Up to 300 calories can be burned during one sauna session. What’s more, many bacteria and viruses are unable to survive at temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. This means that a visit to the sauna makes us win in the fight against them without any special effort or medicines.
In Scandinavia, on the other hand, the sauna is appreciated for its effect of relieving tension and reducing aggressiveness and formal barriers. As a result, it is often a place where business negotiations take place. And what do we owe to this hot room on a daily basis?
Each sauna, both dry and wet, has numerous benefits for our body. Muscle relaxation, accelerated metabolism and increased production of red and white blood cells – these properties make us more relaxed, less nervous, we lose weight without engaging in exercise or diet and improve the efficiency of our cardiovascular system. Sauna therefore supports the treatment of infections, regenerates the body, reduces stress and nervous tension. In addition, it is recommended for various rheumatic ailments, skin or related to blood circulation problems.Remember, however, that there are also contraindications to using the sauna and it is worth checking in advance that none of them apply to us. These include problems with blood clotting, atherosclerosis, cancer, post-heart attack states, coronary artery disease or glaucoma. Also, temporary conditions of our body exclude the sauna, such as menstruation or pregnancy.
It is best to visit a doctor before the first visit to the sauna. Nowadays, we should also make sure that the sauna we want to use is properly ventilated, disinfected and equipped with devices for measuring humidity and temperature. In this way, we will take care of our safety. Before entering the sauna, you should refrain from wearing jewelry that heats up and is therefore dangerous, alcohol, creams and body lotions. We should go to the sauna at the earliest 1.5 hours after the last meal and at least half an hour after previous physical effort. It is also best to be accompanied by someone in the sauna in case of fainting. We do not wear a bathing suit, and our only cover should be a towel. Remember that we sit on it in the cabin, so that no part of the body touches the heated boards. It’s best if you take care of lowering your body temperature right after leaving the cabin, going to the swimming pool or shower. We should also stay hydrated and rest, instead of giving ourselves some activity. Such a temperature change is a heavy burden for the body and we should not expose it to greater exhaustion.
At first, we should not use the sauna every day, because it is a new and straining experience for our body. A more experienced person, if there are no medical contraindications, can use it every day. Then, however, the pattern of use differs from that of less frequent. For beginners, it is recommended to visit the sauna once a week, because this is how long the healing effect after sauna lasts. The first sittings in the sauna should oscillate around 5 minutes, with time, as the body adapts, you can extend this time gradually to 15 minutes. The session should be followed by cooling of the body. If you suffer from any ailments that can be treated in the sauna, the frequency of sauna use and the length of time spent there should be decided by your doctor.
The optimal frequency of sauna visits is 2-3 times a week. Only people whose body is exposed to intense physical effort, such as athletes, can sometimes start using it daily. This is to accelerate the regeneration processes. In general, however, daily visits to the sauna are not recommended. Usually 2 or 3 sessions are recommended during one stay, which means that after the first 5 minutes or so, we leave and cool the body, then return to the sauna once or twice more with a break for another cool down.
We should, if possible, regulate the length of the sauna session by ourselves, based on our reactions and feelings. Sometimes there will be days when we will feel worse after a shorter period of time and we should not force ourselves to maintain the previously assumed time.
