically active men only, who may not represent other groups
- The testosterone and DHEA-S changes were too small to be statistically significant either way
Where this study fits
Where this study fits
We score claims, not single studies. This one is part of the evidence for:
Sauna and cold water raise testosterone. Not supported
Low certaintyNo effect foundBody signals
Read the original
Podstawski R, Borysławski K, Pomianowski A, et al. Endocrine Effects of Repeated Hot Thermal Stress and Cold Water Immersion in Young Adult Men. Am J Mens Health. 2021;15(2):15579883211008339.
DOI 10.1177/15579883211008339 · PubMed 33845653