The sauna as we know it finds its origins in Finland and I was lucky enough to experience it first hand, having visited the country in different seasons. In this lovely northern country, the sauna is a way of life, with built-in saunas in almost every house.
You’ve probably also experienced it yourself but could have well been more out of curiosity than for what it actually brings to your health. Correct?
Well today I thought it would be good if next time we walked into a spa we had a better idea of the benefits we could draw from the sauna before we actually close ourselves in.
Thus the main health benefits of sauna are as follows:
1. Stress relief – so many health problems are related to stress in our lives. Sauna can help relax your muscles and stimulate the feel-good hormones in your body. It is indeed a perfect place to relieve stress.
2. Improve circulation and lower blood pressure – the high temperature in sauna causes your blood cells to widen, leading to improved blood flow circulation which in turn reduces blood pressure.
3. Speeds up recovery – the heat in a sauna releases muscle tension and helps reduce lactic acid build-up after intense workouts.
4. Improves cardiovascular performance – as temperature rises the blood vessels under your skin dilate/widen, leading to a greater blood flow to the heart which in turns increases heart rate. Hence using sauna on a regular basis will help your heart muscles improve resting heart rate.
5. Cleanses the skin – the sweat you produce as a result of the heat will extract the bad bacteria and toxins from your skin.
Having listed the above it is important to note that you should drink lots of water before and after using sauna because heavy sweating might cause dehydration. Also, if you happen to suffer from heart disease or seizures, you should first consult your GP before using a sauna.
To fitness with love,
Andrew
Leave a Reply