What to wear to the bathhouse: clothes, hats and shoes for the bathhouse.

The bathhouse is a good place for quality rest and healing of the body. It helps relieve fatigue and stress, cleanse the skin, relax muscles, improve blood circulation and eliminate toxins.

Even two centuries ago, the art of healing in a Russian bath was absorbed by Russian people, as they say, with mother’s milk, because it was part of everyday life. Many people saw visiting the steam room as a kind of ritual filled with sacred meaning.

Nowadays people come to the bathhouse to spend time supposedly with health benefits, without knowing the basic rules of visiting the steam room and bathhouse etiquette. For example, few people know how to heat a sauna, steam a broom, take a steam bath, and what to do in a steam room.

The steam room has a powerful therapeutic effect on the cardiac and respiratory systems, the musculoskeletal system, and provides an energy boost for the whole day.

Let's look at how to properly take a steam bath with maximum benefits for physical and mental health.

The benefits of steaming in a sauna for the body

For people in good health, a Russian bathhouse with a broom is recommended without fail. It helps strengthen blood vessels, joints and ligaments, improve immunity and relieve fatigue.

By following the rules and recommendations for visiting a steam room, people are less likely to suffer from colds and viral diseases, recover faster from injuries and tolerate stressful situations more easily.

A broom is the main attribute for carrying out procedures. It has a healing aroma, effectively affects the skin, improves blood circulation and cleanses pores of impurities.

The health benefits of bath procedures are as follows:

1. Maintaining optimal temperature conditions up to 75 degrees with humidity from 40 to 60%. This promotes rapid relaxation and general detoxification of the body, strengthening bone tissue, improving blood circulation and lymph flow.
2. Regular beneficial effects of steam can replace full-fledged fitness classes. So, 60 minutes of staying in a Russian bath is equal to 2 hours of exercise on exercise bikes.
3. The bath helps stabilize blood pressure, improve the movement of blood and lymph, and normalize the functioning of the excretory system. In addition, the steam room allows you to get rid of constant headaches, improve the functioning of the respiratory system, strengthen joints and relieve pain syndromes in muscle tissue.

The beneficial effects of the sauna and rules for using it

The Finnish steam room differs from the Russian bath in that a person steams at a temperature of 65 to 100 degrees in dry air. Because of this, you cannot use a bath broom in it, as it can leave burns on the body. The rules for using the sauna provide for only one type of relaxation in the steam room: lying on the shelves and calm relaxation. During such a lazy pastime, the body tissues are deeply warmed up, blood vessels dilate and the process of sweating is activated. The pores on the skin expand, and through them, toxins and decay products accumulated in it are removed from the body through sweat.

It is customary to cool off in a sauna in a cool pool, since the key effect on the body is based on the alternation of a hot atmosphere in a steam room with cooling in water. These temperature changes help strengthen blood vessels and improve the health of the circulatory system. With regular and proper use of the sauna, blood vessels become more flexible, and blood flow improves in the limbs. Blood flow to the blood surface increases, thereby improving nutrition of the subcutaneous layer and surface tissues. Alternating temperatures strengthens the immune system and invigorates a person. Cardiovascular training can improve heart function over time.

Steaming in a Finnish sauna is useful at the first symptoms of a cold. In the steam room, the human body is artificially introduced into a state of hyperthermia (increased body temperature), which is an important factor in the fight against colds. The immune system instantly reacts to an artificial increase in body temperature, which begins to produce an increased number of white blood cells and antibodies, rushing to the source of the disease to overcome it.

Professional athletes use the beneficial properties of the sauna to relieve muscle tension after grueling strength training. After a short rest in the Finnish steam room, athletes feel refreshed and full of energy again. This pleasant procedure helps to deeply relax and, as they say, “clear your head.”

Under the influence of high temperatures in the sauna, muscle flexibility increases, pain in them decreases and blood circulation in muscle tissue improves.

Actively reacts to the conditions of the steam room and our skin. As a result of high temperature, blood circulation increases in the skin. The surface of the body can even warm up to 42 degrees. Following the expansion of blood vessels, the skin becomes softer and more sensitive, and its immunobiological properties increase. Visually, this is reflected in improved skin color and extraordinary softness and tenderness. Women will appreciate that with the help of a sauna they can control their weight. Even after just one proper visit to a Finnish sauna, a person’s weight becomes 2% less due to the removal of stagnant fluid from the body.

How to get the most benefit

The first thing you need to do before entering the steam room is to take a warm shower to wash off the sweat and dust that has accumulated on your skin during the day. But you need to wash without using soap or shower gel. Otherwise, they will wash away the fatty film from the body, and this will become an obstacle to profuse sweating in the steam room.

Before entering the hottest room of the sauna, do not forget to take care of the safety of your hair and the safety of your head. To avoid harm to your health, never enter the steam room with a wet head, as this will increase the heat load on the blood vessels in it. The still hot sauna air can damage the hair structure in a few minutes, making it dry and brittle.

Proper relaxation in the sauna requires vacationers to have several required items:

• felt bath cap;
• towel;
• sheet;
• rubber slippers.

A felt sauna cap will help protect your hair and head from the heat in the sauna, as it maintains a constant comfortable temperature under it. As a last resort, wrap a dry terry towel around your head, but entering the steam room with your head uncovered is prohibited by the sauna rules.

Ideally there should be two towels: for the body and separately for the face. You may need a small towel not only for performing cosmetic procedures, such as applying masks, but also for wiping sweat from your face in the steam room. You will need a sheet to cover the lounger in the steam room of the sauna and avoid steaming on a hot surface that can burn your skin. Rubber slippers are useful in a public Finnish bathhouse so as not to walk barefoot on the tiled floor when going to the pool or shower room. But you cannot go into the steam room in them, since under the influence of high temperatures the rubber can begin to release harmful toxic substances into the air. The correct thing to do would be to leave them outside the steam room door.

As in a Russian bath, in the steam room of a sauna the air temperature is different on the shelves installed at different levels from the floor. During your first visit, do not rush to occupy the highest and hottest shelf, but rather sit for a few minutes on the lowest one to allow your body to get used to the new temperature conditions. In this case, you should place your feet on the same shelf, and not keep them on the cool floor. Such a difference, when the head is at a hotter level and the feet are cool, is an extreme condition for the human body and the normal functioning of its circulatory system.

Proper relaxation in a steam sauna requires that a person takes a horizontal position on the shelf. To prevent your feet from lying lower than your head, use a footrest or special bolsters, if there are any in the sauna.

Precautions and possible contraindications

Proper use of the sauna requires a person to follow a few simple rules so as not to harm their health. First of all, you need to forget about alcoholic drinks on the day you decide to take a steam bath. Alcohol dehydrates the body, and in a sauna this can result in increased stress on the heart and drowsiness. If you decide to relax in it after a sports workout, do not rush to take a couch in the steam room immediately after physical exercise. Allow your body to cool down to avoid heatstroke in the steam room. 20 minutes of rest will be enough to cool down enough and go steaming.

Before, during and after the sauna, do not forget to drink plenty of clean water or herbal infusions to promptly replenish fluid loss. In a sauna, the sweat glands are capable of releasing 10–30 grams of sweat within one minute! Therefore, if you steam and do not drink water, dehydration can occur very quickly. With a loss of just 1% of fluid, the body can begin to signal the danger of dehydration with a wave of fatigue. With severe water fasting, a person may become dizzy and his heart rate will go off scale.

Before you go to steam, you should not eat a lot so that the body does not have a double load. The sauna is not recommended for people suffering from chronic low blood pressure. In the steam room it will decrease even more.

Many gynecologists do not recommend bathing procedures for women during pregnancy, since high temperatures pose a risk to the baby in the womb. The exception is pregnant women who have been visiting the sauna for years, and only if their attending physician allows them to steam. A similar precaution applies to women during breastfeeding.

Pediatricians do not allow children to bathe until they reach the age of six. Babies have a limited ability to tolerate high temperatures because they have a thin subcutaneous fat layer and an immature excretory system. But if the parents are avid sauna attendants, then you can gradually accustom the child to going to the sauna at an earlier age. The time for entering the steam room should be reduced to one minute and vigilantly monitor the baby’s behavior in order to quickly respond if he becomes unwell.

The list of contraindications to visiting the sauna includes the following health problems:

• oncological diseases;
• exacerbation of any chronic diseases;
• elevated temperature;
• active tuberculosis;
• severe vascular atherosclerosis;
• menstruation in women;
• thrombosis;
• tendency to bleed;
• infectious skin diseases.

The list of contraindications also includes hypertension. But some doctors allow patients suffering from high blood pressure to occasionally visit the sauna. One visit to the steam room should not exceed 10 minutes.

The question of the possibility of visiting a Finnish bath should be decided individually with a doctor.

Where to go to steam and wash: types of baths

• Russian bath. As major experts in this field say, the Russian bath is considered the most beneficial for the body due to the average temperature and high humidity in the steam room. A typical Russian bathhouse is built entirely of wood and consists of two rooms: a steam room with a stove and a dressing room. Various infusions brewed from medicinal herbs are poured onto the hot stones. To enhance the healing effect of the Russian bath, brooms made from certain types of wood and various forms of massage are used.
• The Roman bath is the place most suitable for pleasure and communication. No wonder it consists of three main rooms, where each has its own purpose and temperature. In our understanding, you won’t be able to take a steam bath in such a bathhouse.
• According to the Turks themselves, you can take a proper steam bath in a Turkish bath called “hamam”. A standard Turkish bath has several rooms, the temperature in which increases by an average of 5 °C in each room. This sauna is distinguished by its low temperature, starting from 35 °C.
• The Irish bathhouse is a kind of hybrid of Russian and Roman bathhouses. From the Russian bath she got steam and humidity, and from the Roman bath she got the fact that steam enters the steam room from cracks in the floor. It is not difficult to steam in such a bath, since the main difference between the Irish bath and its prototypes is the very low temperature, about 55 °C.
• A Japanese bathhouse cannot even be called a bathhouse, or it can be, but with great stretch. In a typical Japanese bath there are no steam rooms, dressing rooms or pools with cool water, but there is a barrel of salt water (almost boiling water), in which the Japanese warm themselves and massage themselves with brushes. There is also a group version of this procedure, where several people warm up at once. Warm up - please, but it is simply impossible to steam in such a bathhouse.
• Sauna - more precisely, a Finnish bath. Thanks to the love of many for extreme temperatures, it has taken root in our country. Most sauna adherents say that you can only steam properly in it, bringing a broom into the procedure and watering the stove with herbal infusions. Although the main difference between a sauna and a Russian bath is the lack of humidity in the steam room. A traditional sauna consists of three rooms: a steam room, a room with a pool and a relaxation room.

What to do if you want to steam in a sauna with a broom

• First, you need to reduce the temperature in the sauna to 80-90 degrees. Secondly, steam the bath broom. Find out how to do this here.
• To prevent the broom from drying out quickly, we increase the humidity of the steam by spraying water on the walls, ceiling and shelves.
• We throw small portions of water on the stones and steam with a broom. Make sure that it does not come into contact with the heating elements of the electric furnace.
• As the broom dries, moisten it with water.
• Otherwise, steaming in a sauna with a broom is no different from steaming in a Russian steam room.

Preparing for a visit to the bathhouse

Bath procedures are an art that requires careful preparation. To go to the steam room you should prepare:

• Terry towel or sheet.
• A hat or other headdress.
• Flip-flops or flip-flops with an anti-slip base.
• Changeable underwear.
• A woolen mitten or mitten.
• Personal hygiene products – soap, washcloth, shampoo, gel, pumice stone.
• Comb and brush for massage.

You should also choose bath brooms - for example, from birch or oak branches.

It is recommended to steam them 24 hours before visiting the bath in cold water, then wrap them in a damp cloth. This will preserve the unique aroma and elasticity of the ligaments. After entering the steam room, the brooms are thoroughly steamed on a heater. This will make them softer and more flavorful.

Equally important is preparing the body for the procedures. The last meal should be 60 minutes before visiting the bathhouse. You cannot be in the steam room on an empty stomach, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or after surgery on internal organs.

Duration of stay in the bath

There are no specific numbers on this issue. The length of time you spend in a sauna can depend on several factors:

• type of steam room (is the steam room connected to a sink or are they two separate rooms);
• the presence of pathologies or health problems in the bathhouse attendant (in such cases, the duration of the procedures must be reduced);
• a person’s habits (if a person visits the steam room quite often, then the duration of the procedure can be increased).

The time spent in the steam room also directly depends on the person’s condition. In general, there is no point in setting a timer or timing the clock in order to spend a certain amount of time in the steam room. It is important to listen to your body here. If you feel that your body has already received the necessary portion of heat, then you should leave the steam room. Further stay in the bathhouse can only make things worse. The time allocated for bath procedures can range from 5 to 15 minutes.

Important! If you feel unwell, leave the steam room immediately. Do not harm the health of your body!

The time spent in the steam room depends on the person’s condition

Prices for bath oils

Bath oils

Effects of steam on the body

The high air temperature in the sauna and steam bath increases sweating and opening of pores, ensuring the active removal of accumulated toxins and increasing immunity.

The main thing that a Russian steam room has that a Finnish sauna lacks is light and clean steam, which has a beneficial effect on the organs of the respiratory system. Steam penetrates deeply into tissues, nourishes and cleanses cells.

To prevent possible overheating of the body, increased sweating is accompanied by accelerated blood circulation and redness of the skin. Blood actively saturates cells with oxygen and nutrients, improving the condition of the epidermis and internal organs. At the same time, excess fluid is removed from the body through the sweat glands, which experience extreme stress.

For this reason, it is important to maintain a drinking regime during bath procedures. The main rule is to drink large amounts of healthy liquid in small sips.

Contrast baths are no less useful than thermal procedures, as they provide rapid closing of pores. Simultaneous heating of the body and short-term cooling promotes effective cleansing of the superficial and deep layers of the epidermis.

So how to steam in a sauna?

As you know, the Finnish sauna uses electric heaters, which are the source of dry steam in the steam room. Basically, the rules of conduct in a sauna are the same as in a Russian bath. This means that the best position is lying down, and that you need to start slowly, preferably from the bottom shelf, gradually moving up.

Here's what you need to pay attention to:

• Dry steam is easier to tolerate. In a sauna, the pulse is no more than 120, and in a Russian bath it can reach 170 beats per minute.
• In a sauna, blood pressure decreases, but in a Russian bath, as a rule, it increases.
• Older people, beginners and many women are better off using a dry air sauna.
• The duration of a session in a sauna is longer than in a Russian steam room, but should not exceed 10-15 minutes.
• In the sauna, water is not splashed on the heater, or only very little.

Step-by-step process of steaming in a sauna

In order for steaming in a bathhouse to give a noticeable effect, proper preparation for the first session is required. An important step is a relaxing shower to prepare the body for subsequent thermal procedures.

First you need to rinse your body (your head remains dry) with warm water, gradually increasing the temperature to 50 degrees.

Important! When taking a shower, it is not recommended to rub your body with a washcloth or massage brush, or use gel or soap, which can lead to skin irritation.

Before visiting the steam room, just dip the hat in cool water, wring it out and put it on your head. This will provide reliable protection against overheating throughout the entire session.

First visit to the steam room

At this stage, the body is gradually prepared for thermal stress. Warming up the body at a low temperature leads to dilation of blood vessels, opening of pores and increased sweating.

It is recommended to start steaming in the sauna on the lower tier of the shelf in a sitting or lying position. Breathing is smooth and deep without tension, accompanied by gradual redness of the skin and rapid heartbeat.

Then you can move to the shelves higher, relax and breathe with your diaphragm.

The duration of the first approach should not exceed 8–10 minutes.

1.5 minutes before leaving the steam room, you need to sit down to prepare your cardiovascular system for a standing position. After the first visit, it is recommended to take a cool shower, drink warm tea or herbal decoction.

Second and subsequent visits

Next, you can actively use brooms after pre-heating on hot bath stones. The second visit is best done with a partner who will help you perform an effective warming massage with a broom.

One steamer in the bath takes a lying position, the second performs patting and rubbing with a broom from the feet to the neck and shoulder girdle, and then in the opposite direction. After spot warming up, light blows follow, which should not cause discomfort or pain. The massage ends with a warm compress: the ligament is heated with steam and applied alternately to individual parts of the body for 3–5 seconds.

After completing the procedure, you need to slowly rise and stay for 2-3 minutes to stabilize blood pressure and heart rate, after which you can slowly leave the steam room.

Each steamer decides for himself how long to steam in the steam room, but the recommended duration of the session should be from 8 to 20 minutes, the number of visits - from 3 to 6. Before each visit, you need to take a break for a quarter of an hour.

What to do during breaks

Rest between visits to the steam room is no less important than bath procedures. Experienced steamers use it for contrast and cosmetic procedures.

After leaving the steam room, you can swim in a font or pool, wipe yourself with snow or douse yourself with cold water from a tub.

Beginners should be careful with contrasting procedures for hardening; the best option for them is a cool shower and dry rubbing.

After completing water procedures, it is recommended to replenish the water balance in the body with a cup of tea, herbal decoction, berry juice or still water.

Relaxation is the best time for cosmetic procedures. After the steam room, it is recommended to use cleansers based on salt, honey and coffee grounds.

No less popular are anti-cellulite wraps with creams and lotions to increase blood circulation in tissues and break down fat deposits. A good effect is achieved through the use of anti-aging masks prepared with your own hands from natural ingredients.

The duration of rest should be equal to the time spent in the steam room.

Completion

The number of visits is determined by the health and physical well-being of the steamer. If you experience unpleasant and painful sensations - dizziness, nausea, lethargy and drowsiness - you must immediately leave the steam room. In this case, the bath procedures are considered completed.

After the final session, it is recommended to cool down by sitting for a few minutes in a cool waiting room or relaxation room to normalize body temperature and heart rate. For seasoned bathhouse attendants, completion of the procedures is accompanied by a warm shower, rubbing, and a cup of tea or juice.

Rules for visiting the Finnish sauna

The Finnish sauna is considered a dry steam bath. The temperature in her steam room is usually 90 - 130 degrees, and the humidity level is maintained between 3 - 15 percent. This ratio promotes increased sweating and also has a beneficial effect on the state of the respiratory system, facilitating the removal of mucus from the bronchi.

Now, taking into account the above-mentioned features of a visit and knowing about the necessary attributes for a sauna, we will tell you how to properly steam in a Finnish sauna, as well as how long you can sit in a sauna according to time.

The correct procedure is as follows:

1. Before visiting, be sure to take a shower and then dry your body with a towel. At the same time, you should not wet your head to avoid overheating due to prolonged exposure to the steam room. First of all, don’t forget how to dress correctly for the sauna.
2. You should enter the steam room for the first time for no more than 3–4 minutes. After this time, you should go out, do some simple breathing exercises, and after a couple of minutes take a cool shower. In this case, the water temperature in it should be approximately 18 degrees. Afterwards you need to rest for 15 – 20 minutes.
3. Before going to the steam room again, experts recommend doing a few simple exercises and taking a warm shower for 1 - 1.5 minutes. The second time, the time spent in the steam room can be increased to 10 - 15 minutes, after which you can also take a shower. Only this time it should be cooler. The subsequent rest should be approximately 20 – 30 minutes.
4. Next, you can repeat the previous point any number of times, the main thing is to take into account the fact that the total time spent in the sauna should not exceed 3 hours.
5. At the end of the bath procedures, you must take a shower again. You can also apply nourishing cream or moisturizing milk to the skin. This will help prevent possible dry skin after being in the steam room. You should get dressed after your normal body temperature has returned.

Compliance with safety regulations

In order to take a steam bath without harm to your own health, you must follow the important rules of steaming:

• It is better to visit the bathhouse in a good mood and well-being. You cannot overeat or be hungry, drink alcohol or take drugs.
• The first entry into the steam room requires preliminary preparation of the body for thermal procedures.
• Your stay in the steam room should not be long - from 2 to 6 visits, 10 minutes each. Overheating the body can lead to heatstroke.
• You can only be in the steam room with dry hair. It is better to protect your head with a bath cap or towel.
• Drinking plenty of water in the bathhouse is a necessity. The best choice is green tea, herbal infusion, natural juices, mineral water and fruit drinks.
• You cannot wear jewelry, accessories, or decorative cosmetics on your face in the steam room.
• After completing the bath procedures, proper cooling of the body is ensured - a warm shower, dry rubbing or dousing. If the steamer feels unwell, you should limit yourself to a short rest and a change of clothes.

Features of the Finnish sauna

Visiting a Finnish sauna has its own nuances, just like other types of steam rooms, be it a Russian bath, Swedish bastu or Turkish hammam. Let's figure out which is better, sauna or hammam. Below are detailed recommendations with photographs and answers to the most popular questions. They will be especially relevant for those who have decided to visit a traditional Finnish sauna for the first time.

So, when going to the sauna, you should know that:

• It is best for a novice visitor to sit on the middle lounger. Optimally - in a lying position, so that the legs are at the same level with the body, or slightly raised. This will help reduce the load on the heart and promote more complete relaxation;
• when it is not possible to take a lying position, you should sit so that your head and legs are approximately at the same level. The fact is that in a sauna steam room the temperature at head level is usually 15 - 20 degrees higher than at foot level. Therefore, if you stand in a steam room for a long time, or sit with your legs down, the risk of getting heatstroke increases significantly;
• It is undesirable to be in a static position when entering the steam room. Periodically, you should change the position of your body - from one side, smoothly turn onto your back, after a while - to the other side, then onto your stomach. This will contribute to more uniform heating of the entire body;
• You should not get up suddenly when preparing to leave the steam room. When rising from a lying position, it is better to first sit on a bench for a couple of minutes, which will help normalize blood circulation;
• in between visits to the steam room you need to drink tea or juice, always in small sips. This helps improve sweating and restores water balance (read also: “It’s important to know what to drink after the bath, before and while relaxing in the steam room”);
• To visit the sauna, you will simply need a towel, not only for hygiene reasons, but also for a comfortable stay on the very hot sun loungers. Also, be sure to wear a felt cap or woolen cap to avoid overheating.

Features of bath procedures for women

Healthy women are recommended to take a bath, but it is important to take into account some restrictions:

• Pregnancy.
• Menstruation.
• Lactation.

Wellness procedures help to establish the cycle and eliminate inflammatory processes in the organs of the genitourinary venous system. This is a wonderful prevention of specific female diseases, as well as diseases of the heart, lungs, musculoskeletal system and varicose veins.

In addition, each woman can choose the types of steaming that suit her, taking into account her own health and the ultimate goals of bathing leisure.

Yours is always better

Fortunately, we are not deprived of the opportunity to experience its healing properties, although it is not provided in modern housing with all the amenities. Thanks to the enterprising people who eliminated this “shortcoming” of civilization by organizing private public baths.

It’s very convenient to have your own place where you can steam at any convenient time.

However, such institutions, in turn, have disadvantages. Firstly, there are a lot of people there. On weekdays, and even in the morning, of course, less. But not everyone can afford to skip work or not go there at all. Therefore, everyone goes to the bathhouse mainly on Saturdays and Sundays, creating crowds in it. Appearing naked in front of other people's eyes (even if they are female, but sometimes this is even worse), using a basin that has been used many times, standing in line for a shower are not the most pleasant moments of visiting a public bathhouse. You can, of course, order a separate cabin, but it costs more, and still does not exclude the presence of predecessors.

It’s a different matter to have your own bathhouse. Many who have a country house, or at least a dacha, do just that: they build a bathhouse on their plot, just like in the good old days in Russian villages. By the way, in this case it is possible to get as close as possible to the original by building a real stove, rather than using its electric analogue. The electric oven, of course, is good in its own way - it’s easy to use and doesn’t require much effort to heat up. But how can it compare with the birch logs crackling comfortably in the firebox and emitting a dizzying aroma? And throwing firewood, splashing water on the heater to generate steam - in general, physical activity - can also be considered an element of a health procedure and a partial answer to the question “How to properly steam in a sauna for health.”

A high-quality and correctly selected broom will have a healing effect

In any case, whether you build your own sauna or visit a public one, you will need to purchase a personal sauna kit. It includes:

• rubber mat (for sitting in the bath itself)
• large thick towel (for sitting in the steam room)
• felt cap or towel (to protect hair from high temperatures in the steam room)
• small basin (for steaming a broom)
• broom (for healing massage)
• rubber flip flops or soap dishes
• towel (for drying)
• sheet (for wrapping after the procedure).

In addition, a woman needs to prepare everything for beauty: shampoo, conditioner and hair mask, scrub, peeling for face and body, and don’t forget a bottle of water (but without gas) or a thermos with herbal infusion.

Indications and contraindications for baths

Regular visits to a Russian bathhouse allow you to combat:

• Osteochondrosis and osteoporosis.
• Headache and migraine.
• Vegetative-vascular dystonia.
• Hypertension and hypotension.
• ARVI.
• Skin diseases.
• Diseases of the heart, respiratory and nervous systems.

There are diseases that are at risk when health procedures are prohibited:

• Oncology.
• Epilepsy.
• Heart and kidney failure.
• Acute respiratory diseases.
• Internal bleeding.

Pregnant women, elderly people and small children under 3 years of age are also prohibited from visiting the steam room.

To get a powerful rejuvenating and therapeutic effect, you need to know how to properly steam in a bathhouse. To do this, it is recommended to follow the basic rules of bath procedures and take into account the physical condition of the body.

How often can you visit the sauna?

Many people enjoy visiting the bathhouse so much that they are ready to carry out these procedures at least every day. There really are benefits to regularly visiting the sauna. Thanks to this, you can improve your well-being and have a great rest, relieve stress. Regular bathing procedures will also help in weight loss. However, it is still not recommended to go to the bathhouse every day. Let's consider the main nuances regarding the frequency of visiting the bathhouse:

• for beginners who have just started visiting the sauna and have not yet gotten used to the bath (newborn babies can also be included in this category), it is recommended to start with once a week. Also, the time of one procedure should not be more than five minutes. Gradually, the frequency and time spent in the bathhouse may increase;
• people who have diseases in the circulatory or respiratory system are still allowed to use the sauna. However, in this case, procedures should be carried out once every 2 weeks. That is, no more than 2 times in one month;
• accustomed people are allowed to visit the steam room 2 times a week. More experienced bath attendants can visit the sauna up to 4 times a week. However, the duration of the procedures in such cases is recommended to be reduced.

Video - How often is it recommended to visit the bathhouse?

Important Tips and Recommendations

Important recommendations on how to take a steam bath.

1. After leaving the steam room, it is not recommended to immediately take a vertical position on the bench or even lie down. You need to walk around a bit for your body to come to its senses. You can't move fast. Walking slowly for 5 minutes will help the body adapt to new conditions. After this you can sit down and relax.
2. You cannot use cosmetics before visiting the steam room. They clog pores. This worsens the quality of your stay in the steam room. Cosmetics also prevent the epidermis from absorbing the beneficial substances contained in broom leaves.
3. If you feel worse, you must immediately stop the procedure and leave the steam room. In the dressing room the body will cool down and the condition will return to normal. On this day, it is recommended to refuse subsequent steam rooms. If the situation repeats when you go to the bathhouse again, such manipulations should be abandoned.

Additional rules for visiting the sauna

In addition to the basic rules (instructions) for taking procedures in a modern Finnish dry sauna, there are several additional requirements and recommendations that will make visiting the steam room comfortable and enjoyable.

How to enter and exit? Where and how to be located?

when entering a dry Finnish sauna : you don’t need to immediately sit on the top shelf, you need to start from the bottom. Measurement, oddly enough, is good in this case too. It is interesting that this type of sauna is indicated even for “heart patients”: dry heat accelerates the blood, as a result of which the saturation of blood vessels and cardiac activity in general significantly improves.

to sit on the shelves during any approach in a horizontal position, lying down or reclining. This is due to a number of objective factors. Without going into details, we can say that this position of the body ensures uniform heating and eliminates overheating of the head when the lower extremities are not fully warmed up.

leave the steam room slowly, without fuss. You should not leave the room very quickly, this can affect your general condition, just as you should not quickly enter the steam room. You should be especially careful when introducing children into a Finnish sauna: the child’s body reacts much faster to overheating. If for some reason a child refuses to attend an event with his parents, you should pay attention to this and, of course, do not force him.

Finnish steam room, food and alcohol in the sauna

A very important condition regarding visiting the sauna: you should not go there hungry, this may result in fainting.
But in the same way, you can’t go to the steam room after finishing a hearty lunch. Everything here is quite logical, which is why all experts and doctors without exception advise having a light snack an hour before visiting the sauna. As a rule, people take tea with them to the sauna - black or green, with or without herbs - here everyone chooses for themselves. Unfortunately, our country is different in that people often take alcoholic beverages into the sauna, and in huge quantities. The Finns consider this unacceptable, let's listen to them on this issue.

Even remembering the words attributed to commander A.V. Suvorov about the benefits of a glass after a bath, in no case should we forget that for everything there is a time and a measure. Otherwise, a trip for a portion of health will turn into a trip for problems with this same health.

Some people have a strange relationship with alcohol in the sauna. There are people who, having come on vacation to the sea, wonderfully spend it at most by the pool, without ever swimming in the sea. There are also citizens who are especially friendly with alcohol, who, having arrived at the sauna, spend the entire evening in the relaxation room, constantly postponing their first visit until later.

High temperature sauna and bath broom

A bath broom is not entirely appropriate in a modern dry Finnish sauna. And it would be wrong to steam in a sauna with any type of broom. The exception is the Japanese bamboo broom, which does not require steaming and is used only as a means of mechanical action.

After all, increased temperature conditions and the absence of “wet” steam are the main distinguishing characteristics of a modern dry Finnish sauna from a Russian steam bath. Well, decide for yourself what is better and healthier for you: a bathhouse or a sauna.

And if you choose the “dry and hot” option, just forget about the birch or oak broom for a while and don’t reinvent the wheel. But, of course, it’s a completely different matter if you mean the classic Finnish black sauna. In this case, no matter without a broom.

The statement about the incompatibility of a dry high-temperature Finnish sauna and a broom has been personally verified. About 8-10 years ago I had to visit the owner of a Finnish boat, who was also a lover of “steam, broom and temperature.” What to say? At 115°C, in the field of steam supply, lying on the top shelf under a broom making up “steam” you think about only one thing: when will it end...

Infusions and essential oils

To enhance the effect in the sauna, you can use infusions of medicinal herbs or essential oils. To understand the aromatic effect, you need to understand a little about the properties of herbs and oils, but this is more of a general knowledge. In the sauna, you need to remember only one thing: the process of spending time in the steam room requires thoroughness, caution and calm. It is in this case that everything will succeed, and the sauna will bring health and moral satisfaction.

If a person suffers from some serious health problems, say, thrombophlebitis, then the choice of a steam room should be made after consultation with the attending doctor. And infusions and essential oils are not just flavorings for pleasure, but also complex organic compounds that affect individual processes of the human body. And you need to handle them very carefully.

What to do after taking thermal procedures?

After completing the procedure, experts recommend a quiet and relaxing rest in a cool room with a cup of tea or herbal tea. It is also useful to put things in order, calm down and have quiet intimate conversations. No matter how appropriate it may seem to drink cold drinks after a hot steam room: this can lead to vasospasm, as well as a general deterioration in the body’s condition.

In general, the question of how to properly steam in a Finnish sauna and all the rules of steaming come down to banal caution, the reasonable use of high temperature for the benefit of your own body. All of the above rules of use are just general recommendations, which, as you know, allow for quite flexible variation. And if a sauna visitor has a lot of experience, then he himself can give a light lecture to his “colleagues” in the steam room, give advice or recommend certain things.

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types of baths sauna