Body Heat: What’s Hot with Saunas

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At Town and Country Cedar Homes we like to focus on the finer things in life. And we are always on the lookout for simple things that can make our lives happier and healthier. In this blog, we’d like to share with you one of our great passions: the sauna. The benefits of regular sauna use are many, and we are thrilled when our clients ask us to build a sauna in their home. Below we will discuss the best uses of a sauna and its holistic benefits. After reading this, you’ll be asking us how soon we can build yours…

In Finland, where everyone has access to a sauna, and often in their homes, a study was conducted to research the advantages of regular sauna use. According to the Huffington Post, researchers followed more than 2,000 middle-aged men in eastern Finland for approximately 20 years. The more often the men went to the sauna, and the longer they stayed, the lower their risk for sudden cardiac death, fatal coronary heart disease and fatal cardiovascular disease over those 20 years. During the study, men who spent time in a sauna seven times a week, were less likely to die of heart problems or to die at all, compared to those who only visited the sauna once a week.

Saunas are a natural way to help treat major and minor medical issues. The Natural Health Mag gives a long list of the benefits of time in the sauna:

Skin

One sauna session increases the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to your organs – especially the skin. Saunas will relax face muscles, aid in a clearer complexion, and help remove dirt and oil.

Fighting Illness & Infection

Saunas make your body heat up the same way it would if you had a fever, helping your body to heal itself and opens up your airways and sinuses. Sweating lets out toxins and impurities and is great for stimulating the vessels that aid in the healing process of infections.

Pain & Injury Treatment

Saunas can ease muscle and rheumatic pain and improve joint movement. They can also help speed recovery time for injuries such as strains, sprains, arthritis and muscular pain.

Mood & Reproduction

Sweating also stimulates the endocrine glands that are important for regulating mood, tissue function, metabolism, sexual function and the reproductive process.

Now that we’ve outlined the pros of saunas, I’m sure you are all ready to start sweating it out. But before doing so, we want to give you some tips of the best ways to utilize a sauna to maximize the benefits.

We recommend you do not eat a large meal or drink alcohol before entering a sauna, but rather a light snack. To prevent dehydration, drink 8-16 oz. of water after using a sauna. Exercise is not recommended either directly before or after entering a sauna. Your muscles are very relaxed after a sauna session and you risk injury and dehydration.

Far infrared saunas may be the most beneficial type of sauna. Unlike a normal sauna, a far infrared sauna emits invisible waves of energy. The infrared rays are able to penetrate deeply into all layers of the body, thus deepening the detoxification, relaxation, and healing that comes along with sauna use.

The bloggers at The Infrared Sauna Effect have three tips to add to what’s already been covered:

Bring towels with you into the sauna – a towel to sit on, a smaller towel to wipe your sweat off, and a towel to put under your feet. You do not want your sauna bench or floor to absorb the toxins in your sweat.

Go nude! If that’s not an option, wear the least amount of clothes possible, a bathing suit, for example. When you cover your skin with clothes, your sweat can’t help cool you down by evaporating on your skin. You will quickly overheat and also lose the benefits of wiping away your toxin-loaded sweat. Toxins that aren’t wiped away could possibly be reabsorbed back into your skin.

And finally, RELAX! Make your sauna time as enjoyable and stress-relieving as you can by listening to music, reading a book, reflecting, or meditating. Close your eyes or dim the lights to really clear your mind.

You might now be wondering how quickly you can have a sauna in the comfort of your own home. For more information on how Town + Country Cedar Homes can make this dream a reality, give us a call at 800-968-3178 or contact us online here.

8 Steps to Sauna Heaven

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