The modern sauna has a rich history.
Different cultures enriched the features of a single methods of healing and cleansing the body: deep warming and temperature changes.
Sauna: features and types
There are three types of saunas:
1. Dry sauna
2. Wet sauna
3. Infrared sauna
Finnish sauna
The Finnish sauna is the main representative of dry saunas, since the air humidity in it does not exceed 15%. Air temperature reaches + 90ºC.
This sauna is similar to a Russian bath: with hot steam and birch brooms, with the help of which they saturate the body with moisture. This procedure improves blood circulation and tones the skin.
Finnish saunas are traditionally used dry steam.
The healing properties of the Finnish sauna cleanse the body, relieve stress and strengthen the body.
A stay in the Finnish sauna is limited to 15 minutes, and in one procedure the number of visits does not exceed three.
The Finnish sauna heals the body due to a sharp change in temperature, so between dives in the steam room they dive into a cold pool or take a shower.
Turkish sauna
The second name of the Turkish sauna is hammam.
Hamam - representative wet sauna, not hot, but very humid steam is used here. The humidity in the Turkish sauna reaches 100%.
Before the procedure, body peeling is performed so that the dead cells do not interfere with sweating. The temperature of the Turkish sauna is maintained around + 60ºC.
The effect of the procedure is provided by abundant sweat to cool the body.
Hammam is acceptable daily, but with a duration of 15 minutes. This sauna relieves muscle tension, relieves insomnia and strengthens the immune system.
Infrared saunas
The human body is heated with the help of thermal waves that are emitted by infrared heaters. The specificity of this radiation is to heat an object, not air. The waves penetrate the body by 4 centimeters. For comparison, the Finnish bath warms up the body by a maximum of 5 millimeters.
High radiation intensity causes severe sweating, which cleanses the body faster and better.
An infrared sauna removes 4 times more harmful substances from the body than other types of saunas.
The wave structure of infrared radiation heats soft tissues, dilates blood vessels and removes lactic acid from the muscles. Athletes use this sauna to relieve muscle pain and recover from exercise.
The humidity in the sauna rises from 40% to 60% per session. The temperature does not play a decisive role, but for the full effect it is maintained at a level exceeding +35 ºC.
The duration of the session is up to 20 minutes.
Sauna: what are the benefits for the body?
The use of saunas for the body has made this procedure popular. The main systems and functions of the body receive a positive impact with the right approach:
1. Thermoregulation.
When the ambient temperature rises, the body releases excess heat through the skin to prevent overheating. The method of thermoregulation of the body is the release of sweat, at the same time as the removal of toxins and toxins.
2. The central nervous system.
Sauna, after a ten-minute stay in it, improves coordination of movements and accelerates motor reactions. After a twenty-minute stay, the effect is the opposite.
Normalization of indicators accelerates when taking a cool shower after the procedure.
The sauna benefits the psychological state, improving mood and allowing you to relax and reduce stress.
3. The cardiovascular system.
The cardiovascular system activates when the temperature rises, so visiting the sauna brings health benefits, positively affecting the work of the heart.
After visiting the sauna, brain activity increases, caused by an increase in the functionality of blood circulation.
With proper implementation of procedures, body indicators return to normal 20 minutes after completion.
4. Neuromuscular apparatus.
Sauna reduces muscle tone, relieving tension, elasticity comes and softens connective tissue.
5. The respiratory system.
The temperature of the sauna stimulates the rapidity and depth of breathing. With colds and respiratory diseases, a sauna with the use of essential oils performs the effect of inhalation, ensuring the penetration of medicinal mixtures deep into the lungs.
6. Leather.
With an increase in temperature in the skin, blood circulation accelerates. In the first two minutes of the sauna, the skin temperature rises significantly, after which the body activates the process of thermoregulation, and the temperature increase slows down.
Overheating of the skin provokes vasodilation and allows to increase the permeability of the skin. Sensitivity is aggravated, the epidermis softens, respiratory activity of the skin and immune-biological properties increase - these changes increase the protective, thermoregulatory and excretory functions of the skin, which improve the functioning of other organs and temper the body.
In addition to the basic properties, the sauna helps to lose weight, restoring the body's water balance and normalizing the work of internal organs.
Sauna: what is the harm to health?
The sauna brings harm to people with contraindications to the procedure, and to those who neglect the rules.
With a prolonged stay in the sauna, an overload of the heart occurs, the heart rate accelerates.
A sharp change in temperature affects the cardiovascular system, so a cold shower after a sauna is contraindicated for people with heart disease. In addition, hypothermia sometimes causes a cold.
Forbidden taking a sauna while intoxicated, since the load on the body increases several times, and a person loses the sense of time.
Sauna is contraindicated:
1. With pneumonia and acute bronchitis;
2. Influenza and SARS;
3. Epilepsy;
4. Hypertension;
5. Oncological diseases;
6. With exacerbation of a chronic disease;
7. In case of circulatory failure;
8. Tuberculosis;
9. heart disease;
10. Asthma;
11. At elevated temperature;
12. After a stroke or heart attack.
For pregnant and lactating mothers: is the sauna harmful?
Pregnant women are allowed to visit saunas only after consulting a doctor, since the benefits or harms of the sauna for the body depend on the physical condition of the woman.
Saunas relieve fatigue, muscle pain and increased tone of the uterus in pregnant women.
There are restrictions for expectant mothers: in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the sauna is harmful to the mother’s body and the baby, and during the second and third trimesters, the sauna will have a beneficial effect on the woman’s health.
Strictly forbidden taking a sauna for pregnant women with the threat of miscarriage, infections, oligohydramnios and similar serious pathologies.
For women who can easily bear pregnancy, a sauna will be a way to strengthen immunity, activate the body's metabolic processes and prevent varicose veins.
It is better to visit saunas in special groups for pregnant women under the guidance of an instructor.
A visit to the sauna during lactation depends only on the health of the woman.
The argument of opponents of going to the sauna during breastfeeding is the negative effect of increasing body temperature on milk quality. This is a myth, since the quality of milk will not change if a woman was basking in a sauna.
The only negative factor is dehydration, caused by the withdrawal of fluid from the body, which leads to a decrease in milk flow. If after visiting the sauna to replenish the balance of the liquid, it will not cause any harm.
It is forbidden to take a sauna only in the first 8 weeks after childbirth.
Sauna for children: useful or harmful?
Sauna is useful from the age of three for children who do not suffer from chronic diseases and without developmental delays.
Children heat up faster than adults, so a sauna for babies lasts up to three minutes, and for children of school age - up to five minutes.
In the sauna, hot air accumulates at the top, so a place that is useful for children is below 90 centimeters from the floor, where the temperature is + 65ºC. Kids enter the sauna once, preschool children - two times, schoolchildren - three. The cooling period is equal in time to the period of stay in the sauna.
The benefits of a sauna for babies are to build an immune system. To strengthen immunity, it is recommended to visit the sauna once a week.
Additional benefits of visiting the sauna will be an increase in the child’s appetite and normalization of sleep.
Sauna benefits the baby's body by preventing and relieving respiratory illnesses.
The sauna causes harm to babies with congenital heart defects, neurological problems, as well as during periods of exacerbation of diseases.
Sauna: benefits for athletes and losing weight
The beneficial properties of the sauna restore strength, fight overfatigue, strengthen immunity and remove excess weight. The muscular, cardiovascular and respiratory systems are restored, the body's metabolic processes return to normal.
Reception of a sauna on three sets is effective, lasting 5 or 10 minutes, but next day sports training is unacceptable.
Daily saunas lead to overload of the body, fatigue and tachycardia. For the body, a sauna will only benefit if you visit once a week.
During heavy sports, the sauna harms the body.
Sauna to stimulate the body's recovery process after exercise includes up to two runs of five minutes each with a temperature of 70-90ºC and humidity up to 15%. Immediately after the release, athletes enter a warm shower.
When combining saunas with physical activity, the degree of fatigue and features of the upcoming loads are taken into account.
The sauna is contraindicated the day before speed training and with an excessive degree of fatigue of athletes.
Sauna allows you to reduce body weight due to the release of fluid from the body and due to energy consumption.
The amount of kilograms left is affected by:
1. The duration of the procedure;
2. The level of humidity and temperature;
3. Features of the body;
4. health conditions;
5. The operation of the thermoregulation apparatus.
Important note that through sweat salts, trace elements and vitamins come out of the body, the deficiency of which must be filled up without fail.
