10 Health and Wellness Benefits of Saunas
Are you looking to improve your overall well-being? You can in a Finnleo Sauna!
In this article, we look at the 10 health and wellness benefits of saunas. There are so many benefits that are sure to help all the members of your family!
#1: Saunas Relieve Stress
Stress isn’t good for us. In fact, it can make people sick in numerous ways, from infectious illnesses to heart disease and depression.
Saunas can help! Many sauna bathers say stress reduction is the number one benefit of their sauna usage.
You may know that stress in your daily life negatively affects your health. In fact, the vast majority of disease (i.e., heart disease) is at least partially stress-related.
You’ll find that heat bathing in a sauna provides stress relief because it is a warm, quiet space without any distractions coming from the outside. The heat from the sauna relaxes the body’s muscles, improves circulation, and stimulates the release of endorphins.
You can step into a Finnleo Sauna and close the door on the rest of the world.
#2: Saunas Help Aches and Pains
The endorphins we just mentioned can have a mild, enjoyable “tranquilizing effect,” and they can reduce the pain of arthritis and muscle soreness.
Body temperature also rises from the heat of the sauna. This causes your blood vessels to dilate, increasing blood circulation. This increased blood flow, in turn, speeds up the body’s natural healing process by soothing aches and pains and speeding up the healing of minor bruises or cuts.
You can use the heat and/or steam of a sauna to promote muscle relaxation after physical activity. Saunas help reduce muscle tension and eliminate lactic acid and other toxins.
#3: Saunas Flush Toxins
Deep sweating has many health benefits, and you reap these benefits in the sauna.
When you spend time in a sauna, your core body temperature rises. As the heat from your blood moves to the skin’s surface, your body sends signals to the millions of sweat glands all over your body.
Your deep sweat begins. This is aimed at cooling the body. But there are other benefits. Deep sweating in a sauna can help reduce levels of lead, copper, zinc, nickel, and mercury – toxins commonly absorbed just from interacting with your daily environment.
Sauna bathing is a great way to detoxify your body.
#4: Saunas Cleanse the Skin
When you sweat, your body replaces skin cells, and this improves your skin.
Sweating rinses bacteria out of your epidermal layer and sweat ducts. This helps cleanse your skin, giving it a glow.
When you sweat, the rush of fluid to your skin can even “plump up” tiny wrinkles. Plus, the nutrients and minerals in your sweat help maintain the collagen structure of your skin.
So, deep sweating in the sauna helps you flush waste through your skin cells, bringing back vitality, tone, and glow.
#5: Saunas Make You Sleep Better
Numerous studies show you’ll experience a deeper, more relaxed sleep from sauna usage before bed in much the same way as a hot tub.
The release of endorphins combined with the rise in your body temperature helps with your sleep experience.
#6: Saunas Have Social Benefits
Bathing in the sauna is at both times private and social.
Privately, you can relax and enjoy a peaceful time by yourself.
In the company of friends and family, you can start open, quiet, intimate conversations.
#7: Saunas Improve Your Cardiovascular System
In the high temperatures of a traditional or infrared sauna, skin heats up, and core body temperature rises.
This makes the blood vessels near the skin dilate, and “cardiac output” increases.
Medical research shows that the heart rate can rise from 60-70 bpm (beats per minute) to 112-120 bpm in the sauna (140-150 with more intensive bathing) and can often sink to below normal after the cooling off stage.
With regular sauna usage, you train your heart muscles and improve the heart rate/cardiac output. You also help your body’s regulatory system.
Even more cardiovascular conditioning takes place when the sauna bathing is taken in multiple “innings”, with sessions in the sauna separated by a cool shower or a quick dip into a cool pool or lake.
Each time you rapidly change temperature (from hot to cool or vice-versa), your heart rate increases by as much as 60%. This is similar to the effect of moderate exercise.
#8: Saunas Burn Calories
Sweating requires energy. That energy comes from the conversion of fat and carbohydrates.
According to US Army medical researcher Dr. Ward Dean MD, “A moderately-conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 grams in a sauna in a single session, consuming nearly 300 calories in the process.”
#9: Saunas Fight Illness
Saunas are known to reduce the incidences of colds and influenza greatly.
How? As your body heats up, it produces white blood cells rapidly. This helps fight illness and kill viruses.
Even more, sauna steam can help relieve your sinus congestion from either the common cold or allergies.
#10: Saunas Feel Good
Finally, a sauna not only feels great, but it’s good for you. We’ve looked at 10 health and wellness benefits of saunas, and you know that in addition to these benefits, the sauna is a calming, peaceful retreat for your mind and body.
Saunas feel terrific! Don’t you want to feel better, look better and sleep better?
Final Thoughts
We know saunas, like hot tubs, are good for you.
From better sleep to clear skin, and relief from aches and pains, sweating in a sauna is one of our favorite weekly activities.
We have more energy (maybe because we’re sleeping better!), and we simply enjoy life more when we concentrate on wellness.
At Fiesta Pools and Spas, we are your feel-good experts!
Ready to look at your own sauna? Contact us today!
