Do you like to visit the sauna: sit in the steam room and then plunge into the cool pool? Have you ever wondered if it is not harmful to health, how to go to the sauna correctly and how often, what procedures are most useful in it?
What is a sauna
Sauna and bath are the Finnish and Russian names for the same room and procedure, respectively. This is a steam room with dry (sauna) and wet (bath) steam, obtained from the fact that water or herbal infusions are poured onto hot stones.
In fact, the sauna in its modern form personifies the fusion of several elements of nature – fire, air and water, they, in a reasonable combination, cleanse the body from filth, and the soul from evil thoughts. Ancestors knew this, today it is no less relevant.
In our time, the sauna has gained popularity among men and women who care about their health, who want to lose weight and cleanse the body. Saunas today have any self-respecting sports club, beauty salon and health center.
How sauna affects the body
The sauna is useful for almost everyone – from babies to the elderly, the main thing is to use it correctly. When visiting the sauna, the cardiovascular system is trained, blood flow is activated, the pulse increases, and the pressure remains the same. Due to the activation of metabolism, excess fats are burned and “bad” cholesterol is excreted.
The bath is useful for people with both high and low blood pressure: under the influence of steam from water and herbal infusions pressure returns to normal. As a result, the blood more actively absorbs oxygen and delivers it to the tissues.
It is important that the steam of the sauna has a stimulating effect on the muscles and skin, enhancing their metabolic processes and removing toxins. It is especially good after physical activity, trainings and competitions.
The sauna perfectly calms and heals the nerves, due to the pleasant heat, tension is removed from the body, it relaxes, and together with the body it relaxes and nervous system. A change in temperature improves mood, raises emotional tone, relieves stress and eliminates signs of depression. Bath can rejuvenate, especially if you make it a tradition, it strengthens bones and joints, they retain their mobility longer.
However, in order for the sauna to have the maximum of its beneficial properties without harming the body, it is necessary to visit it according to special rules, you should properly prepare for the trip and take everything you need with you.
What to take to the sauna
In order for your visit to the sauna to be useful and enjoyable, you must follow some rules. You need to prepare some necessary things with you – these should be a clean cotton sheet, a bath towel, washable sandals or slippers, a special hat. All these items can be purchased in special departments for saunas and baths.
If you want to combine visiting the sauna with beauty treatments, prepare in advance masks and scrubs, body cream that you will use.
In the sauna, the body loses a lot of fluid, so bring tea, clean water or herbal infusions to drink with you. You can use decoctions of berries, compotes, diluted warm juices. It is worth refraining from the use of alcoholic beverages and soda, sweet juices in the sauna.
Before visiting the sauna, it is not recommended to eat tightly – lightly have a snack with vegetable soup or cottage cheese with fruits. You should not arrange feasts in the sauna with dense and fatty foods and alcohol, as many vacationers do, then the sauna will bring harm instead of benefit: the combination of dense food, alcohol and heat is a blow to the body. Before going to the sauna itself, you can’t train a lot at an accelerated pace.
Do not wear lenses or jewelry in the sauna as they can get very hot, melt and cause burns. Visit the sauna in the nude, swimwear and swimming trunks are unhygienic.
Before entering the steam room
Before entering the steam room, you need to wash your body in the shower, but you should not wet your hair. No need to wash the skin with soap, so as not to wash off the protective film, it will protect the skin from overdrying at high temperatures. After a shower, thoroughly dry the body from the water, then in the steam room it will heat up evenly.
You can not smear the body with cream, this will disrupt skin breathing and clog pores. When entering the steam room, put on a hat.
How long to bathe and rest?
When visiting the sauna, there is no need to rush – the ideal time for the procedure is a three-hour session, it is especially useful in the afternoon, after 15-17 hours, or in the evening. Remember that the body after the sauna requires rest.
The most optimal is three visits to the steam room with periods of rest, this is the most useful rhythm of the procedure, the change of high and low temperatures is most effective.
Initially, sit on the lower shelves – there the temperature is usually up to seventy degrees, and on the upper shelves the temperature can reach hundreds of degrees. It is important to be in the same thermal zone with your whole body – lie on a shelf, spreading a towel or sheet under you. In the sauna you need to breathe through your nose and not talk.
You need to stay in the steam room for as long as you feel comfortable there, but if you first came to the sauna, limit yourself to five to ten minutes and go out. Cool down with a cool shower or dip in the pool, enjoy a cup of tea or a healthy drink.
Then rest – the body should completely cool down, usually the rest after the steam room should be equal to or longer in time than visiting the steam room. The pool is a very pleasant and effective way to stretch the muscles and cool the body after the steam room: due to the change in temperature and activity, metabolic products are removed from the muscles and their tone improves.
Sauna Contraindications
It is definitely not worth visiting the sauna for expectant mothers at any stage of pregnancy – a high temperature can provoke a miscarriage or placental abruption. With caution, it is necessary to visit the sauna in case of skin diseases – in the acute stage, you can temporarily refuse to visit, and if the skin is dry, reduce the time spent in the steam room.
Sauna is not contraindicated for hearts, but the temperature in the steam room should be lower than usual.
Sauna as a means of beauty
Sauna is very actively used in cosmetology and weight loss. Under the influence of steam, the separation of sweat and the removal of toxins are enhanced, the sauna allows, due to the removal of excess fluid, a little lose weight. This is due to the release of sweat and the activation of metabolism.
Masks and cosmetics work great in the sauna, as the pores expand and they are cleaned, the products penetrate deeper into the skin, providing a more active effect. Scrubs are used on steamed skin, then they cleanse it deeper without damaging it. Masks are made between procedures, but it is forbidden to be with them on the face or body in the sauna.
It is useful to breathe aroma oils in the sauna: they will help relieve tension, treat the bronchi and lungs, improve mood and increase tone. Pine oil will help with skin problems, lemon oil will improve mood, fir will cure bronchial tubes.
Very beneficial for the body brooms – this body massage, anti-cellulite, treatment of arthritis, radiculitis and rheumatism. Birch brooms help smokers: they expand the bronchi and remove phlegm from them.
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The sauna is an excellent health-improving, hardening and relaxing remedy. Make it a rule to visit her several times a month – this will help you become calmer and improve your health.
