Sweat away loneliness: sauna study targets social isolation
NCT ID NCT07223099
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 14, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This small pilot study is testing whether weekly sauna visits can help reduce loneliness in young adults aged 19-22. Participants will visit a sauna in San Francisco once a week for 2 hours, either alone or with a friend, for 8 weeks. The study aims to see if people find the program acceptable and if they stick with it.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 15 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2026
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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19 to 25 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 19-25 * 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 Exclusion Criteria: * 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
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
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A doctor treating you
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Contacts and locations
Show contact details
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Locations
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Osher Center for Integrative Health
RECRUITINGSan Francisco, California, 94115, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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