Five Weeks Away From the Sauna Reminded Me Why I Started Nightjar

Absence makes the heart grow fonder — and apparently, the muscles a lot sorer.

I just got back from almost five weeks away from my sauna. Work trips stacked on top of each other, then a long spring break with the family. Life moving fast, as it does. I knew I missed it, but stepping back in last night reminded me exactly how much.

There is something about stepping away from a practice that makes the value of it undeniable. When the sauna is part of the routine, it is easy to take for granted. When it is gone, the absence speaks for itself.

Here is what I noticed most.

Sleep is different without it. During a busy season — travel, family, schedules stacked — finding ways to calm the mind and body before bed gets harder. The sauna solves that in a way almost nothing else does. An hour in the heat, and the nervous system just settles. Coming home last night and stepping back in, I remembered immediately why that pre-bed ritual matters so much to me.

The body tells the truth. I try to stay active no matter where I am. On this trip we were running and doing bodyweight workouts at the Airbnb. Good stuff — but my body was sore. Really sore. Nothing I couldn't handle, but noticeable. The moment I got back in the sauna, I could feel it working. The lactic acid releasing, the muscles loosening, everything just moving better. By morning, the soreness was gone. That is not a coincidence. That is the sauna doing what the sauna does.

It feels like a ritual — and that matters. There is something about having a practice to come home to that makes the homecoming better. After a long trip, knowing the sauna is waiting shifts something. It gives the return a sense of intention. Last night reinforced that. After five weeks away, it did not just feel good — it felt essential.

This is exactly why I started Nightjar. I went to Finland, I experienced what authentic sauna culture actually feels like, and I wanted to bring that home. Not just the heat. The ritual. The release. The thing that makes a long day or a long trip dissolve into something manageable.

Five weeks away was all the reminder I needed. Hitting it every day from here.