Sauna Library · Influence

Who saunas, and why.

The protocols of the people who've made sauna part of the modern longevity and performance conversation. Bryan Johnson, Andrew Huberman, Rhonda Patrick, Peter Attia, Hugh Jackman, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James. Sourced and cited.

~ 10 min read

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The protocols

Eleven public sauna routines, sourced

For each person we've linked or named the original source. Where the protocol has changed over time we've gone with the most recently published version.

Bryan Johnson

Founder, Blueprint protocol

Protocol. 20 minutes daily at ~88°C in a traditional infrared+Finnish hybrid cabin, immediately following exercise.

Frequency. Daily, every morning, paired with HIIT and resistance training.

Why. Heat shock proteins, growth hormone, cardiovascular conditioning, and the all-cause mortality data from the Laukkanen cohort. Johnson publishes his cardiovascular and biological-age biomarkers openly.

“Sauna is one of the highest-leverage longevity interventions available without prescription.”

Source: Blueprint protocol (blueprint.bryanjohnson.com); see also Don't Die documentary, Netflix 2024

Andrew Huberman

Stanford neuroscientist, host of Huberman Lab

Protocol. 12–20 minutes per round, 2–3 rounds, in a traditional Finnish sauna at 80–90°C. Often paired with cold exposure on alternate days, following the Soeberg principle to time heat after training and cold before.

Frequency. 3–4 sessions per week, total weekly heat exposure of ~57 minutes (the Laukkanen sweet spot).

Why. Stress-resilience training, growth hormone release, dynorphin activation, and the cardiovascular mortality data. Huberman has dedicated multiple podcast episodes to the protocol.

Source: Huberman Lab Podcast episodes #67, #200 on heat and cold exposure

Dr Rhonda Patrick

Biomedical scientist, FoundMyFitness

Protocol. 20 minutes at 79–93°C in a traditional Finnish sauna, sometimes paired with cold immersion.

Frequency. 4 or more sessions per week to capture the Laukkanen mortality benefit.

Why. Patrick is the most cited voice translating the Laukkanen sauna research for non-academic audiences. Her own protocol targets the heat-shock-protein and BDNF responses, plus the cardiovascular mortality data.

“Sauna use appears to act as a hormetic stressor in a way that resembles exercise.”

Source: FoundMyFitness deep-dive 'Sauna Use as an Exercise Mimetic' (2017+); JRE #1054, #2020+

Dr Peter Attia

Longevity physician, host of The Drive

Protocol. Multiple shorter rounds (15–20 min) per session, Finnish cabin, 79–90°C; treats sauna as a non-negotiable component of his Zone-5 cardiovascular and longevity stack.

Frequency. 3–4 sessions per week.

Why. Cardiovascular conditioning, post-training recovery, all-cause mortality reduction. Attia frames sauna as the wellness intervention with the most disproportionately strong evidence per unit of effort.

Source: The Drive Podcast episodes on sauna and heat exposure; Outlive (2023)

Hugh Jackman

Actor, Wolverine training prep

Protocol. 20 minutes following heavy resistance and conditioning sessions for body composition and recovery.

Frequency. Daily across multiple Wolverine training cycles.

Why. Post-training recovery, growth hormone response, and managing the metabolic load of heavy strength + diet protocols. Jackman has credited his trainer Beth Lewis and the disciplined sauna-and-cold routine for keeping him present through intense physical preparations.

Source: Men's Health UK, March 2024; The Tim Ferriss Show #686

Cristiano Ronaldo

Footballer

Protocol. Combined cryotherapy + sauna recovery protocol, used immediately after matches and intense training to reduce muscle damage and accelerate recovery.

Frequency. Post-match and several times per week through training cycles.

Why. Recovery acceleration, plasma volume expansion, and inflammation control across a 20+ year elite career, likely a meaningful contributor to his unusual longevity at top level.

Source: The Athletic profile, 2022; Manchester United / Real Madrid / Al-Nassr training-facility coverage

LeBron James

Basketball player

Protocol. Sauna and cold immersion as part of a reported $1.5m/year body-maintenance budget, alongside hyperbaric oxygen, infrared and red light.

Frequency. Daily / per-game recovery use across a 22-year NBA career.

Why. Recovery, injury prevention and career-longevity engineering. James has publicly credited multi-modality recovery for his late-career performance.

Source: ESPN feature, 2018; Sports Illustrated body-maintenance coverage 2022

Joe Rogan

Podcaster, BJJ practitioner

Protocol. Approximately 20 minutes in a 180°F (≈82°C) Finnish sauna at home, often followed by a cold plunge (3°C).

Frequency. 4–7 sessions per week.

Why. Cardiovascular conditioning, mental resilience, recovery from intense BJJ training. Rogan has spent more airtime on the Patrick/Laukkanen sauna data than possibly any other broadcaster.

Source: The Joe Rogan Experience episodes #1054 (Rhonda Patrick), #2020+, JRE clips channel

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder, Meta

Protocol. Sauna and ice plunge daily as part of his ‘Year of Efficiency’ physical regime; reported temperatures in the 80–90°C band.

Frequency. Daily in 2024–2025 cycles.

Why. Recovery, mental focus, jiu-jitsu and MMA training support. Zuckerberg has photographed and posted his routine multiple times.

Source: Threads / Instagram posts 2024; Rolling Stone profile 2024

Susanna Søberg

Danish researcher, author of Winter Swimming

Protocol. The Soeberg protocol, at least 11 minutes total cold per week split across multiple sessions, paired with 57 minutes of sauna per week (matching the Laukkanen data).

Frequency. 2–3 contrast sessions per week.

Why. Brown adipose tissue activation, dopamine, glucose control, cardiovascular conditioning. Søberg's lab work is one of the cleanest sequencing rules in the modern contrast-therapy literature.

Source: Søberg et al. Cell Reports Medicine 2021; Soeberg Institute publications

David Beckham

Footballer

Protocol. Sauna and cold plunge integrated through his playing career; in retirement, frequent use at home and at the Real Madrid training facility historically.

Frequency. 3–5 sessions per week historically.

Why. Recovery and injury prevention. Becks's career longevity tracks the same maintenance-discipline pattern as Ronaldo and James.

Source: Beckham (Netflix, 2023); Real Madrid training-facility profiles

Pattern

What these protocols share

Three things appear in almost every routine. First, frequency of at least three sessions per week, most cluster around four. That's a deliberate choice; it's the dose-response break-point in the Laukkanen mortality data.

Second, session length is consistently 15–20 minutes per round in the Finnish band (80–90°C), or 30–45 minutes in infrared. Below 12 minutes the heat-shock response is weaker; above 25 minutes returns diminish and dehydration risk rises.

Third, almost everyone in this list pairs the heat with cold, directly (Søberg, Rogan, Zuckerberg, Huberman) or at separated times (Attia, Jackman). The contrast-therapy effect compounds the recovery and resilience benefits beyond what heat alone delivers.

R1SE built the Kelham Urban Spa to make this pattern accessible: a Finnish barrel sauna and a 0–7°C ice bath next to each other, plus an infrared cabin for longer slower sessions. Every protocol on this page can be reproduced inside our spa with the help of our team.

Bryan Johnson deep-dive Try Fire & Ice

Who saunas, and why.

Eleven public sauna routines, sourced

Bryan Johnson

Andrew Huberman

Dr Rhonda Patrick

Dr Peter Attia

Hugh Jackman

Cristiano Ronaldo

LeBron James

Joe Rogan

Mark Zuckerberg

Susanna Søberg

David Beckham

What these protocols share

More from the R1SE Sauna Library

Sauna Knowledge Hub

The Science of Sauna

Types of Sauna

History of Sauna

How to Sauna

Sauna Safety

Try sauna at R1SE

Who saunas, and why.

Eleven public sauna routines, sourced

Bryan Johnson

Andrew Huberman

Dr Rhonda Patrick

Dr Peter Attia

Hugh Jackman

Cristiano Ronaldo

LeBron James

Joe Rogan

Mark Zuckerberg

Susanna Søberg

David Beckham

What these protocols share

More from the R1SE Sauna Library

Sauna Knowledge Hub

The Science of Sauna

Types of Sauna

History of Sauna

How to Sauna

Sauna Safety

Try sauna at R1SE