Saunas
For thousands of years, the sauna has been a place of both healthful relaxation and social recreation, and its appeal is growing in modern culture.
A sauna is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions. A sauna session is usually a social affair in which people relax in temperatures of over 80 °C. This induces relaxation and promotes sweating.
Health Benefits
Besides being a fun and relaxing, saunas also stimulate circulation through the cycle of perspiration, rapid cooling, and rest.
Perspiration may help clean clogged pores, resulting in skin with a healthier glow.
There is some evidence that shows saunas help temporarily reduce muscular and nervous tension.
Moderation and common sense must be used thought, as saunas do have risks and may not be for everyone. Check with a physician before you take a sauna if you have high blood pressure, respiratory disease, serious circulatory problems, a chronic illness, are pregnant, or are taking antibiotics, tranquilizers, stimulants, or any other drugs.
Infrared Saunas, Wet, Dry, Smoke and Steam Saunas
Infrared saunas use a special heater that generates infrared radiation rays similar to that produced by the sun. Unlike the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, infrared is said to be beneficial to overall health. In an infrared sauna, the electric heaters warm the air and also penetrate the skin to encourage perspiration, producing many of the same health benefits of traditional steam saunas.
Today there are a wide variety of sauna options. Heat sources include wood, electricity, gas and other more unconventional methods such as solar power. There are wet saunas, dry saunas, smoke saunas, steam saunas, and those that work with infrared waves as described above.
You can have a sauna in your home or apartment, in your backyard, on your rooftop, or even in a vehicle or on a pontoon boat. The possibilities are endless and creating innovative and sometimes quirky designs has become part of the appeal of sauna bathing. But for most people, it is still the health benefits that are the main attraction.