The secret of the sauna: Why Finland is the happiest country in the world

Finland regularly wins the rankings of the happiest countries in the world. Strangely enough, the secret of this lies on the surface, experienced travelers say.

There are 3.3 million saunas in Finland for 5.6 million people, which means that there are 0.5 saunas per capita in the country. Saunas not only help relieve stress, but also allow people to understand what it means to be human, The Guardian writes.

Some Finns come to the sauna directly from the office, for an hour to wash away stress on the way home, while others spend hours there with friends over a beer. Some saunas have rules governing the topics of conversation, for example, prohibiting discussion of politics, business, and religion, while others allow you to talk about anything.

Finns believe that saunas are a place where you don't have to worry about how you look, where everyone is equal and has no status.

In 2020, the Finnish sauna, along with its bath culture and traditions, was included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The Finnish city of Tampere is considered the world capital of saunas, where there are about 60 public saunas per 250 thousand inhabitants.