The bathhouse is a wonderful place for recovery and a pleasant pastime. After all, a visit to the steam room in combination with contrasting water procedures helps to relax, lift your spirits, strengthen your immune system and simply have a good rest. But how often can you go to the bathhouse for it to bring health benefits? What should be the frequency of bath procedures and is it worth visiting the steam room every day?
The benefits of visiting a steam room
To maintain the health and youth of the human body, experts recommend starting to visit the sauna and bathhouse.
The steam room has a unique beneficial effect on the body: stimulates regeneration processes, cleanses and strengthens blood vessels, relaxes the muscle corset, reduces the negative effects of stress, expands and cleanses pores, removes toxins, improves blood circulation and well-being.
Regular bathing procedures strengthens the heart and lungs, cleanses the respiratory system, and tones the skin. This is a wonderful prevention of colds, a means to strengthen the immune system and rejuvenate the body.
And for women?
Some experts recommend a bath to combat the symptoms of menopause. But for neoplasms, including uterine fibroids, vaping is prohibited.
Doctors recommend that pregnant women approach the bathhouse with caution. Since the functioning of many organs and systems changes during pregnancy, you should consult a doctor before going to the steam room. At the same time, even in the absence of contraindications, pregnant women cannot stay in the bathhouse for more than 10 minutes, and after the bath it is imperative to restore the fluid balance.
Contraindications to bath procedures
Despite the obvious benefits of visiting a steam room, such procedures are contraindicated for many people.
Often the heating temperature of the air in the steam room exceeds 60 degrees, which can negatively affect weakened hair, sensitive skin and blood vessels, respiratory, cardiac and reproductive systems.
Before deciding on such a vacation, you should find out whether people who have some health problems can go to the bathhouse. After all, visiting a steam room can do more harm than good for them. The bath is contraindicated in the following cases:
- acute cardiac and vascular diseases;
- severe kidney pathology;
- oncological diseases;
- infectious skin diseases;
- heat;
- period of pregnancy and lactation;
- postoperative period.
It is highly undesirable for men to abuse bath procedures, as they can cause dysfunction of the reproductive system and male infertility.
They say the sauna is good for the skin - is this true?
People sweat a lot in the steam room. From a scientific point of view, this is an active process of fluid secretion through the skin. This does not happen at room temperature. How does this affect the condition of the skin?
Exposure to high temperature and humidity leads to the opening of pores and better supply of nutrients to the skin. In combination with, for example, scrubbing, this helps cleanse the skin and even prevent the appearance of new comedones. This is why cosmetology widely uses SPA procedures for the skin, which partly imitate a bath.
However, you need to remember that people with sensitive skin should be careful when visiting the steam room. After all, the release of salt through sweat can lead to irritation. The bath is contraindicated for psoriasis, rashes of unknown origin, mycosis, and oncology.
Recommended frequency of visiting the bathhouse
Fans of passive relaxation feel a boost of energy and vigor every time after visiting the steam room, so they are ready to go to the bathhouse every day.
According to many medical studies, with regular visits, the bathhouse actually has a powerful therapeutic effect on a person. The result of such a rest can be improved well-being, weight loss, normalization of blood pressure, and a decrease in insulin levels.
To get the maximum benefit from bath procedures, you need to know how many days a week you can visit the steam room:
- The optimal frequency of visiting baths and saunas for beginners is once a week, and the duration of one procedure should not exceed 5 minutes.
- People with heart and lung diseases can go to the sauna and bathhouse once every two weeks to gradually accustom the body to serious thermal stress.
- Active bath attendants with good health can steam in a bathhouse up to 4 times a week, while the time spent in the steam room is halved.
- When carrying out cosmetic procedures, visiting the bathhouse is enough only 2 times a week.
Cover your head from the heat
Experienced bathhouse attendants know the dangers of visiting a steam room with your head uncovered, as you can get a thermal stroke, leading to the most dire consequences. Our head is designed in such a way that the brain is protected by practically nothing except the bones of the skull from intense heat, which can be destructive. Therefore, under no circumstances neglect additional protection - buy a felt cap and put it on your head before entering a heated steam room.
Felt is an excellent thermal insulation material with a low heat transfer coefficient due to its fibrous structure and creates a comfortable microclimate, protecting against heat. Hence one more rule - do not enter the steam room without a hat!
Duration of the bath procedure
The optimal duration of the procedure depends on several indicators: the type of steam room, state of physical health, preliminary preparation and goals.
Experts recommend spending as much time in the bathhouse and sauna as necessary to ensure good sweating and warming up the body. Therefore, this meaning is individual for each person.
The main rule is not to harm your own health. If you experience discomfort or feel unwell, you must stop the procedure.
The optimal time to stay in the steam room in one session is from 4 to 25 minutes.
Duration of stay in the bath
The time spent in the steam room may depend on the following factors:
- type of steam room - is the steam room connected to the sink or are these separate rooms;
- Do you have any health problems? If problems exist, the duration should be reduced;
- habits - if a person often visits the steam room, the duration can be increased.
The duration of stay in the steam room directly depends on the person’s condition. There is no need to time it and spend a certain number of minutes in it. You should listen to your own feelings. If you feel that your body has received enough heat, you can leave the steam room.
Suitable for relaxing the cardiovascular system
When the body heats up, blood flows to the skin (to remove heat), thereby achieving a kind of prevention of internal organs and stimulating blood circulation.
High temperature helps the body kill certain types of bacteria, infections and parasites. Many people have low body temperature and therefore cannot effectively “fight” various chronic diseases. Problems may appear in the following places: sinuses, eyes, ears, throat and intestines.
On the other hand, saunas can be dangerous for people who cannot tolerate high temperatures, especially those who have heart problems or whose nervous systems have been damaged by exposure to toxic substances.
The benefits of baths for women and men
There is no doubt about the health benefits of a bath. The procedure improves skin tone, cleanses pores, removes toxins and stimulates all body functions. After the steam room, a person feels cheerful and energized.
The bath is especially useful:
- For the musculoskeletal system. Thanks to increased blood flow, the elasticity of joints and cartilage tissue increases.
- For the respiratory system. Steam helps cleanse the lungs and bronchi.
- For training the heart muscle and blood vessels. It is worth noting that the bath in this case is useful only as a preventive measure.
Is the sauna equally beneficial for men and women? Doctors are inclined to believe that the steam room brings more benefits to the stronger half. But we will talk about possible harm below.
Is it possible to combine a sauna with sports?
Yes! You can easily relax in the sauna after a strenuous workout in the gym. However, it is recommended to take some fluids, since the workout itself dehydrates the body, excessive dehydration may occur if you immediately enter the sauna. Also, if you have a muscle injury (which is recommended to be treated with cold), it is not recommended to enter the sauna.
Is it possible for children?
You must first consult with a pediatrician, because any disease may be a contraindication for visiting the bathhouse.
In medicine, there is no single point of view on the age at which children can go to the bathhouse. “In my opinion, a healthy child can be taken to the sauna from about a year old,” notes pediatrician Andrei Kurenkov .
The specialist says the following about the rules for visiting a sauna for children: “Firstly, a child can easily slip or get burned in a sauna. Therefore, even in Finland, where visiting the sauna is a centuries-old family tradition, where there are one and a half million saunas out of a population of five million, children under 7 years old are not allowed into the sauna without their parents.
Secondly, a child’s body regulates heat exchange worse than an adult. It is important not to overheat children. They need to be seated on the lower benches and given a basin of cool water in which they can play, splash and thus cool off. Sauna time should be limited to approximately 3-5 minutes for children under 3 years of age and to 15 minutes for children under 10 years of age. Infrared saunas operate at lower temperatures, making them easier for children to tolerate.
Thirdly, children quickly become dehydrated. Therefore, in the sauna they should be offered cool drinks and salty snacks to replenish the loss of water and salts.”
The benefit of visiting a bathhouse for children lies mainly in the psychological effect, the doctor emphasized. “At least it’s fun and helps relieve stress,” he explains. In addition, similar to the effect on the adult body, vaping trains the cardiovascular system of children.
General contraindications for children visiting the bathhouse include high body temperature. “For most chronic infections, you can visit the sauna, but you need to discuss this with your doctor,” concludes Andrey Kurenkov.
Tips for using a sauna
Hygiene - take a shower before visiting the bathhouse. Never wear clothes or flip-flops to the sauna (you can only use a towel if you are uncomfortable without clothes).
- Choose your place in the sauna (the upper rows are warmer). It is recommended to have a towel to sit on.
- Relax and let the warmth penetrate your body and open the pores of your skin.
- You can pour water on the stove stones. This will increase the humidity and create a feeling of higher temperature in the room.
- You can leave the sauna and relax for a few minutes in the relaxation room (this way you can do several sets with short breaks).
After the bath, always take a shower (to wash off the sweat) and give your body 15 minutes to rest (you can use the relaxation room). Never return immediately to your usual lifestyle until your body has recovered.
- It is good to take a bath in the morning or evening before bed (then the body is relaxed).
- Before using the sauna, you should consult your doctor.
- Pregnant women and children under seven years of age should avoid sauna use.
If you are unsure how your body will react to a sauna, always start with short sets lasting about five to six minutes.
