5 Health Benefits Offered by Saunas

What was once only found at your local spa or health club is popping up in many homes around America. What is it we're talking about? Saunas. For quite some time people thought saunas were just a great method of relaxation and relieve the occasional ache and pain from that racket ball game, how ever medical research is beginning to show that saunas offer a multitude of health benefits far beyond relaxation and stress relief.



1.) It was mentioned briefly that saunas offer wonderful stress relief but exactly how does they do it? Stress reduction caused from sauna usage comes in two ways. The first is the natural relaxation we feel when we spend time in a wet or dry sauna thanks to the heat. The second reason is a bit more technical. As our skin heats up the amount of chemicals that leave our body increases, when we become stressed our body creates particular chemicals that cause us to feel the feeling of Stressed by spending time in the sauna our body slows the creation of these chemicals and actually reduces the amount in our body causing the feeling of stress go away.



2.) Our body releases as much as a third of it's toxins through the skin. It does this through the pores when sweating. By inducing sweating more often we actually detox ourselves of more toxins then normal thanks to the increased body temperature we achieve during a sauna.



3.) How can a sauna possibly help us lose weight, besides the water we sweat out? Well surprising enough when we're in the sauna our heart rate increases up to fifty percent above normal. This increased heart rate is similar to what occurs during light exercise or walking. So while you're sitting still in the sauna you're bodies metabolism reacts similar to exercise there by helping to burn un wanted fat.



4.) Now we touched on toxins leaving the body via our skin, what we didn't explore is what else happens to our skin during a sauna session. With the increased heart rate mentioned above comes increased blood flow. Normally our skin receives 10-15% of our bodies over all blood flow, not a lot when you consider our skin is our largest organ. This amount can increase up to 50% of the overall blood flow during our time in a sauna. Thanks to this increased blood our skin receives more nutrients and oxygen rejuvenating the skin and leaving it bright and beautiful.



5.) Saunas strengthen our immune systems and protect us from becoming ill. This is done by simulating a fever from the heat of the sauna. When we become sick and run a fever our bodies produce more illness fighting cells. In a similar fashion when our body temperature rises in a sauna our immune system begins to do the same thing. In this fashion our bodies become more immune to flus and colds, this is especially good during those nasty flu seasons.



These aren't the only health benefits to using a sauna, but it's some of the top reasons home saunas have been becoming so popular. Each type of sauna be it dry, wet, or infrared will also have some of it's own health benefits to compliment these. It's a win win situation, regular sauna usage leaves you feeling great and relaxed.



It's a good idea if you suffer from any blood pressure or heart conditions that you consult your doctor before using a sauna.



To learn more about the details of Sauna health skin benefits or the health benefits of dry saunas visit our website at either the links above.