Why I Fell in Love with Sauna

Where itall began: Hampstead Heath lido
Back in 2016, while helping set up the Parliament Hill Fields Lido Community Café, I watched cold-water swimmers emerge from 5°C water looking lighter, brighter and somehow more themselves. It wasn’t fitness. It was a ritual — a way people reset from stress, midlife pressures and the relentlessness of everyday life.

Seeing that transformation planted the first seed: heat and cold together do something meaningful.

Learning the science behind sauna
Years later, creators like Sweaty AF helped me understand why sauna feels so grounding — especially for women in peri- and post-menopause.

In simple terms, heat exposure can:

• lower stress hormones after an initial rise
• support thyroid, adrenal and ovarian function through increased blood flow 
• boost dopamine and norepinephrine for better focus and mood
• activate “heat shock proteins,” which help regulate energy, insulin and estrogen signalling

With regular use, sauna has been linked to deeper sleep, steadier mood, improved metabolic health and long-term cardiovascular benefits. It’s a whole-body reset, not just a sweat.

(Always check medical guidance if you use HRT or have health conditions.)

Bringing the ritual to Pembrokeshire
As our beach house in Freshwater East took shape — a contemporary, low-impact home designed for clean air, comfort and calm — the idea returned:

What if we could offer the same grounding, restorative heat here by the sea?

Greenshutters already sits in a landscape that softens people: big skies, unpolluted sea air, the coastal path on the doorstep. Adding a sauna began to feel like a natural next step.

Why sauna matters to me personally
Midlife brings a new awareness of energy, stress and hormonal resilience. I wanted a tool that supported my system rather than fought it — something simple, nurturing and sustainable.

Sauna offered exactly that:

• gentle hormonal support
• calm for the nervous system
• a beautiful pairing with cold sea dips
• a rhythm that matched the spirit of our home

So I decided to bring a wood-fired sauna to Greenshutters and create something deeply restorative for guests and for myself.

Supporting Ironman Wales & Coastal athletes
Each September we welcome Ironman Wales athletes — people who push their bodies to extraordinary limits. For them, sauna provides:

• warmth and circulation after long training days
• support for recovery alongside good nutrition and rest
• a quiet space to settle the nervous system post-race

With the sea just steps away, the hot–cold contrast becomes a simple, powerful ritual.

Earth, sea & heat: A new chapter
The sauna at PembrokeshireBeachHouse isn’t a spa extra. It’s an invitation to:

• slow down and breathe
• feel your body warm and settle
• step outside between rounds into salt air and shifting skies
• optionally add a cold shower or sea swim for an energising reset

It’s a gentle way to reconnect with yourself — whether you’re navigating midlife, training for a challenge, or simply seeking rest.

An open invitation
What began at Hampstead Heath has become Earth, Sea & Heat on the Pembrokeshire coast. If you’re curious about sauna — for hormones, for recovery, or for wellbeing — you’re in good company.

When you stay at PembrokeshireBeachHouse, I hope the sauna becomes part of your own story too: a place to soften, recalibrate and feel more fully yourself.