Ben Fogle has opened up on how his love of the sauna helped him recover from his ‘mental health wobble’, admitting it has brought him ‘tremendous healing and happiness’.

The TV presenter, 51, candidly revealed last year that he had endured a mental health storm’ in 2023, which saw him battle ‘crippling paranoia and anxiety’.

And having come through that difficult period, he has now credited his time in the sauna as important to his ‘recovery’.

Ben has his own sauna in his home and has been visiting as many as he can around the country while touring with his one-man show, Wild, already hitting 20 so far – a fifth of the estimated public ones in the UK.

In a new piece for The Times, he detailed his obsession with saunas, recalling the many different places he has tried them all over the world, from Sweden and Russia, to the likes of Antarctica and even the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

But while he had first only enjoyed saunas for being contemplative and relaxing experiences, Ben revealed that when his mental health suffered they also became ‘my medicine’.

Ben Fogle has opened up on how his love of the sauna helped him recover from his ‘mental health wobble’, admitting it has brought him ‘tremendous healing and happiness’

The TV presenter, 51, candidly revealed last year that he had endured a mental health storm’ in 2023 , which saw him battle ‘crippling paranoia and anxiety’ (seen in November) 

He wrote: ‘When I had a mental health wobble 18 months ago, the sauna switched from meditative to therapeutic. It really was my medicine and I credit my recovery in part to H๏τ and cold therapy (don’t take my advice on this, always ask a professional).’

He went on to detail how the small heated rooms help him, explaining: ‘To sweat feels like releasing all the anxiety, irritation, worry and fear. I feel lighter, happier and calmer after one. I sleep better and think clearer. I am a sauna purist. I like to sit in silence. It is a meditation for me. My brain zones out and I think of nothing.’

The adventurer explained he makes sure to go into his sauna every day when he’s home and gushed about the benefits it has wrought. 

He concluded: ‘I have found tremendous healing, comfort and happiness in a sauna. In Nordic nations they say it is the poor man’s pharmacy. They really are nature’s medicine.’

It comes after Ben admitted that he didn’t listen to the warning signs his body gave him ahead of his mental breakdown as he reflecting on the tough time.

In an honest and open interview on the High Performance podcast last month, he detailed his struggle through the ‘chaotic period’ in his life, before remarking how he’s since become ‘stronger and happier’. 

Ben explained: ‘I have always considered myself pretty strong of mind, strong of character. I’ve always had a strong work ethic, worked quite hard. 

‘I think what happened in 2023 is that I overdid it, I didn’t listen to some of the little warning signs that I think we all have. The body is an amazing thing, the brain is an amazing thing and I don’t think I listened entirely to what I was doing to myself. 

n a new piece for The Times , he detailed his obsession with saunas, recalling the many different places he has tried them all over the world, from Sweden and Russia, to the likes of Antarctica and even the Chernobyl exclusion zone (pictured filming in Antarctica in 2023)

While he had first only enjoyed saunas for being contemplative and relaxing experiences, Ben revealed that when his mental health suffered they also became ‘my medicine’ (seen last year)

The adventurer explained he makes sure to go into his sauna every day when he’s home and gushed about the benefits it has wrought (pictured with wife Marina)

‘I was being overstimulated, I was absorbing too much, I was doing too much, I was expecting too much of myself and I eventually popped, burst.’

Ben continued: ‘It was a form of breakdown, what is a breakdown? I don’t really know. But it was definitely a chaotic period that I have completely got over, I think that is one of the most important things.’

The adventurer added that there’s a ‘taboo’ around mental health as people believe that if one admits to a ‘fragility or vulnerability’, then you’re perceived to be a ‘very fragile egg’. 

He went on to add that he’s ‘got through’ the storm he endured, and it’s since made him ‘stronger and happier’.

Ben noted that he didn’t know if there was a ‘clinical definition’ of what actually happened to him, but described the feeling of losing control of his emotions and his reaction to things, which led to a point when he was forced to ‘press pause’. 

Elsewhere, he also admitted he turned into a ‘control freak’ after the death of his stillborn son Willem in 2014.

The broadcaster said his struggle to deal with grief is eventually what led him to a ‘mental health breakdown’.

Ben’s wife Marina was rushed to hospital in Austria and delivered their stillborn son at just 33 weeks while he was Canada.

It comes after Ben admitted that he didn’t listen to the warning signs his body gave him ahead of his mental breakdown as he reflecting on the tough time (seen) 

In an honest and open interview on the High Performance podcast last month, he detailed his struggle through the ‘chaotic period’ in his life, before remarking how he’s since become ‘stronger and happier’. 

The couple had already been heartbroken by a miscarriage in 2008, before having their son Ludo, 15, in 2009 and daughter Iona, 14, in 2011.

He said: ‘A number of years ago, my wife and I lost a son, who was stillborn and it’s amazing how you deal with a loss like that. My wife Marina was very raw with her emotions. 

Read More Ben Fogle reveals he battled ‘crippling paranoia and anxiety’ during his ‘mental health breakdown’

‘Mine were much more measured, it doesn’t mean I felt it any less, but I probably kept them within, and one of the big things that happened to me was that I became obsessed about control, because I’d lost control there.

‘I was actually in Canada when it happened, and I had to take a flight to get back. I didn’t know if my wife was going to survive. It was like one of the periods in my life, I’ve had a few, when I had lost all control.’

Last year, Ben candidly shared he battled ‘crippling paranoia and anxiety,’ during his ‘mental health breakdown’, as he offered insight into the various methods he used to aid in his recovery.

Ben, who was diagnosed with ADHD in the wake of the crisis, said he used cognitive behavioural therapy and medicine’ to help him heal from the ‘storm,’ as well as ‘doing less and simplifying his life.’

In a lengthy Instagram post, the travel presenter said that he decided to share his struggles as it felt it was vital to be as open about his mental health woes as he has been about physical ones.

Ben wrote: ‘A year ago I suffered a mental health wobble. An episode. A storm. A blip. I don’t know if there is a specific term for it but it was basically a burnt out, break down. 

Elsewhere, he also admitted he turned into a ‘control freak’ after the death of his stillborn son Willem in 2014, who was delivered at just 33 weeks while he was Canada

He and Marina had already been heartbroken by a miscarriage in 2008 before having their son Ludo, 15, in 2009 and daughter Iona, 14, in 2011 (pictured together)

In a lengthy Instagram post last year, the presenter said that he decided to share his struggles from 2023 as it felt it was vital to be as open about his mental health woes

‘I’ve been on quite a journey since. I’ve learnt a lot about my neurological uniquenesses. And I’ve navigated the storm.

‘Through a mix of CBT, medicine, and now some alternative therapies I feel like my old self. Gone is the crippling paranoia and anxiety, replaced by my calm old self.

‘I’m telling you this firstly because I believe as someone who shares my successes it’s important to also share our vulnerabilities.

‘It is not to jump on some trend or for sympathy. It’s because if it happened to me, I can happen to you.

‘But just like a broken bone or a pneumonia ravaged lung or even a flesh eating bug (all of which I have had)

‘We can heal. They don’t define us or make us weak. They prove that we are human. Vulnerable to the pressures of modern life.

‘A mental health trauma should not be a stigma but a reality check for the increasingly complicated world in which we live.

‘What’s helped me is doing less and simplifying my life. Less social media. Less work Less pressure to be perfect The results are that I worry less. Stress less. Anger less Fixate less.

‘Giving me more time has helped me back to reality. To being me. Exactly the same person I have always been. Simple. Love, peace and simplicity.’