Can I drink cold water in the banya?

Cool rather than ice-cold: it goes down more easily after the heat.

How much water should I bring for a group?

Count on 1–1.5 l per person for an evening at the banya.

Mineral water or a sports drink?

For an ordinary steam session, mineral water and food are enough.

Banya and sport · 4 min · 17 September 2026

Water for banya and after sport: what to replace and how

How much you lose in an hour of steam and what to drink afterwards.

In short: an hour in the steam room costs you 0.5 to 1.5 l of fluid along with sodium, potassium and magnesium. It is best replaced in small servings before, between rounds and afterwards.

How much fluid do you lose in an hour of steam?

An hour in the steam room takes 0.5 to 1.5 l of fluid out of you in sweat. The scales show it most precisely: weigh yourself before and after, and every kilogram lost is roughly a litre of water. Salts leave with the water: sodium, potassium and the magnesium your muscles need. That is why even people who drank tea between rounds feel dried out: the water came back, the salts did not.

An hour in the steam room costs 0.5–1.5 l of fluid
Sweat carries off sodium and potassium
Magnesium, which your muscles need, goes with it

A drinking plan

Better to drink little and early than a litre in one go at the end of the night. A glass of water before the first round, 150–250 ml between rounds and the rest at an easy pace over the hour that follows is enough for most people. Cool water goes down more easily than iced water after the heat. If you weighed yourself before and after, let the lost weight be your guide: every kilogram gone is a litre to put back over the evening and the next morning.

Before the steam: a glass of water
Between rounds: small servings
Afterwards: at an easy pace over an hour, not all at once

Which water to take to the banya

For the banya, take a water of moderate mineralisation: Narzan at 2–3.5 g/l brings back calcium and magnesium along with the water. A glass or two is enough, after which carry on with ordinary drinking water so you do not take on too much sodium over the evening. Carbonation is a matter of preference: some people love the fizz after the heat, others find it heavy. As for packaging, mineral water in 0.45 l glass goes on the table in the lounge, while the bulk of the volume is covered by still water in 0.5 l PET or from an 18.9 l bottle. Allow 1–1.5 l per person.

Mineral water of moderate mineralisation
Still or sparkling, whichever you prefer
Practical packaging: 0.45 l glass for the table, still water in 0.5 l PET or an 18.9 l bottle for volume