Scottish Saunas & The British Heart Foundation
Scottish Saunas Collaboration with British Heart Foundation Scotland
We’re proud to announce our new collaboration with the British Heart Foundation Scotland.
At Scottish Saunas, we believe sauna bathing is about so much more than heat. It’s about slowing down, connecting, and supporting long-term health. That belief is what led us to partner with British Heart Foundation Scotland.
Regular sauna use is closely linked to improved circulation, reduced stress and better cardiovascular health. By working together, Scottish Saunas and the British Heart Foundation Scotland aim to shine a light on prevention, lifestyle and everyday rituals that can help people live longer, healthier lives.
This partnership will directly support life-saving heart research here in Scotland — research that helps protect nearly one in five people currently living with heart disease.
For us, this collaboration feels deeply aligned. Sauna shouldn’t be a once-in-a-while treat. It can be a regular ritual that supports both physical and mental wellbeing — and now, it can also help fund vital heart research.
We’re excited to see what we can achieve together over the coming year.
Introduction by David McColgan, Head of BHF Scotland
Hi, I’m David McColgan, Head of the British Heart Foundation in Scotland. I’m here today at Scottish Saunas to launch our new partnership, which will see vital support for British Heart Foundation Scotland through both the company and its customers.
This partnership is incredibly important to us as it will help fund our life-saving research here in Scotland. Right now, we have over £50 million invested in research across the country, and every single penny of that comes from the generosity of individuals and businesses like Scottish Saunas. So being here today to launch this partnership is really exciting. We’re looking forward to what we can achieve together over the coming year and the impact this will have on the research we’re able to fund.
An Interview with Callum Anderson, Founder of Scottish Saunas
and David McColgan, Head of the British Heart Foundation in Scotland
Callum: Saunas provide a huge range of health benefits across the board – from cardiovascular and heart health to mental wellbeing, and even reduced risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Because the benefits are so wide-ranging, choosing a charity partner wasn’t straightforward. There are so many important causes we could support. But when we looked at where sauna use has the greatest overall impact, cardiovascular and heart health stood out. That’s why partnering with the British Heart Foundation felt like the most meaningful choice.
David: Saunas are deeply embedded in Scandinavian culture. How did the idea come about to bring that culture to Scotland?
Callum: It really started with the climate. Scotland shares a similar climate to Scandinavia and the Baltics, so the question was: why don’t we have the same sauna culture here?
When you talk to people in places like Finland or Estonia, they don’t actually lead with the health benefits. For them, saunas are cultural. It’s about sitting with friends or family, talking, decompressing, and letting go of the day. That sense of togetherness really resonated with me. You can absolutely use a sauna on your own – almost like meditation – but the culture we’re trying to bring to Scotland is about accessibility and normality. Everyone has a sauna. Everyone uses it regularly. Whether it’s by a loch, in the garden, or at a friend’s house – it’s part of everyday life. Now feels like the right moment to show people what sits behind sauna culture. Wellness businesses, charities, and organisations like yourselves working together – that’s how real change happens.
David: I think that’s such an important point. Many people in Scotland have experienced a sauna at a leisure centre or swimming pool, but they don’t see it as something that can be used regularly or as part of a preventative health routine.
Callum: Exactly. In the UK, sauna is often seen as a treat – something you do on a special occasion, maybe as a gift, not something you build into your weekly routine. But the evidence shows that using a sauna three to four times a week can have massive benefits. There’s research showing up to a 40% reduction in all-cause mortality with regular sauna use. On its own, that’s a powerful reason to take it seriously.