The heat stress that we experience in the steam room can be both beneficial and harmful to the body. The whole question is in the dose! Therefore, when visiting the bath, do not go to extremes: your task is only to slightly shake the body, and not bring it to overheating and exhaustion.
Let’s figure out how to steam properly.
Immediately after leaving the steam room, do not dive into cold water or snow!
Every modern fitness club is equipped with a sauna and this space is very popular among the clients. But is it really necessary and, most importantly, safe to visit the sauna after a workout?
Sauna is a place designed to increase the body temperature of a person and cause profuse sweating. Sweat performs two important functions – it cools the body and removes toxins. Sauna increases blood flow to all parts of the body, increases heart rate and metabolism. Blood vessels become flexible and elastic, blood circulation through them increases. Sauna contributes to the elimination of lactic acid lactate, which is released during physical exertion, and also helps to detoxify the body, which prevents many diseases. The sauna also deeply cleanses the pores of the skin and makes it breathe.
Many doctors recommend visiting the sauna to relieve sports injuries and chronic fatigue syndrome. It will help reduce the level of the destructive hormone – cortisol.
Despite all the benefits, the sauna should be treated with caution, especially if you combine it with classes in the gym. Intensive training increases the load on the heart and blood vessels, after which the pressure always rises, and it takes time for it to return to normal. Therefore, an immediate visit to the sauna is fraught with fainting. Experts recommend visiting the sauna on days free from high physical exertion, as this is a complete workout for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
If the desire to do everything in one visit to the club does not leave you, follow the simple rules:
- training should be low-intensity and last no more than 45 minutes;
- the maximum time spent in the sauna should not exceed 15 minutes;
- be sure to drink water during training;
- after visiting the sauna, be sure to drink at least 300 ml of water or herbal tea;
- After the sauna, take a cool shower or swim in the pool.
Don’t steam up hungry or right after a big meal. It is better to eat moderately no later than 2 hours before visiting the steam room.
Avoid smoking, alcohol, coffee, strong tea, energy drinks, most drugs (check with your doctor for details).
Try to finish physical work in advance and rest for at least 20-30 minutes.
Before vaping, take a warm shower and wash with soap. Then dry yourself thoroughly: you need to enter the steam room with dry skin. Do not apply oily cream on the skin – this blocks sweating and can lead to overheating in the steam room.
It is useful for untrained bathers to do a warm foot bath for 5 minutes. This will help prepare the body for heat stress.
Drink 2 cups (400 ml) of low-mineralized non-carbonated or pure water 5-10 minutes before visiting the steam room. But lemonade, kvass, juices, etc. can be consumed only half an hour after the complete end of the bath procedure.
Remove metal jewelry, glasses and contact lenses. It is advisable to swim without clothes, including without turning around in sheets and towels. If necessary, use only lightweight organic cotton fabrics.
After swimming
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The general rule is to cool down for at least 15 minutes after each exit from the steam room. It is useful to drink 1 glass (no more) of mineral water without gas at room temperature or plain water.
The options for rest after each entry into the steam room can be different – they choose them according to their own well-being. In any case, leaving the bath, you need to spend 2-3 minutes in a room with room temperature or breathe in the fresh air (if it is not too cold there). After that, lovers of a healthy bath can afford to douse themselves with ice-cold (4 ° C) water (from a bucket or from a shower) or plunge into cold water or into snow. Elderly or inexperienced people, as well as pregnant women and children, should simply shower at room temperature instead. And finally, you need to rest for another 10-15 minutes before going to the steam room again.
After completing your sauna session, a quiet rest period of 30-60 minutes is recommended. It is better for people with chronic cardiovascular diseases to lie down at this time. It is recommended to start eating no earlier than an hour after leaving the bath.
Light steam for you!
How often can you visit the sauna?
Sometimes a visit to the healing sauna, beloved by many, comes to fanaticism. Some avid bath attendants prefer to go to the steam room every day. Many believe that this type of recreation, if used too often, can be harmful to health. Let’s see in this article how often doctors recommend visiting the sauna and how long each visit should last.
It turns out that a daily visit to the sauna can not harm the body. Moreover, in many countries it is customary to go to the steam room as often as possible in order to simultaneously enjoy the process of steaming and washing. Medical studies have been specially carried out, which confirm the absolute safety of everyday use of the sauna. Moreover, this study involved a lot of people, both with various diseases, and completely healthy.
The steam room improved the performance of the subjects, and their well-being improved significantly. People got rid of insomnia, nervous tension, anxiety and stress. In addition, the sauna increased the immunity of visitors, and they avoided the risk of contracting viral diseases. All this serves as an excellent indicator that the steam room is incredibly useful for the human body, even with an everyday visit. Moreover, the type of steam room can be absolutely anything. Russian bath, Finnish sauna and Turkish hammam in practice give equally positive results. It all depends on the visitor.
And now we will determine who needs regular visits to the sauna:
- Athletes, as well as those who experience constant physical exertion;
- People with psychological trauma and nervous disorders;
- Those who suffer from excess weight, loose skin and orange peel;
- People with weak immunity;
- Having chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
There are some restrictions on the presence of a person in the steam room. Doctors believe that a one-time visit to the sauna should end when the visitor sweats enough. But you should not sit in the steam room to the last, especially if you feel some discomfort or find warning signs such as dizziness and migraines. As a rule, on average, one call can last from five to twenty minutes. Of course, if you are visiting the sauna for the first time, try not to exceed the ten-minute threshold.
We wish you a pleasant stay!
The benefits of visiting the steam room
To maintain the health and youth of the human body, experts recommend starting to visit the sauna and bath.
The steam room has a unique beneficial effect on the body: it stimulates regeneration processes, cleanses and strengthens blood vessels, relaxes the muscular corset, reduces the negative effects of stress, expands and cleanses pores, removes toxins, and improves blood circulation. and well-being.
Regular bathing strengthens the heart and lungs, cleanses the respiratory system and tones the skin. This is an excellent prevention of colds, a means to strengthen the immune system and rejuvenate the body.
Why is a bath useful for the body?
A visit to the bath helps to increase immunity, eliminate toxins, due to the increased work of the sweat glands. It’s also a good cardiovascular and lung workout, as the hot, dry air makes the body work harder. The bath has a beneficial effect on the joints, as a prophylactic and to prevent exacerbations of diseases.
It also has a positive effect on the psycho-emotional state of a person. Due to the saturation of the brain with oxygen, excitability decreases, and the muscles are more saturated with blood and relax.
Do you have to wear a hat to the steam room?
High temperatures have a negative effect on the hair: from overdrying, they can become dull and brittle. But most importantly, the cap protects the head from overheating. But on one condition: the hat and hair under it must be dry.
How long can you stay in the steam room?
It is recommended to stay in the steam room for no more than 10-15 minutes. Long stay and too frequent visits to the bath (more than 2 times a week) can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, loss of consciousness, a sharp jump in blood pressure, nausea, vomiting. If you feel discomfort every time you visit the steam room, it would be better to exclude this type of rest, or consult a doctor.
In what cases is the bath contraindicated?
A visit to the bath is a suitable remedy for the prevention of colds and general strengthening of the body, but at the same time, you should not visit the bath with acute respiratory infections or in the presence of inflammatory processes.
In addition, wash thoroughly before visiting the steam room, washing off the soap and foam. This is necessary so that the dirt does not clog into the pores and the body does not heat up so quickly.
Sauna is contraindicated if:
● You have a high body temperature;
● Have infectious diseases (including skin diseases);
● Have mental and neurological disorders;
● Sunburned or recently subjected to injectable and/or aggressive cosmetic procedures: peeling, laser resurfacing, etc.;
● Recent operation;
● You have high blood pressure or heart disease. Absolute contraindications to visiting the bath are heart defects and myocarditis. Patients with CHF, coronary artery disease, hypertension and other heart diseases should definitely consult a doctor regarding the allowable load.
In addition, the bath will harm only people with tuberculosis, diagnosed with Botkin’s disease, with oncological diseases, epilepsy and severe forms of diabetes.
What are contrasting temperatures used for: cold showers or even diving into the snow after a steam room? Isn’t that harmful?
Such a hardening procedure requires gradualness, and if you do not practice hardening on a regular basis, then you should not do it. An unprepared body will not cope with a sharp temperature drop, and you are likely to get sick. People with diseases of the cardiovascular system should also be more careful with contrasting temperatures, since such procedures can result in a hypertensive crisis, tachycardia.
Also, when visiting the bath, you need to monitor your well-being. In case of any deterioration in the condition – with the appearance of heaviness in the head, weakness or dizziness, you must immediately leave the steam room.
Can you drink beer in the sauna?
It is not recommended to drink alcohol in the sauna. Alcohol, like high temperature, dilates blood vessels, while the effect of intoxication sets in faster, the risk of rupture of blood vessels and separation of blood clots increases. In addition, alcohol, like a bath, greatly dehydrates the body, which also threatens with unpleasant consequences. In the bath it is recommended to drink a lot of water, herbal teas, unsweetened juices, fruit drinks, compotes or kvass are also good.
Sauna oils: are they necessary?
For baths, saunas, you can buy essential oils or ready-made flavors. Flavorings usually differ in that they contain essential oils and water, sometimes an emulsifier is also included in the composition. They are usually sold in large bottles ready to drink.
With pure oils, everything is easier. Oils are obtained by distillation or pressing of various plants with a specific aroma. Thanks to the oil base, they have a persistent and strong smell, so just a few drops are enough for the bath to fill the steam room with the chosen aroma.
For relaxation, mint, citrus oils, for example, orange and tangerine, as well as ylang-ylang, are usually used, and extracts of geranium, jasmine, lime, grapefruit are recommended to cheer up. Aromas of thyme, chamomile, eucalyptus, juniper have disinfecting properties, and coniferous oils help well in the prevention of respiratory diseases.
Bath contraindications
Despite the obvious benefits of visiting the steam room, such procedures are contraindicated for many people.
Often the air temperature in the steam room exceeds 60 degrees, which can adversely affect weakened hair, sensitive skin and blood vessels, respiratory, cardiac and reproductive systems.
Before deciding on such a vacation, you should find out if people with certain health problems can go to the bathhouse. After all, visiting the steam room can do them more harm than good. The bath is contraindicated in the following cases:
- acute diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
- severe kidney disease;
- oncological diseases;
- infectious diseases of the skin;
- heat;
- period of pregnancy and lactation;
- postoperative period.
It is highly undesirable for men to abuse bath procedures, as they can cause dysfunction of the reproductive system and male infertility.
Rules for visiting the bath
All bathing procedures are carried out in stages, while the entrance to the steam room should alternate with short rest breaks.
The first run prepares the body for thermal stress and relaxation, which is why it is the longest. The time spent in the steam room is from 10 to 15 minutes.
At the first visit to the steam room, the body may respond to the high temperature regime with the appearance of burgundy spots. This suggests that the vessels are actively expanding and adapting to new conditions. For effective training of blood vessels, it is recommended to alternate regular visits to the steam room with contrasting water treatments.
After the first entry, it is necessary to cool the heated body and cleanse the skin. To do this, just take a warm shower and do a light cleaning of the skin. This is followed by a break for rest, during which massage treatments are allowed.
To replenish the fluid in the body, you can drink any bath drink – warm tea, herbal decoction, fruit drink or clean water.
The duration of the rest period is from 7 to 12 minutes.
The second and third visits to the steam room last up to 8-10 minutes, this time is enough to increase sweating, start the internal cleansing of the body from toxins and toxins, and improve the functioning of organs and systems.
During a break for rest, a mask is applied to the skin, which will provide it with additional nutrition and hydration.
After the third visit to the steam room, you should take a warm shower, wash your hair thoroughly, apply masks or lotions made from natural ingredients.
For accelerated detoxification of the body, after taking a shower, a scrub or cream based on sea salt and aromatic oils is applied to the skin.
Important! Before entering the steam room, you must wash off all the cosmetics that were used during breaks for rest.
With careful preparation of the body, the number of visits to the bath increases up to 6 times.
For the majority, going to the bathhouse and sauna has become a kind of ritual, a place of pleasant gatherings with loved ones. In addition, the beneficial effects of pure steam and a heated bath broom leave pleasant memories and a feeling of satisfaction.
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The duration of the bath procedure
The optimal duration of the procedure depends on several factors: the type of steam room, physical health, preparation and goals.
Experts recommend spending as much time in the bath and sauna as necessary to ensure good sweating and warming up of the body. Therefore, for each person this value is individual.
The main rule is not to harm your own health. If you feel discomfort or feel unwell, you must stop the procedure.
The optimal time spent in the steam room in one run is from 4 to 25 minutes.
What else can not be done in the bath
So, you can not pour water into the ear. The person stops steaming and thinks only about how to shake the water out of the ear. Also, you should not wear hats: temperature receptors are located on the ears, if the ears are closed, then the person will no longer feel the heat. It is dangerous to use essential oils in the steam room. First, a person absorbs a little ether, and then a lot of carcinogens that have been released from the burnt residue of an oil plant, because all artificial oils are made from oil. Ethers are good only in the dressing room. You should not go to the bath without an air duct, as there you can get oxygen starvation. After such a bath, one feels dizzy, it is dark in the ears, in the eyes.
But jumping into a snowdrift after a steam room is possible and even necessary: this is a great contrast, it trains blood vessels.
Oleg Karabatov was born on April 16, 1990 in the Chelyabinsk region. He graduated from high school. Contact improvisation teacher (modern dance art form), industrial climber, wood carving. The bath business today brings him the main income. There is no work book, he calls himself a “free shooter”.
Recommended frequency of sauna visits
Fans of passive relaxation every time after visiting the steam room feel a surge of strength and vivacity, so they are ready to go to the bath every day.
According to many medical studies, regular bathing really has a powerful therapeutic effect on a person. The result of such a rest can be an improvement in well-being, weight loss, normalization of pressure, and a decrease in insulin levels.
To get the maximum effect from the sauna, you need to know how many days a week you can visit the steam room:
- The optimal frequency of visiting the bath and sauna for beginners is once a week, while the duration of one procedure should not exceed 5 minutes.
- People with heart and lung diseases can go to the sauna and bath once every two weeks in order to gradually accustom the body to strong thermal stress.
- Active bath attendants with good health can take a steam bath up to 4 times a week, while the time spent in the steam room is halved.
- When carrying out cosmetic procedures, it is enough to visit the bath only 2 times a week.
How to take a steam bath or sauna
There are several types of baths – Turkish, Russian, Finnish, Japanese, Roman. The main difference is in the level of humidity. For example, a steam (Russian) bath leads to faster heating and an increase in body temperature.
Here, compared to the sauna (Finnish), the humidity is much higher, and the temperature is lower. At the same time, due to hot steam, a very large load falls on the respiratory system. Also, the Russian bath promotes the degeneration of cells into malignant ones in the presence of precancerous diseases. Therefore, people 45+ should be wary of this type of recreation. It is better to choose a dry Finnish sauna (the temperature sometimes reaches 100-120 degrees, and the humidity is only 5-10%).
To achieve the best result in the sauna, it is important to follow a few simple recommendations:
- – before visiting, drink warm herbal tea;
- – just before entering the steam room, take a warm shower;
- – the first start should last about 3-5 minutes. This makes it easier for the body to adapt. Lie preferably on the bottom shelf;
- – after the first soaring, you can take a warm shower and relax for 10-15 minutes.
The second stage is longer. It is better to take a broom and a massage glove with you. First you need to warm up on the bottom shelf for a couple of minutes, then go up to the top and steam well for five minutes. With the help of a broom and a glove, make an active skin massage – this will improve blood circulation and sweating. You can then stay on the bottom shelf for another three minutes. After the second approach, it is recommended to rest for 5-7 minutes, wrapped in a sheet.
On the third and subsequent visits, women can undergo care procedures – scrub, mask or body wrap. This will positively affect the condition of the skin and accelerate the process of losing weight. Also, to quickly warm up the skin and break down fats, it is recommended to undergo a massage course.
After completing all the procedures, you can not drink liquid for 3-4 hours. But during the soaring itself, you need to replenish the fluid in the body due to herbal tea or plain water.
Proper vaping has many positive effects, we highlight the main ones:
- – metabolism increases by 20%, sweating is accelerated, which leads to the rapid removal of metabolic products through the skin, elimination of edema and, as a result, weight loss;
- – increased levels of beta-endorphin (affects mood, social activity) and growth hormone (accelerates protein synthesis and fat breakdown);
- – on the part of the central nervous system, excitability decreases, the quality of sleep increases;
- – respiratory system: bronchodilating effect improves, blood supply to the upper respiratory tract increases;
- – relaxation of muscles, stabilization of metabolic processes in bone tissues, saturation of muscles with glucose – activation of recovery processes.
But we must not forget that the bath is not available to everyone, there are contraindications: oncology, benign tumors, acute diseases, tuberculosis, children (up to three years old – a bath, up to 10-12 – a steam room), old age (75+).
Features of the Finnish sauna
A visit to the Finnish sauna has its own nuances, like other types of steam rooms, whether it’s a Russian bath, Swedish bastu or Turkish hammam. Let’s figure out which is better, a sauna or a hammam. Below are detailed recommendations with photos and answers to the most frequently asked questions. They will be especially relevant for those who first decided to visit a traditional Finnish bath.
So, going to the sauna, know that:
- It is best for a novice visitor to sit on a medium sunbed. Optimally – in a prone position, so that the legs are on the same level with the body, or are slightly raised. This will help reduce the load on the heart and will contribute to a more complete relaxation;
- if it is impossible to take a lying position, you should sit down so that the head and legs are approximately at the same level. The fact is that in a sauna steam room the temperature at the level of the head is usually 15-20 degrees higher than at the level of the legs. Therefore, if you stand in the steam room for a long time, or sit with your legs down, the risk of getting a heat stroke increases significantly;
- it is undesirable to be in a static position at the entrance to the steam room. Periodically, you should change the position of the body – from one side, smoothly roll over onto your back, after a while – to the other side, then to your stomach. This will contribute to a more uniform heating of the entire body;
- you should not get up abruptly, intending to leave the steam room. Rising from a prone position, it is better to sit on a bench for a couple of minutes first, which will help normalize blood circulation;
- To visit the sauna, a towel will be simply necessary not only for hygiene reasons, but also for a comfortable stay in very hot solariums. Also, be sure to wear a felt hat or wool hat so you don’t overheat.
Rules for visiting the Finnish sauna
The Finnish sauna is considered a sauna with dry steam. The temperature in her steam room is usually 90 – 130 degrees, and the humidity level is maintained within 3 – 15 percent. This ratio contributes to increased sweating, and also has a beneficial effect on the state of the respiratory system, facilitating the removal of sputum from the bronchi.
Now, taking into account the above features of the visit and knowing the necessary attributes for a bath, we will tell you how to steam in a Finnish sauna, as well as how long you can sit in the sauna.
Correct order:
- Before visiting, be sure to take a shower and then dry your body with a towel. In this case, you can not wet your head, in order to avoid overheating due to a long stay in the steam room. Beforehand, do not forget how to dress properly in the sauna.
- The first time to go to the steam room should be no more than 3 – 4 minutes. After this time, you should go outside, do simple breathing exercises, and after a couple of minutes take a cool shower. In this case, the water temperature in it should be approximately 18 degrees. After that, you need to rest for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Further, the previous paragraph can be repeated any number of times, the main thing to take into account is the fact that the total time spent in the sauna should not exceed 3 hours.
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Experts recommend
Obviously, visiting the sauna has a beneficial effect on well-being and the body as a whole. Below are the recommendations of experienced professionals, the implementation of which will allow you to more fully and effectively use all the positive features of the Finnish bath.
- The special temperature and humidity regime of the sauna promotes better opening of the skin pores and their excellent cleansing. A positive effect will help to consolidate the use of face masks, and it is not necessary to buy them. Made from familiar vegetables or berries, such masks are also very useful and effective;
- Neither before nor after visiting the sauna you can not take alcohol and heavy food. The feeling of thirst after the end of the bath procedures indicates the need to restore the water-salt balance. For this, pure water or green tea, which has an exquisite taste and aroma, and also has a beneficial effect on metabolism, is best suited;
- trying to find out whether it is possible to steam with a broom in a sauna, you should know that such a procedure is quite acceptable. Moreover, the use of a juniper or birch broom has a very beneficial effect on the condition of the skin;
- an aromatherapy session in the sauna will complement the positive effect of the procedures and stabilize the overall emotional state. To do this, just add a suitable essential oil to the water for stones, a decoction of useful plants or, for example, diluted beer or kvass. When choosing a fragrance, the desired effect should be the guideline. So, mint – improves mood, eucalyptus improves breathing, coniferous aromas – relieve overwork;
You cannot visit the sauna when:
- cold and fever;
- hypertension;
- diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- frequent headaches;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- the presence of infectious diseases;
- allergy.
If you have doubts about whether it is possible to take a steam bath in a sauna, it is better to consult a doctor before visiting it.
Having studied the above recommendations and learned how to steam in the Finnish sauna, you can safely go to the steam room. And you can be sure that the time spent there will be used to the maximum benefit.
Do not visit the steam room alone: even healthy people can suddenly lose consciousness or get burned there.
Avid sauna lovers can start steaming at any level of the regiment. For the unprepared, the elderly and children, it is best to start at a low or medium level. You can move higher only after you get used to the heat, on average 2-3 minutes after sunset.
In the steam room, it is not recommended to stand or sit with your legs dangling all the time. The best position is sitting, leaning back with your feet on a shelf. Relax your muscles: any physical activity in the bath is contraindicated. Two minutes before leaving the steam room, sit up straight and move your legs.
Are you sweating? Excellent! Do not wash off sweat (except face). Only the natural evaporation of moisture from the skin contributes to the normal heat transfer of the body.
You can splash water on the heater after the first sweating (usually from 5-8 minutes in the steam room). The hot steam will cause a second wave of heavy sweating that will last 1-2 minutes. Unprepared vapers, the elderly, children and people with chronic cardiovascular diseases should never succumb to the park.
It is better to massage the body with a broom or washcloth at the very beginning of soaring – before you sweat. This will help improve peripheral circulation, open pores and remove excess fat from the skin, improve body heat transfer. Massage can be done before visiting the steam room – after taking a shower. But fanning yourself with a broom or a towel in the steam room in order to enhance the temperature effect of the bath is possible only after you sweat. At the same time, neither a broom nor a towel, if possible, should touch the body.
The total time spent in the steam room should not exceed 10 minutes (15 for perfectly healthy people) or continue until the first signs of discomfort appear. The maximum number of visits to the steam room is 3 per visit to the bathhouse.
How to steam in the sauna
An ancient treatise says: “Bathing gives ten benefits: clarity of mind, freshness, vigor, health, strength, beauty, youth, purity, pleasant skin color and attention of the opposite sex.” Warming up has a beneficial effect on the state of the organs and systems of the body, enhances metabolism, calms the nervous system, restores strength, increases mental abilities and immunity of the body. The bath is also used to treat a number of diseases – atherosclerosis, the initial stage of hypertension, rheumatism, diabetes, kidney disease, etc.
Temperature in the sauna:
The sauna is characterized by a temperature of up to 130 degrees. Such heat is easier to bear due to low air humidity – 10-20%. The person is actively sweating.
Sauna rules:
Before the sauna, you must take a shower, but be sure to dry yourself with a towel, and in no case wet your head, your hair must be dry to avoid overheating of the Head.
Some bathers are of the opinion that the first entry into the steam room should be regulated by a certain amount of sweat drops from the nose. But based on this, some people will have to sit in anticipation of such drops for 15-18 minutes, which can lead to overheating.
But people have an individual tolerance for heat, humidity, cold, etc. Some begin to sweat (ceteris paribus) in the third minute, while others need 8-10 minutes for this. In addition, based on long-term observations, it was found that if people agreed in advance to go to the bathhouse, i.e. psychologically prepared, and a friendly company gathered, then the mechanisms of perspiration begin to act faster. In a sauna (unlike a bath), you must not add water to the stove, as this can lead to burns from overheated steam. They sit or lie in the sauna, get warm and sweat. The first run is a warm-up (3-4 minutes), then you need to leave the steam room and take a cool shower (18 degrees), then take a short rest (for 20-30 minutes) and make a second run, but for 10-15 minutes. The body is steaming and after the second call, you can refresh yourself in spirit and take a short break again (for 20-30 minutes). Then you can repeat the visits again. You can make as many passes as you want! However, the entire sauna session should not last more than three hours!
At the end of the procedure, you must again take a shower and wash your hair. Since during the sauna our body loses water and the skin becomes dry, after taking a shower, be sure to use a moisturizing lotion or body milk. Clothes should be put on only after you have cooled down.
What you need to know
For inexperienced bathers, it is best to first lie down on the middle shelf so that the head and legs are at the same level. It is even better that the legs are slightly higher than the torso and head (in modern steam rooms, special footboards in the form of rails are installed on the shelves). This arrangement facilitates the work of the heart. If it is not possible to lie down, it is necessary to sit down, but so that the legs are at the same height as the body. The position of the body in the steam room is not physiological if the legs are lowered down. And in a standing position, you expose yourself to the risk of heat stroke, since the air temperature at the level of the head is 10-20 ° higher than at the level of the body, and even more so the legs; in addition, your muscles and joints are in a tense position, which should not be.
In a more advantageous position are those who bathe in a prone position, and their heads are lowered on the shelves. This position allows you to relax not only the muscles of the body, but also the limbs. In order to evenly warm up all parts of the body, it is necessary after a while to change the position – first lie on your side, then on your back, on the other side and on your stomach, alternately exposing one or the other part of the body. body to hot steam.
And one more thing: in the steam room you should always breathe through your nose. During nasal breathing, the hot air passing through the nasopharynx is cooled, and too dry air is humidified. Sit down a minute before leaving the steam room if you were lying down to prepare the circulatory system for a standing position. (It is interesting to note that they bathe with brooms lying down, such phenomena are not observed.) It is also useful to do 2-3 light physical exercises before getting up. After leaving the steam room (this applies to everyone), you should not immediately go to bed to rest, you need to walk for 2-3 minutes, doing breathing exercises. After that, it is recommended to wash off under a warm shower. Before re-entering the steam room, do 3-4 exercises and take a warm shower for 1-1.5 minutes. To keep warm and continue sweating, you can drink a glass of strong tea or a fortified drink. You should not drink in one gulp,
Sauna clothing
Don’t forget to bring your towel. You will need it to lie down or sit on it. A towel is necessary, firstly, for hygiene reasons, and, secondly, because the benches in the sauna are quite hot and sitting on a bare surface is completely unpleasant. Next, you need to take a felt hat or a thick woolen hat with you to protect your brain from overheating. And, of course, it is advisable to visit the sauna without clothes.
How many times a week can I visit the sauna:
If you are relatively healthy and do not try to test your endurance in the steam room, then you can visit the sauna as much as you like. No restrictions, everything is individual! Just do not forget to apply moisturizing milk or cream to the skin after the procedure!
What masks can be done in the sauna:
As you know, the sauna has a beneficial effect on our skin, opens the pores, and therefore cleanses the skin of all impurities. Masks should be done after visiting the sauna. While the facial skin is steaming, apply a facial scrub, and then any moisturizing mask, you can even apply everything that is at hand (yogurt, sour cream, fresh berries and fruits – strawberries, peach, apricot), you can make a cucumber or oatmeal mask or mask from an egg yolk with lemon and a little olive oil!
Food and drinks before and after the sauna:
It is not recommended to take heavy meals before and after the sauna, as well as alcoholic beverages, including beer. Since after visiting the sauna we feel thirsty and hungry, it is necessary to replenish the water-salt balance in the body. Therefore, after the sauna it is necessary to drink water or Gonzini Tea! It will not only replenish the water balance, but also stabilize the metabolism, and also give the whole process a fragrant piquancy.
Smells can be created by adding tinctures and decoctions of medicinal plants, diluted beer, kvass, mustard, honey, whatever you like, to the water for stones. The main thing to know is that mint improves mood, has a good effect on the heart, eucalyptus perfectly cleanses the nasopharynx, diluted beer fills the steam room with grain alcohol, coniferous aroma is used for overwork, thyme has a hypnotic effect.
1. You won’t lose weight in a sauna. Fat in the bath is not “warmed up”, and the weight is reduced (up to 1.5 kg) due to profuse sweating and is restored in a couple of hours. So that the water balance is not disturbed, you need to periodically drink something in the bath: mineral water, tea.
2. If the skin burns in the steam room, it is difficult to breathe, and the heart is about to jump out of the chest, then, no matter what lovers of extreme soaring say, such a bath will not bring you any benefit. Trust your feelings.
There are general contraindications
It is not recommended to visit the sauna for colds accompanied by fever, exacerbations of chronic diseases, thrombophlebitis (including in the three-month period after treatment), severe autonomic disorders (frequent headaches, etc.). With hypertension, a sharp change in temperature is dangerous – from steam to a cold pool and immediately back to heat
It is also important to observe the following rules:
Do not go to the sauna after drinking alcoholic beverages (and even more so do not use them during the bath procedure), on an empty stomach or immediately after eating a large amount of food, in a state of extreme fatigue or just before going to bed.
You can’t go to the bath!! !
Steam both on an empty stomach and on a full stomach. Sit on the lowest and coldest bench to stay longer in the steam room. Sit on the top bunk with your head up to the ceiling and your legs down. Pour warm water instead of cold. In any case, drink alcohol before you finish the bath, as alcohol dulls the senses, impairs thermoregulation and creates an increased load on the heart. Actively have sex in the steam room. People with cardiovascular diseases, dysfunctions of the central nervous system, with increased or decreased sensitivity to heat, with a violation of the water-salt balance. In the bath you need to be especially careful. It is better to refrain from visiting the bath for those suffering from skin infectious diseases, people with reduced immunity, allergies to odors. If you considered yourself healthy, but after an hour of staying in the bath with the optimal mode of visiting the steam room and the pool, you started having headaches, weakness, insomnia, decreased appetite (including sexual), which means that something is wrong in your body. And when mastering the art of bathing, you must adhere to the principles of gradualness, expediency and consistency.
Duration, entry rules and other recommendations
Both a bath and a sauna can turn any, even the longest and hardest day into a real holiday. Hot air will relax the body and soul, relieving the tired mind from moral stress, and the tired body from physical stress. In addition, high temperatures contribute to the active production of serotonin and endorphins. This gives the participants in the fun that unforgettable feeling of lightness, which many, unfortunately, try to enhance with alcohol. I have compiled a small but quite practical guide that will help you go to the sauna like a real professional and get not only pleasure from it, but also benefits. Why you need it Contrary to popular belief, people go to the sauna not only to drink beer in a relaxed atmosphere. Here the body, on the contrary, can be cleansed just due to the loss of fluid. Toxins and toxins come out with sweat, carrying away dead skin cells with it. In addition, it will be useful for everyone to go to the sauna after a moderate workout: this procedure will reduce the amount of lactic acid and the muscles will hurt less.
Sauna and bath The main difference between a sauna and a bath is the level of humidity. In the Russian bath, the humidity is 79%, but in the sauna the steam is dry, the humidity level here is kept at the level of 3-7%. The heat in the sauna is easier to bear, so the standard temperature of an ordinary sauna ranges from 100 to 110 degrees, and in the bath only from 50 to 70.
Taking a shower Taking a shower before sauna is a must. Not only to remove impurities from the skin, but also to prepare it for the intense heat of the steam room. No need to use soap and gel: this way you keep the natural fatty film on the skin – it will prevent it from drying out. In no case do not wet your head, wet hair overheats much faster.
What to bring Remove all jewelry, from watches to earrings. Forget something – get a great chance to chic light. Rubber slippers will allow you not to jump from foot to foot, which, you see, somewhat spoils the impression of the rest. Woolen hats and felt hats are also not invented for extra color: they save the head from overheating. Be sure to take a long and wide towel with you: lying on hot boards with your naked body is unlikely to please you.
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Posture First of all, it doesn’t make much sense to sit on the bottom bunk of a steam room just to stay longer. Secondly, forget about the “classic” sitting on the top shelf, when the legs hang down and all the heat goes to the head. Be sure to take a horizontal position, it would even be better to raise your legs above your head to facilitate the work of the heart.
Absolutely not Better to give up alcohol and cigarettes, which are often an integral part of men’s sauna gatherings. These stimulants greatly increase the load on the cardiovascular system: together with temperature changes, cigarettes and drinking can even lead to a heart attack.
Lose weight with sauna Forget about this legend once and for all. It is simply impossible to lose weight in a sauna or bath. The body here loses only the fluid that you restore after the first tea. The fat will stay with you, as if hinting that you will not be able to lose weight sitting on a comfortable warm shelf. The maximum that can be achieved with a long trip to the sauna is dehydration, which can lead to the loss of important trace elements.
To ensure the most comfortable conditions for staying in the bath, it is desirable to have 2 small and 1 large, preferably a terry towel.
You can sit or lie down on a large towel so that the released sweat is absorbed into it. In addition, the towel prevents burns from the hot surface of the bench in the steam room. From a hygienic point of view, a towel is also necessary: it will reduce the risk of infection with a fungus or other diseases if a person suffering from contagious skin diseases was sitting or lying on the bench in front of you.
For a bath, you must have rubber or other waterproof slippers to protect your feet from contact with the always dirty floor in any bath, on which all bath waste is drained during washing.
In the bath, you will definitely need personal hygiene items, especially soap.
For a steam room, it is advisable to have a felt or other hat made of a similar material to protect your head (ears too) from the heat. It is good for women to have a towel cape on their heads when they are in the steam room.
To treat the skin in the bath, various means and items may be required: brooms, brushes, washcloths, etc. These tools and items are strictly individual and their joint use can lead to infection if one of the users is sick with any contagious disease, especially skin , which very often occurs in baths, especially public ones.
Now – a broom. This is the most important thing that only exists today in the bath procedure. You can buy it, but it’s better to cook it yourself, especially if there is a bathhouse on your site and there is storage space. In order for the harvesting of brooms to be timely, it is necessary to follow some rules. Harvesting brooms, according to a long tradition, should be on Janov’s day, when the maximum amount of vital energy lives in plants.
The leaves of the tree should not fully bloom. You should pay attention to the phase of the month, the energy goes from the roots to the leaves only in the growth phase, and in the waning phase, the reverse process occurs. Therefore, the optimal time for harvesting brooms is the last days of the growing moon, before the full moon. The time of day is also important, experts say that in the morning, before lunch, the masculine dominates – giving rise, and in the afternoon – the feminine, which takes.
Therefore, both male and female nature can be taken at the same time. Well, green brooms can be applied when the grass is just beginning to bloom, at this time they have the greatest power. A properly selected broom helps to fight a variety of ailments, you just need to know which broom, what problem of our body will help solve.
Useful properties of brooms
The birch broom is a classic. It has a general beneficial effect on the body. Relaxes muscles and joints after heavy physical exertion, cleanses the skin of pustules and promotes the healing of abrasions and wounds that have appeared. The action of birch broom extends to small bronchi, contributing to their expansion.
That is why after a steam room with a birch broom it is easy and good to breathe, ventilation of the lungs improves and sputum is released from them. And birch leaves also contain tannins, essential oils, vitamin C, and provitamin A. Washing your head with water in which the broom was steamed can strengthen the hair roots, the hair itself and get rid of dandruff. Birch broom has a general calming effect, having a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
Birch broom – good breath
For people prone to hypertension, it is better to use an oak broom. The aroma of oak prevents an increase in blood pressure during a steam procedure, calms the nervous system, and helps relieve stress. For the skin, oak broom is an anti-inflammatory agent, it is especially good for oily skin. Another oak broom is called a broom of heroes, it is recommended for people with strong physical exertion and athletes. Oak leaves contain tannins, a decoction of them is used for skin diseases, sweating of the feet, as a remedy.
The right sauna – how often to visit and other recommendations
Today, compared to the Russian bath, the Finnish sauna is no less popular. And by the strength of the positive impact on the body, it is also very effective. We will tell you about how to properly bathe in the sauna and what you should definitely consider when visiting it.
The sauna, which is the national symbol of Finland, has a long history. Initially, it was usually built on the shore of a natural reservoir. And the principle of operation of contrast procedures – the alternating effect of warming steam and cool water, is similar to those in a Russian bath. The benefits of a sauna are obvious, but there are nuances.
There is an opinion that in order to achieve a positive effect from visiting the right sauna, it is enough just to go into the steam room and sit there for as long as possible. This is not entirely true. Therefore, you need to know how to properly steam in the sauna for health and keeping the body in excellent condition. We will also figure out how often you can bathe in the bath so as not to harm your health.
The sauna is a great place to improve your health and have a good time. After all, a visit to the steam room in combination with contrasting water procedures helps to relax, lift your spirits, strengthen your immune system and just have a good rest. But how often can you go to the bath so that it benefits your health? What should be the frequency of bath procedures and is it worth visiting the steam room every day?
