The conventional sauna as a therapeutic treatment originated in Finland.
Scandinavians learned how to it quite early on, staggering 2,000 years ago.
Therefore, it’s not a coincidence that Scandinavians are the longest living Europeans. It has a lot to do with the use of the sauna.
It is estimated that there are two million saunas in Finland. For a population of 5.3 million, that's about 3 people per one sauna.
In the 1980s, scientists at Kuopio, from the faculty of science, studied how the use of a sauna can affect men’s health. 2,300 men who participated in the study had their health checked over a 30-year period.
It turned out that over the three decades period, there were twice as many deaths due to heart diseases of those men who did not use sauna than those who did.
¨I knew that the sauna is cool ¨, commented one of the authors of the research, ¨but I did not know that it was so healthy¨.
And it is.
Visiting the sauna, which is slowly but consistently gaining popularity, has an impact on our heart and skin and it also effectively detoxifies our body.
We outlined six benefits as to why saunas are good for us:
1. Cleanses the body
One of the most important benefits of saunas (especially in the world where toxins are everywhere - from food to water and air), is that it is very effective in detoxifying the body. Sweating, in general, is an effective method of detoxification and sweating in a sauna, where we lose about half a litre in a short moment, it works extremely well.
Many bodies of rescuers, firemen, policemen and soldiers, who on the 11th of September worked in the ruins of the World Trade Centre, were poisoned by toxins released during the disaster. This caused serious health problems to many of them and serious detoxification was needed. The health professionals decided to try something new. It was called ¨The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project¨, and it involved intensive sauna sessions. After its end, the monthly average number of sick days that people were taking dropped from 2.1 to 0.2, and 84% of participants also discontinued the medicines they were taking prior to the treatment.
2. Helps circulation
Sauna accelerates the heart rate by 30%. Regular sauna taking has been linked to a general improvement in cardiovascular fitness (see researches from Finland). It is also has a good effect on endothelial cells, it lowers blood pressure and improves heart function.
3. Helps slimming down
Next to the heart rate, the sauna also accelerates metabolism by about 20%. The effect of 20 minutes of sitting in a sauna temperature can result in 500 calories being burned!
4. Helps the skin
Abundant sweating and improving blood circulation of the skin makes it easier to get rid of dead skin cells and create new ones. The effect is a younger look.
5. Improves the immune system
People who regularly visit a sauna also enjoy a better immune system. Some say that it's about ¨hardening the system¨, while others say that the level of white blood cells increases and the immune system works better. A steam sauna also improves the upper respiratory tract.
6. Helps relaxation
Studies show that sauna improves mood and general well-being. There are also researches which say that sauna is an aid in the treatment of mild depression.
The sauna is rising in popularity in our western culture. You can almost always find steam rooms or even steam showers at any gym, if not a sauna itself.
Sauna and steam rooms will be available at the indoor swimming pool at Marbella Club Hills. It will be a natural place where entire families would enjoy each other’s company while improving their health and wellbeing.
