Posted on 13th May 2019
Although historical evidences provide solid ground for us to believe the benefits of saunas in the Americas, their origin is mainly attributed to Europe, particularly in the Nordic region. The Finnish sauna culture is well established and recognized all over the world. Wherever it might have originated, sauna culture has spread all over the world in modern times. This is because of the recognition of health benefits offered by a sauna session, by therapists and common people, alike.
By the end of the 100 day study, the differences between the two groups were drastic. Mice that ate consistently throughout the day were fatter with deteriorating health; they had high blood sugar, bad cholesterol, and even showed signs of liver damage. Meanwhile, the mice that ate for only eight hours each day were in perfect health. In fact, on average, they weighed 28% less than they did at the start of the study despite eating an exclusively high fat diet!
Saunas are basically small houses or rooms designed for having heat sessions, which can be dry or wet. In this article, we look into some of the unexpected benefits of sauna, if we are to have a session or two.
One of the ways the human body removes toxins from the body is through sweat. Profound sweating is a highly effective way to remove toxins the body might have absorbed in several ways. And, sauna does just that. In the intense heat sessions in sauna, a lot of sweating can be experienced, which helps flushing toxins from the body in a great way.
Sauna therapy is a great way for weight loss, with minimal effort. During a sauna bath, the heart rate increases substantially due to the dry heat. Scientific calibrations suggest that a 20 minute session at around 170 degrees Fahrenheit burns over 500 calories. The body’s metabolism speeds up similar to the way it does from physical exercise and is a great method to maintain weight.
Another one of the major benefits of sauna is that it helps to create a stronger immune system. Sauna sessions help produce white blood cells. The white blood cells of the body are its medium to fight against attacking infections and ailments. As the regular users of sauna have higher count of white blood cells, they stay healthier and if illnesses occur, they heal faster.
This benefit may not be up for the grabs for users of the small sized private sauna. However, they provide a great medium for social interaction among friends and relatives, if you or you acquaintances have a grand private sauna or you use public saunas. If this is not an option, you can easily go to the nearest public sauna.
Our body has a certain level for heat tolerance. Regular use of saunas increases the heat tolerance threshold. This leads to significant improvements in endurance sports as regular sauna users have a higher heat tolerance level and thus, feel less fatigue and can maintain their energy level over a prolonged period of time, improving performance.
We have a special gland called the sebaceous gland on our scalp, which releases compounds that help condition and moisturize our hair. Spending some time in the sauna activates this gland, which will then release these useful compounds, thereby helping to make hair look great. There’s no need to spend a fortune on risky hair care products.
Nowadays, a lot of gyms have a sauna and there are plenty of good reasons for this. Saunas are highly effective ways to recover from workouts. The metabolic wastes are eliminated while sweating in a sauna. The blood flow to tired and strained muscles increases through sauna, helping them to recover quickly and feel relaxed much quicker.
One of the significant organs of our body, your skin also needs regular exercise and saunas are a great way to exercise skin. As we grow older, more of the dead cells accumulate onto our skin pores, as the skin becomes less elastic. A few sessions in the sauna improve blood flow to our skin, which aids the growth of new skin and also removes all the dead cells that were building up previously. The oils, which are the natural moisturizers and antibiotics present in our skin are mobilized through saunas. This helps us to look younger in a significant way.
