Sauna for Offline Connections and Interactive, Authentic Living
SOCIAL
1 other identifier
interventional
15
1 country
1
Brief Summary
This pilot trial will test an intervention (sauna visits) targeting reductions in loneliness in adults aged 19-22 years. Participants will:
- Visit a sauna in San Francisco once per week for 2 hours by themselves or with a friend, for 8 weeks total
- Complete online surveys throughout their participation The main question this pilot trial aims to answer are:
- To what extent do participants find the study design acceptable?
- To what extent do participants complete the weekly sauna visits?
- To what extent do participants complete the weekly online surveys?
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at below P25 for not_applicable
Started Apr 2026
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
October 29, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
October 31, 2025
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
April 20, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
March 30, 2027
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
March 30, 2027
April 24, 2026
April 1, 2026
11 months
October 29, 2025
April 21, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Participation Acceptability
Average rating on the following net promoter item: "Thinking about everything that participating in this study involved (completing screening activities, visiting the sauna, doing questionnaires), would you recommend participating in this study to a friend or family member looking to reduce their feelings of loneliness?"
8 weeks
Secondary Outcomes (2)
Intervention Adherence
8 weeks
Weekly Survey Completion
8 weeks
Study Arms (1)
Sauna Visits
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will complete 2-hour visits, by themselves or with another person of their choosing, to a local sauna in San Francisco for 8 weeks.
Interventions
Weekly 2-hour visits to a sauna in San Francisco by themselves or with one person of their choice for 8 weeks.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Aged 19-22
- English-speaking
- Able to provide written informed consent
- Graduated from high school or high school equivalent
- Elevated level of loneliness
- Able and willing to receive study text messages
- Able to attend weekly in-person sauna visits in San Francisco, CA
You may not qualify if:
- Self-reported heat intolerance
- Pregnancy, active lactation, or intention to become pregnant during the study period
- Regular use of any nicotine products, including cigarettes, vapes, chewing tobacco, or other forms of nicotine (if use is not regular, must be willing to refrain for 24 hours before and 24 hours after sauna visits)
- Current social heat practices 2 or more times per month (e.g., visiting sauna or hot tub facilities with others present)
- Unwilling to refrain from using marijuana products and alcohol for the 24 hours before and 24 hours after sauna visits
- Unwilling to refrain from heavy exercise on the day of sauna visits
- Any medical condition that, in the opinion of investigators, may increase the risk of sauna use or introduce excessive variance into physiological or behavioral responses to sauna visits
- Use of any medication that might impact thermoregulatory capacity or that, in the opinion of investigators, would increase risk of study participation or introduce excessive variance into physiological or behavioral responses to sauna visits
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- University of California, San Franciscolead
- Tiny Blue Dot Foundationcollaborator
Study Sites (1)
Osher Center for Integrative Health
San Francisco, California, 94115, United States
Related Publications (2)
Laukkanen JA, Kunutsor SK. The multifaceted benefits of passive heat therapies for extending the healthspan: A comprehensive review with a focus on Finnish sauna. Temperature (Austin). 2024 Feb 25;11(1):27-51. doi: 10.1080/23328940.2023.2300623. eCollection 2024.
PMID: 38577299BACKGROUNDPatrick RP, Johnson TL. Sauna use as a lifestyle practice to extend healthspan. Exp Gerontol. 2021 Oct 15;154:111509. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111509. Epub 2021 Aug 5.
PMID: 34363927BACKGROUND
Related Links
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Ashley E Mason, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- NA
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- OTHER
- Intervention Model
- SINGLE GROUP
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
October 29, 2025
First Posted
October 31, 2025
Study Start
April 20, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
March 30, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
March 30, 2027
Last Updated
April 24, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-04
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Time Frame
- Beginning 3 months after the publication of results and unending.
The final IPD dataset will include de-identified self-reported demographic data, self-reported data (e.g., measures of social interaction loneliness), sauna visit completion data, and study assessment completion data.