The Russian bath is characterized by a combination of relatively low temperature (about 50-70o C) and high humidity (about 45-65%). Such conditions allow you to deeply warm the bones and muscles, get rid of many diseases and cleanse the skin. Regular visits to a Russian bathhouse can save you from the need to visit the gym: one visit to the steam room is equivalent in terms of calorie expenditure to a couple of hours of working on exercise machines. But not everyone can withstand such loads. The main thing is to know how to take a steam bath correctly. Ignoring the rules for preparing and visiting the steam room can cause harm to the body.
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General rules
A bathhouse is a whole ritual that does not tolerate haste, fuss and violation of traditions. During the procedures, an atmosphere of peace and tranquility should reign. Therefore, to visit the bathhouse you need to set aside unlimited time in order to not only have time to wash, but also have a good steam bath, and also relax after this process.
The main rules of bath procedures:
- Do not enter the bathhouse on a full stomach, if you are feeling unwell, or if you are drunk.
- After heavy physical activity or intense mental work, rest first.
- Before your first visit, take a shower, but without soap or other cosmetics. Then dry your body with a soft towel.
- The first time it is better to stay in the steam room for 5-7 minutes, the next time - up to 15. After each visit, you need a break of 20 - 25 minutes. Experienced bath attendants can already stay in the steam room longer, up to 30-35 minutes. The main volume of heat is accumulated in the first phase of being in the steam room, so even five to ten minutes is enough for a positive effect.
- Be sure to wear a headdress in the steam room - a loose woolen cap or scarf. Do not get your hair wet before entering the steam room: this can lead to heat stroke.
- Avoid applying fatty creams and oils to your body on the day of visiting the bathhouse. Such cosmetics disrupt heat exchange, clog pores, so the body overheats.
- During breaks, replenish the lack of fluid well. You need to drink hot tea, as it lowers the temperature for 15 minutes, and thirst reflexively decreases.
Physiotherapist T. Kogol claims that thirst after a steam room is not always a high need for water in the body. It can be false due to irritation of the oral mucosa. Sometimes it is enough to gargle with water to make the desire to drink a lot go away. It is also useful to drink mineral water, which helps replenish the salts removed from the body in the steam room.
How does steam work?
When the ambient temperature is above 36.6°, our body begins to actively secrete sweat, thus trying not to overheat the body. This feature is used in the bathhouse. The fact is that when sweat is released, harmful substances accumulated in the skin and subcutaneous fat are removed, thereby cleansing and healing the body.
The higher the ambient temperature, the more sweat is produced. At the same time, the pores open up. To prevent the skin (and the internal organs behind it) from overheating, blood circulation is activated, which is expressed in redness: its amount increases closer to the surface. This increase in blood circulation occurs in all internal organs. More blood brings more nutrients, improving the condition of the skin. At the same time, fluid with a huge range of microelements is released through the sweat glands.
Steam opens pores and activates blood circulation
That is why in the bath you need to drink, and drink a lot. There is no need to drink large amounts of liquid in one gulp. A few small sips, a break, and again. This way, the liquid is not excreted by the kidneys, but is distributed throughout the tissues and organs, restoring what was lost with sweat.
What, then, does diving into cold water give? Instant closing of pores. At the same time, the hot blood that was in the skin is squeezed into deeper layers by closing pores. Having received hot blood, these layers warm up. The next time you enter the steam room, they are included in the cleansing process. And this happens with each steam room cycle - cold water.
Naturally, you need to take rest breaks between cycles. During it you need to drink medicinal herbal infusions. Green tea is also healthy, but you need to be careful with it: a cup of strong drink contains more caffeine than good strong coffee. And since the loads in our steam room are already considerable, there is no need to unnecessarily load it.
Relaxation after the steam room: you can also go outside
By the way, it is very easy to explain the red or pink spots on the skin after visiting the steam room (the skin becomes marbled, with streaks or spots). It’s just that the pores closed differently in different areas. After a few hours the color will stabilize.
Contraindications to visiting the steam room
A steam room will be useful if it has an optimal ratio of temperature and humidity. In certain cases, visiting a steam room, either with or without a broom, can be disastrous.
Direct contraindications to this procedure:
- Skin inflammation, including acne. Steam room conditions can provoke the formation of full-fledged ulcers and abscesses with all the ensuing consequences.
- Pathologies of the heart and blood vessels. Increased blood circulation can lead to an attack.
- Visiting a steam room can have a negative impact on people suffering from lung problems.
- People with sexually transmitted diseases can also feel much worse in the bathhouse.
- It is strictly forbidden to visit the steam room if you have various tumors.
You should not go to the sauna at the same time as taking corticosteroids. You need to wait 3-4 weeks after completing the course of treatment, because the drugs reduce the reactivity of the adrenal glands, and vascular complications can occur from overheating.
How to use a fresh broom
Spring and summer are a wonderful time! Only in summer you can “feast” on a fresh broom in the bathhouse. What aromas it has and what tender, smooth, soft and juicy foliage!
There is no need to steam a fresh broom for use. In hot water, fresh foliage will simply cook, become heavy and sticky. There will certainly not be a delicate aroma from a cooked fresh broom. It will no longer be possible to consider him the king of the baths, because the limp branches and leaves will turn into a sadistic instrument.
Hot water will drip onto the body, and wet leaves will stick tightly to the body. The steam in the bathhouse will be heavy, damp, and exhausting. There will be no lightness after the bath, only fatigue.
Just rinse fresh brooms in warm water, hold them over the heater for a bit and that’s it! He is ready for sauna feats!
