Microplastics Are Everywhere—Can Sauna Actually Help?

Microplastics used to be one of those environmental issues you’d file under “oceans, turtles, and someone else’s problem.” Until scientists started finding them in our bloodstream. 

Today, humans ingest six times more microplastics than in 1990, with some estimates suggesting we consume the equivalent of a credit card (~5 grams) of plastic weekly. Linked to cell stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption, microplastics have quietly become a blaring health concern—raising urgent questions about long-term health, detoxification, and what actually works.

Thankfully, the new science around one of humanity’s oldest health rituals—sauna—is incredibly promising. With data-driven self-experimenters like Bryan Johnson and decades of epidemiological research out of Finland, sauna has emerged not merely as a method for recovery and relaxation, but as a profoundly effective detox tool for the modern day.

Wait, What Exactly Are Microplastics Again?

Plain version: tiny plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters. Practical version: they’re what happens when every plastic thing we’ve ever made slowly erodes—food packaging, clothes, tires, household junk—and then quietly works its way into the air we breathe and the food we eat.

Over time, these particles get small enough to:

• Slip past biological barriers

• Irritate tissues & cells

• Carry other chemicals along for the ride

Because of their size, these particles can persist in the body longer than many traditional toxins. And by “in the body,” researchers mean everywhere: lungs, livers, brain tissue, blood, placenta, breast milk, testicles, the list of fluids go on. 

This isn’t a fringe exposure scenario—it’s a baseline condition of modern life.

How Microplastics Mess With Your Health

Across numerous studies and cellular data, patterns show up:

• Chronic Inflammation: the immune system sees plastic, gets irritated, stays irritated.

• Hormone Disruption: plastic particles affect fertility, metabolic function, and endocrine balance.

• Oxidative Stress: more free radicals means more cellular wear-and-tear. 

• Trojan Horse Effect: plastic binds things like heavy metals, pesticides, and pollutants and transports them deeper into the body.

So, if exposure is basically unavoidable… what can we do to dampen the damage?

How Sauna May Help Remove Microplastics and Other Toxins

Sweating is one of the body’s few detox pathways that does not rely on the liver or kidneys. Research has shown that sweat can contain:

• Heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium)

• BPA and phthalate metabolites

• Certain persistent organic pollutants

Bryan Johnson’s Sauna Experiment

In a recent multi-week protocol, Bryan Johnson implemented a daily dry Finnish sauna routine:

• 200°F (93°C)

• 20 minutes

• 7 days per week

His team measured cardiovascular, hormonal, fertility, and toxin markers before and after. 

What they saw was striking:

• Meaningful reductions across several environmental toxin markers—including 85% of microplastics

• Previously elevated compounds dropping to near non-detectable levels

• Improvements in blood pressure, vascular flexibility, and resting heart rate

While this was an anecdotal experiment, it adds a fascinating real-world layer to what sweat-analysis research has been showing for years: sauna appears to meaningfully support the body’s elimination of certain chemical exposures. 

Why Sauna Type (and How You Use It) Actually Matters

Here’s the thing most people miss: Not all saunas create the same physiological stress, and not all stress produces the same benefits. 

Dry Finnish Sauna

• 175–200°F, low humidity (10–20%)

• Produces high sweat rates and strong cardiovascular load

• Primary sauna type used in long-term mortality studies

Wet/Steam Sauna

• Near 100% humidity

• Lower temperatures (~115°F)

• Less total heat stress

Infrared Sauna

• Lower ambient temperatures (≤150°F)

• Different heating mechanism

• Limited long-term outcome data compared to Finnish sauna

So when people quote “sauna benefits,” they’re usually talking about dry sauna. In Finland, frequent users (4–7x/week) saw significantly lower cardiovascular risk and roughly a 40% drop in all-cause mortality.

Why Plunge Is Built for Detox, Not Just Heat

If protocol matters, then design matters. 

Plunge saunas are designed to prioritize high heat without heavy humidity, low-VOC materials to avoid off-gassing, and precise controls so sessions become clockwork, not guesswork. They’re also built with contrast therapy in mind, because moving from heat to cold is shown to enhance circulation and recovery.  

In short, it’s engineered for outcomes—not just ambiance.

Bottom Line

Microplastics are part of modern life. Reducing exposure helps, but supporting elimination pathways may matter just as much. Sauna stands out because it’s grounded in decades of research, clear cardiovascular benefits, and emerging data around toxin excretion.

It’s an ancient solution for a modern problem—especially when you combine the right sauna, the right protocol, and the right consistency.