For women

For women who care about their facial skin and hair, the benefits of a sauna are obvious.

The benefits of sweating were understood by the ancient Mayans. Approximately 3,000 years ago, the ancient Mayan civilization used so-called “sweat houses” not only to maintain good health, but also for their religious needs.

European researchers call Byzantium the place where the sauna was invented. The Byzantines allegedly borrowed this tradition from the ancient Slavs. Almost every culture has its own way of using heat for relaxation, therapy and ritual. Remember, ancient Roman baths, modern Turkish steam baths, Russian and Korean baths, and the now fashionable American hot tubs/jacuzzis are just a few examples. The oldest technique for using heat is the sauna. It has been used by the northern peoples of Europe and Asia for hundreds of years. Moreover, in modern Finland, every third Finn regularly goes to the sauna. In the United States, the popularity of saunas is also gaining momentum. According to various sources, there are over a million saunas in the United States.

Dry heat has a profound effect on the body. Sweating begins almost immediately. The average person loses up to a pint (about half a liter) of sweat during a short stay in a sauna. However, in dry air, sweat evaporates so quickly that a person does not fully realize how much he has sweated. Skin temperature rises to approximately 104° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius) within a few minutes, but core body temperature rises much more slowly and usually remains below 100° Fahrenheit (37.7° Celsius). In a sauna, your heart rate rises by about 30%. As a result, the heart nearly doubles the amount of blood it pumps every minute. The blood flow is actually directed from the internal organs to the subcutaneous layer and superficial tissues. Blood pressure in a sauna can either increase or decrease for different people. All these symptoms normalize after the person cools down after the sauna. Thus, on the one hand, the sauna helps us relax, and, on the other hand, it makes the heart work more intensely.

Saunas are divided into several types, depending on the heating of the room. In a wood-burning sauna, the air is dry and hot. An electric sauna also heats the air to high temperatures, making it very dry. A sauna with infrared radiation involves the installation of special lamps that heat the human body with light waves, rather than the air in the room. Typically, the temperature in such saunas is lower than in others, but human sweating is as intense as, for example, in an electric or wood-burning sauna.

The steam room is significantly different from the above-mentioned saunas - high humidity at high temperature - these are its features.

Visiting the sauna is a national hobby in Finland. This is probably why most scientific research on sauna safety has been done in this country. For example, a 16-month study of 1,631 heart attacks in Helsinki found that only 1.8% of them occurred within 3 hours of using a sauna. In another study, of 6,175 sudden deaths that occurred in one year, only 1.7% occurred within 24 hours of a sauna, and many of the deaths were alcohol-related. Finnish research suggests that saunas help reduce the risk of early death from heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Scientists found that the more often men went to the sauna and the longer they stayed in it over 20 years of life, the lower their risk of sudden cardiac death and fatal cardiovascular diseases.

But is this data applicable to residents of other countries where sauna use is not as frequent as in Finland?

Turkish hammam. Canadian scientists conducted a study of patients with heart disease. They compared the effects of a 15-minute sauna session with a standard treadmill stress test. No chest pain, abnormal heart rhythms, or ECG changes were reported with either type of activity in the patients. Cardiac scans showed some disruption of blood circulation in the heart muscles in most patients, but the changes caused by the sauna were milder than those caused by exercise.

Saunas are also quite safe for patients with coronary heart disease. A study from Japan found that two weeks of daily saunas may even improve vascular function in some patients. However, it is better for heart patients to consult a doctor before using a sauna.

Most likely, those who can do light exercise, such as walking for half an hour or climbing 3-4 flights of stairs without stopping, will not harm the sauna.

Dry sauna air does not harm your skin or lungs. Moreover, some patients with psoriasis and chronic skin conditions report relief from itching. The amount of wheezing in asthmatics decreases after a sauna. In general, the sauna is quite safe for the body. Some of the beneficial effects of a sauna include relaxing the body, cleansing skin pores, reducing stress and increasing energy levels, strengthening the immune system, reducing muscle pain, improving joint movement, relieving arthritis pain and many others. Even singer Lady Gaga bought a sauna and uses it to treat chronic pain.

Before using both a sauna and a hot tub, it is recommended to: do not drink alcohol (alcohol dehydrates the body, causes drowsiness and increases stress on the heart), limit the time of stay to 15-20 minutes (to avoid heat stroke), and cool down naturally rather than immediately immerse yourself into ice water (this is especially true for cores). Well, and, of course, drink enough water and listen to your body while in the sauna. It is not recommended to overeat before the sauna. People with low blood pressure and pregnant women are not recommended to use the sauna. As they say, a cool head is the best way to enjoy a hot sauna.

Many American sports complexes have dry saunas. You can often see people who, after working out on a treadmill or exercise equipment, or instead of working out, go to the sauna to lose weight. Although the sauna is safe and beneficial for our health, it cannot fully replace regular exercise. Experts say that a loss of approximately 500 grams is possible. weight while using the sauna, but this will not be fat loss, but the release of water from the body. And this lost weight will return as soon as the person eats or drinks something. At the same time, the sauna is a very effective way to recover after training.

There are various studies on the benefits of saunas in terms of women's health. For example, the Journal of Human Kinetics reported that spending 30 minutes in a sauna increases growth hormone in women, which in turn helps our bodies break down fat and build muscle. For women who care about their facial skin and hair, the benefits of a sauna are obvious. The sauna not only opens the skin pores and removes dead skin cells, but also activates the sebaceous glands.