The benefits of a sauna and its effect on the human body. What are the benefits of a sauna and possible harm? What are the benefits of a sauna for the body?

Health

Modern sauna, about which we'll talk below, wasinvented in Finland . Its analogues appeared about 2 thousand years ago. Finns, like other peoples of the north, cannot imagine their life without a steam room and visit it regularly.

According to statistics, there are electric saunas in every second Finnish apartment. And if someone doesn’t have a sauna in their apartment, then there will definitely be one or two steam rooms for public use to a high-rise building where apartment residents can go whenever they want.

Sauna inextricably linked with Finnish culture and is considered the national symbol of Finland. It is not surprising that it has become so popular in other countries, because it has so many benefits!

In Finland there is a legend about a sauna: one day drops of rainwater leaked through the roof andfell on hot stones in the hearth, causing a pleasant heat to appear in the room. People realized that they could make such a steam room with hot steam on their own. In ancient times, they believed that steam is a spirit that can give health and happiness.

1. What is a sauna? The difference between a bath and a sauna

Word sauna came to us from Latin - that’s what they call it today Finnish sauna, a type of steam room in which the hot air is dry, without steam. Today I would like to talk about this type of bathhouse, since it is the one that is very popular, they can be found in cities, and special electric saunas can be installed even in an apartment.

The culture of using hot water, hot steam and air for heating, hygiene and medicinal purposes has its roots in time immemorial. An interesting fact is that baths as such appeared in different nations almost simultaneously and independently of each other.

Sauna- this is a bathhouse, only with its own characteristics. Sometimes a sauna is called a Finnish bath. It differs from a Russian bath in that it is basically a dry steam room, where there is no steam or very little of it. Thanks to these features, Russian baths and Finnish saunas have different influence on the human body.

• In a Russian bath the air temperature is not too high - 40-70 ºС, when the air humidity is very high - 90-100%. If the temperature in the bathhouse were higher with such humidity, you could simply get a steam burn!

• In a Finnish sauna it’s the other way around – the temperature is 70-100 ºС, and humidity - 10-25%. To avoid burns from hot steam, it is not recommended to pour large quantities of water on the hot stones in the sauna.

• Dry air heats the body evenly, and sweat is released to naturally cool the skin.

• It is believed that the Russian bathhouse is not so shocks the body, like a Finnish sauna, since the temperature in it is lower. However, based on the effects, for a weaker body it is still advised to choose a dry sauna.

• The stones on which water is poured in the bathhouse are located in the stove with the lid closed, so they heat up more. There are stones in the sauna lying open.

• Steam in baths and saunas in different ways - people in baths constantly moving: carry water, water, wash, etc. In the sauna they just lie and relax.

In the baths I use brooms to stimulate sweating, the sauna is so hot that a person sweats without any stimulation. Sometimes they still take brooms into the sauna for massage.

2. Types of saunas: regular and infrared

An ordinary sauna is a room upholstered with wooden boards, where heat is usually supplied using a stove and burning wood, but there are also modern analogues based on the supply of heat using electricity.

Infrared saunas differ in that heat is supplied to the cabin by radiation from an infrared heater. This radiation gives heat, but the peculiarity of such heat is that it is not the air that is heated, but the objects themselves, including the body of a person who is inside the cabin.

Heat penetrates into the body approximately 4 cm, thereby warming it up better than a regular Finnish sauna does. This allows for increased sweating and the release of toxins from the body through sweat.

Temperature in the infrared sauna – 40-60 º WITH, so people can calmly steam there, having heart problems.

To visit an infrared sauna, like any other, there are contraindications, and not everyone can normally tolerate thermal effects of a certain strength.

Infrared saunas are appearing today in many spa centers and sports complexes. They are ready to use already after 15 minutes after switching on, when heating a regular sauna can take at least an hour.

3. Benefits of a sauna: why go to saunas?

The main question that concerns everyone who is interested in a sauna is why is it needed at all? Are there any benefits to using a sauna beyond just the pleasant sensations and good time spent with friends? There are undoubtedly benefits, and anyone who visits saunas on a regular basis can confirm this.

Positive effect on the SKIN and elimination of various skin problems with the help of a sauna:

• Cleansing microbes, bacteria, and various types of impurities invisible to the eye from the skin;
• Removal of the dead layer of cells and increased metabolism, and as a result - skin rejuvenation;
• Removing excess sebum along with sweat: this prevents the appearance of pimples and blackheads;
• Restoring natural blood circulation, which helps eliminate problems such as pale, dry or oily skin, enlarged pores; improvement of skin health indicators: elasticity, softness, etc.;
• Training the sweat glands, improving the body's heat regulation system;
• Smoothing wrinkles, slowing down the aging process of the skin;
• Training the skin's ability to resist negative influences environment.

Positive effect on the HEART AND VESSELS with the help of a sauna:

• Restoration of the cardiovascular system;
• Stimulation of the work of the heart muscle (the heart has a similar workout during physical activity);
• Moving reserve blood, which gives cells a signal to renew.

Positive effects on the NERVOUS SYSTEM with the help of a sauna:

• Reduced mental stress, relaxation due to the saturation of the brain with oxygen and the flow of more blood to the muscles;
• Elimination of stress, reduction of excitability.

Positive effects on the RESPIRATORY ORGANS with the help of a sauna:

• Improved air exchange in the lungs due to deeper breathing;
• Improving lung ventilation;
• Elimination of excess mucus from the lungs and bronchi;
• Improved oxygen consumption;
• Help in the treatment of chronic and common colds.

Positive effects on MUSCLES with the help of a sauna:

• Reducing the level of lactic acid in the muscles, which accumulates after exercise and causes pain and discomfort(immediately after the sauna the level decreases by half, and an hour after the procedure - three more times);
• Eliminating muscle fatigue and relaxing them;
• Increased muscle endurance, reaction speed (when used in saunas at temperatures of about 100 º WITH)/

Positive effect on JOINTS, LIGAMENTS and BONES with the help of a sauna:

• Improving the elasticity and mobility of ligaments;
• Increasing the flow of nutrients to joints and ligaments (by activating reserve blood);
• Resorption of salt deposits;
• Resorption of fluid around joints (reduction of swelling);
• Faster healing of injuries to ligaments, joints or bones, acceleration of recovery processes;
• Reducing discomfort in the joints after physical activity;
• Bone tissue renewal.

Positive effects on the KIDNEYS with the help of a sauna:

• Facilitating the work of the kidneys due to increased sweating, reducing the load on them.

Positive effect on METABOLISM with the help of a sauna:

• Acceleration of excretion from the body of sodium chloride salts, nitrogenous substances, uric acid, urea, inorganic phosphorus and lactic acid.
• Activation of metabolic processes, increase in metabolic rate;
• Help in losing weight;
• A surge of strength, vigor and improved well-being, also associated with an acceleration of metabolism.

Other positive effects that a sauna provides:

• Improved visual acuity;
• Increased light sensitivity of the eye;
• Improved concentration;
• Relieving overwork, fatigue and stress;
• Feeling of lightness, improved mood, increased optimism;
• Normalization of sleep, relief from insomnia;
• Improving immunity, reducing the number of infections with colds and viral diseases to a minimum, and often to zero;
• Relieving hangover symptoms;
• Good adaptation to the summer heat (or preparation for a holiday in hot countries), development of a protection mechanism against overheating.

Thanks to all the benefits of a sauna for physical and mental health Regular visits to the steam room increase energy, productivity, self-confidence, and optimism.

A sauna in winter helps the body adapt to the winter cold, boosting immunity, and in the summer - to the heat (you feel much more comfortable in the summer heat and don’t even need air conditioning!)

4. Harm from the sauna: contraindications and warnings

Speaking about the positive properties of the sauna, of which there are undoubtedly a great many, it is also worth noting that the effects of high temperatures, as well as temperature changes to which the body is exposed in saunas, may cause harm. Problems come when a person begins to misuse a resource, because when the right approach there will never be any harm.

The sauna is a tool that should be used very MODERATELY! Overheating when visiting the steam room frequently and staying in it for a long time leads to the following problems:

• Loss of moisture reserves, which are very important for health;
• Increased heart rate to critical condition;
• Blood thickening;
• Dangerous increase in blood pressure;
• Overexcitement nervous system;
• Weakness, apathy, loss of appetite;
• Fainting, loss of consciousness.

Contraindications:

It is better to avoid visiting the sauna for those who suffer from some of the serious diseases presented below. If you do not have these diseases, but still have any doubts, then you should check with your doctor Can you use a sauna and which one?

• Heart disease (especially hypertension);

• Kidney diseases with impaired kidney function;
• Gallstone disease (with attacks);
• Chronic inflammation of the peritoneum;
• Neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach and intestinal ulcers;
• Chronic hepatitis;
• Inflammation of various organs;
• Severe neurological diseases and mental illness;
• Oncological diseases.

You should also not use the sauna immediately after surgery. You should also refuse if this moment you suffer from diarrhea, feel unwell, have ARVI with fever, have any infectious diseases, tuberculosis, epilepsy, psychosis and others serious illnesses.

Also, saunas are contraindicated if a person afraid to visit her or experiences extremely unpleasant sensations from elevated temperature. It is highly not recommended to “drag” such a person into the sauna and insist too much, because it will not bring him any benefit, and you may feel extremely uncomfortable being in his company.

5. Can a pregnant woman go to the sauna?

Pregnant women often hear about a variety of restrictions that are imposed on them due to their position. Pregnancy is not a disease, but precautions are necessary, because the second organism in a woman’s body may react completely differently than her own body before pregnancy.

Strong body heating and temperature changes are often not recommended for a pregnant woman - just in case! But in fact, visiting the sauna is not prohibited during pregnancy, if you act carefully and under supervision attending physician.

IMPORTANT! Before visiting the sauna, you should consult with the doctor who is caring for your pregnancy. This is true for any potentially dangerous procedures, even if you were used to them before pregnancy!

You will most likely be banned from using the steam room if you have short period of time(first trimester), there are any concerns and risks for the health of the mother and fetus, you have oligohydramnios, hypotension, infections of the reproductive system, etc.

If you are healthy, there are no risks, the fetus is developing normally, you are in the 2-3 trimester and before pregnancy you regularly visited the sauna (that is, you have a normal experience - six months or more), then the risks of harm from the sauna are minimal.

Monitor your condition: if you do not feel as good as before when visiting the sauna, you should not continue! This could be a signal that Now the sauna will not do you any good.

If you are used to going to the sauna not only to visit the steam room, this is for you the best place rest and relaxation, you come there to chat with friends, get massages and various masks for the body and hair, etc., and the steam room is just an additional ritual from the complex of spa treatments, you can safely visit the sauna while pregnant, but without going into to the steam room, especially if your doctor has forbidden you to do so.

The good feeling and mood that you get from relaxing in pleasant company will have a great impact on your general health. Happy and calm mother– the key to health, happiness and peace of mind of the unborn child!

6. Can children go to the sauna?

In the old days, saunas and steam baths were used for childbirth: due to the high temperatures, it was the most sterile place. And although people in those days did not know what microbes were, intuitively felt that the sauna is an excellent place for the emergence of new life.

In Finland, children are starting to be taken to saunas on an equal basis with adults since the age of 4. Research currently being conducted shows that children who regularly visit saunas and baths with their parents get sick much less, and also receive character qualities such as determination and discipline. These children are also more obedient and less irritable, probably because the sauna helps them relax normally and relieve overstimulation.

It is believed that starting from the age of 3, a child can gradually get used to the sauna, if you visit it regularly. This primarily applies to home saunas, where you are confident in hygiene and cleanliness. Public saunas are quite a dangerous place in terms of infections. Adults have more strong immunity to infections of public places than in children, so if you are concerned about your child’s health, do not go with him to public saunas.

If you have any doubts about your child visiting the sauna, check with your pediatrician whether it is possible for your child to steam and how much time he can spend time in the steam room without harm. Each individual child may have some contraindications, which your doctor knows and can warn you about.

If visitation is allowed, remember that a child's body heats up more quickly, so he/she needs just a little time spend in the steam room, the author of the site warns. In addition, children should not steam on the upper shelves; the best thing is on the lower shelf or on the floor, where the air temperature is about 40-50 ºС.

7. How often and how to go to the sauna?

Visiting the sauna has certain stages, which everyone who wants to get the maximum benefit from it and who goes on a regular basis needs to know.

For beginners: it's better to start from 1 time per week, staying in the steam room for no more than 5 minutes per session. You can do several such sessions within an hour - 2-5 (less for beginners). In normal mode you can stay in the sauna about 15 minutes in one session (but it all depends on the person’s condition, experience and health). Staying in a steam room for more than 30 minutes at a time is contraindicated, because the benefits turn out to be harmful!

For mild forms of diseases for which visiting the sauna is not recommended, you can begin to accustom the body to the sauna by visiting it once every 2 weeks. But here it is better to consult a doctor.

Those who already have sufficient experience and who have a strong healthy body can take a steam bath up to 4 times a week, but the time for visiting the steam room should be no more 7-10 minutes at a time.

On average, good effects will be noticeable already when visiting the sauna. 1-2 times a week for several months.

To maximize the benefits of visiting the sauna, you should adhere to certain rules, which were formed over the course of many centuries of human use of the capabilities of the sauna. Remember them and follow each point step by step.

1) Warm shower and visit to the pool.

If you plan to not only take a steam bath in the sauna, but also have a good swim in the pool, it is better to do this before taking hot procedures, since swimming in cool water for a long time after the steam room is not recommended - the risk of colds increases. This, of course, applies to warmer pools intended for swimming. If your sauna does not have such a pool, but only a cold pool, then you will skip this stage.

2) After water sports, you should take a hot shower.

This stage is preparatory. It is needed to prepare the body for the higher temperature in the steam room. You can check that your body is ready by looking for pinkish or red skin during a hot shower. After a shower, you need to dry yourself well with a towel so that your skin is dry: only then will sweating occur better.

3) The first entry into the sauna is for 5-8 minutes. It is worth lying on the bottom shelf horizontally or with your legs slightly raised for about 3-4 minutes.

This allows the body to warm up evenly, because the temperature in the sauna rises from the floor to the ceiling. If you sit, your head will warm up more than your legs, and this will put additional strain on your heart. If your legs are slightly elevated and you are lying on a shelf, this significantly reduces the load. In addition, lying down relaxes the muscles well.

The next stage is raising the temperature: you can lie on a higher shelf. You shouldn't lie on the top floor longer than 2-3 minutes!

4) Cold procedures.

After entering the sauna for the first time, you need to stand briefly under a cool shower or plunge into a cool pool for a few minutes. The temperature in the pool should be 16-20 ºС, this is the most comfortable for the body and will give a good effect.

After the steam room it is necessary always wash off sweat, since when the body cools down to normal temperature all the released substances, along with sweat, begin to be absorbed back!

ATTENTION! Those with heart problems should not take it cold shower or take a dip in a cold pool!

5) After cold procedures, you should take a warm or hot shower again., dry off and rest in the rest room for 10 to 20 minutes before the next entry. It's good to drink a glass of water or other permitted drinks to restore your fluid balance.

The number of visits to the steam room depends on the individual preferences and capabilities of the body. For beginners and patients - better no more than 2 times at a moderate temperature (lie on the lower shelves), for healthy people - more. But usually 3-5 times for 10-15 minutes is enough to feel the effect.

It is optimal to rent a sauna for 2 hours: this time is enough for relaxation, rest and all procedures. If you also invite a massage therapist to the sauna, more time may be needed.

It is worth paying attention to precautions and certain rules that should not be violated, so as not to harm yourself and those around you. The following things cannot or are not recommended to be done in saunas:

• Drinking alcohol;
• Overeat;
• Sit on the bottom shelf or on the floor in the steam room, increasing the time you spend in it;
• Keep your feet down and your head up (especially if you are sitting on the top bunk);
• Take a hot shower immediately after the steam room;
• Sit in the steam room with your head uncovered;
• Sit in the steam room with your legs crossed;
• Sitting in the steam room with clothes on;
• Immediately after the steam room, jump sweaty into the pool (you should first wash off the sweat with cool or cold water in the shower);
• Swim in the pool immediately after visiting the steam room or after all steam procedures (you can swim before).

9. Sauna for treatment

Dry sauna – the Finnish sauna differs from the steam bath in its effects. Despite higher temperatures, dry hot air is easier to tolerate sick, elderly and unseasoned people as well as women and children.

The sauna, first of all, helps prevent diseases, that is, acts as a prophylactic agent and increases resistance to diseases. But it can also treat some diseases. If you have the diseases listed below, check with your doctor to see how much sauna use is allowed for you, how often and in what form. In each individual case, the frequency temperature regime and staying in steam rooms can be different!

Rheumatism. In mild forms of this disease, warming the body will help relax and warm the joints and muscles. After this, you should not plunge into a cold pool or douse yourself with cold water.

Radiculitis. Massages and wraps along with a visit to the steam room help combat this problem.

Hypertension and hypotension. It helps to normalize blood pressure in mild forms of these diseases.

Phlebeurysm. The sauna helps strengthen the walls of blood vessels.

Skin diseases - psoriasis and neurodermatitis. The sauna helps to moisturize the skin, remove the top layers, cleanse the pores, reduce the symptoms of diseases, etc.

Bruises, dislocations and sprains, muscle pain after exercise. Problems quickly disappear due to increased blood circulation.

Haemorrhoids. Helps normalize the outflow of venous blood.

Colds at the initial stage. The sauna is good for mild runny noses, wet and dry coughs. At chest cough If wheezing or obstruction occurs, avoid the sauna and consult a doctor.

Some diseases and symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract.

10. Sauna for weight loss

It is known that visiting a sauna in combination with other procedures helps reduce weight. If you are serious about getting rid of extra pounds, that is, you adhere to proper nutrition, you are active enough, you sleep well and do not have stress, you can start going to the sauna as an addition.

Remember that if your problems are not resolved eating behavior and activity, a sauna alone cannot help you become slimmer!

One of the effects of the sauna is that it helps to eliminate sweat. toxins and wastes, including salts that retain fluid. In addition, if you have steamed and sweated properly, you may notice that in just 2 hours you seem to have decreased in size. This is especially noticeable by women who are not overweight.

The effect can be explained simply: greater moisture loss makes you a little lighter, swelling decreases. To make the effect last longer, reduce consumption of salty and any junk food to a minimum and visit the sauna at least once a week.

A very important thing in losing weight is calm mental state. When stressed, the body is very tense and wants to gain as many resources as possible to cope with stress. If it’s bad now, then who knows what will happen tomorrow, I’ll get more, just in case. This is what explains “stress gluttons”, when the body of an unhappy and stressed person requires more food.

In this case, the sauna will help reduce stress, give inner peace and tranquility, improve sleep, and the body will not have to “think” about how to gain more for a rainy day.

To make the weight loss process go faster, you should pay attention to the following procedure for visiting the sauna:

1) Warm or hot shower to warm up and prepare for the steam room.

2) 3-4 visits to the steam room at a temperature on the top shelf of 90-100 ºС and with a break of 10 minutes. After the steam room, you can plunge into a cold pool or take a cool shower.

3) After the second session, you should drink a hot diaphoretic decoction.

4) Between the second and third entry into the sauna, you should scrub using corn flour, coffee or other means. You can also make clay or seaweed wraps in problem areas. You can massage problem areas or the whole body.

TIP: Do not take starchy or sweet foods, as well as any foods with carbohydrates, into the sauna, especially in the morning. Do not drink sweet drinks and juices in the sauna, even if they are freshly squeezed; drink only herbal teas or plain water. Avoid sweet fruits - take sour fruits or vegetables, and you can also snack on a handful of nuts.

11. What can you eat and drink in the sauna?

Visiting saunas is often associated with holidays; there is even a tradition of celebrating certain events in saunas. A pleasant atmosphere and good company relax and improve your mood, and holidays are often expected rich tables set with junk food and alcohol.

But, unfortunately, no matter how rooted the tradition is in our culture, you should drink and eat in between trips to the steam room. great caution. Why?

A sauna is not a place for feasts: at this moment the body experiences stress from temperature changes and receives a certain dose of positive influence from this, but it is still stress. If you load it heavy food and even more so alcohol, the body has difficulty coping with the stress, and the effect of the procedures is reduced significantly.

The ancestor of the Finnish sauna and Russian bath was a smoke-washed hut or dugout, which was heated over black. Our ancestors poured cold water onto the hot stones of the hearth, steamed, moisturized and steamed the skin, combed with a broom, and then bathed in cold water or snow.

What is the difference between a Russian bath and a sauna?

A dry air sauna in a steam room is used in medicinal purposes, Russian steam bath - in hygienic and preventive.

A steam bath, unlike a dry-air sauna, puts more stress on the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems of the body. Therapeutic effect bath procedures:

• The physiotherapeutic effect of a Finnish bath consists of dry sweating with physical and mental relaxation and alternating extreme heating of the body with subsequent cooling.
• In a Russian steam bath with moist air, sweating occurs less than in a dry Finnish one.

The bathhouse is useful only if you strictly adhere to the rules for visiting the steam room:

1. Before entering the sauna, take a shower and wipe yourself dry. Sick people stay in the steam room for no more than 3–5 minutes, healthy people – 7–10. Then the body is cooled - doused with cold water, bathed in a pool or washed with cold water on the limbs. The cold procedure takes no more than 3–10 minutes. A cooled body needs to rest for 15–20 minutes. The set of procedures is performed 2–3 times.
2. Before visiting the wet steam room, warm up under a warm shower for 2–3 minutes. The head is protected from overheating with a towel turban or a hat with a brim. The first time they enter the steam room for 5–6 minutes, they do not use a broom. When entering again, they steam with a broom. People enter the steam room 2–3 times, with rest breaks of 15–20 minutes. Total duration stay in a wet steam room for healthy people - up to 30 minutes, for patients - 10-15 minutes.

For what diseases is a bath useful for men and women?

Under the influence of heat and steam, the body is cleansed - urea is released along with sweat, which is useful for gout on the legs, lactic acid, salts and harmful products metabolic processes, heavy metals that are contained in the body.

Staying in a bathhouse for 15–30 minutes leads to an increase in the number of red blood cells by 10–12%, which carry oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues. .

Breathing increases significantly - the force of inhalation and exhalation increases, as well as vital capacity lungs (VC). Body temperature rises to a maximum of 39.4°. Steaming with a broom promotes a strong outflow of blood from the internal organs to the periphery. Metabolism improves.

The benefit of a bath for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the respiratory system lies in the effect of hot steam on the thermoreceptors of the skin and mucous membranes of the respiratory system. In patients chronic bronchitis bronchial patency improves.

Indications for treatment with bath procedures in a dry air sauna:

• tendency to colds;
• chronic nonspecific diseases of the respiratory system;
• peripheral circulatory disorders;
• hypotension;
• arterial hypertension in the initial stage;
• chronic disorders of the digestive system;
• obesity;
• chronic diseases skin;
• chronic disorders of the musculoskeletal system;
• chronic inflammatory diseases genitourinary system in remission.

For human health, a steam bath is beneficial for the following diseases:

• in remission;
• infectious-allergic form of bronchial asthma with rare attacks;
• chronic pneumonia in remission;
• inflammatory diseases of the joints;
• dyskinesia of the gallbladder and bile ducts;
• neuroses;
• arterial hypertension in the initial phase;
• dermatological diseases - eczema, atopic dermatitis, furunculosis, etc.

Under the influence of hot steam blood vessels expand, improving blood supply to internal and external organs - skin, muscles and joints.

Metabolic processes are activated, which leads to increased oxygen consumption and increased release of carbon dioxide.

Harm of a bath - what diseases should you not take a steam bath for?

The therapeutic effect of the bath is manifested in conditions of compliance with the temperature and humidity conditions:

• in a Russian steam room with a humidity of 90%, the air should not warm up above 70 ºC;
• in a sauna with a relative humidity of 10–20%, the temperature should not exceed 90 ºC.

Read also: Do you need your own dental laboratory in the clinic?

Incorrect dosage of heat leads to overheating - a feeling of fatigue, nausea appears, the pulse quickens and blood pressure rises.

During hyperheating, the skin warms up in places to 40–42 ºC, resulting in the formation of a leopard pattern - white spots on a red background.

If you have chronic diseases, you should consult your doctor before visiting the bathhouse.

Contraindications for steam bath:

• infectious diseases with exacerbation;
• inflammatory processes internal organs;
• oncological diseases;
• the first half of the year after myocardial infarction;
• bronchial asthma with attacks more than 2 times a day;
• weeping and microbial eczema.

If you have hives, it is not advisable to take a steam bath - just sit in the steam room and then relax in the dressing room.

Children can visit the bathhouse at any age if there are no contraindications. At the same time, a gentle regime is established for the child in the steam room - the temperature in the steam room is reduced and the stay is shortened. Cooling procedures are contraindicated for children.

How to steam properly and how often to visit the bathhouse

1. It is recommended to stay in a dry-air sauna and steam bath for no more than 3–5 minutes.
2. Make 3-5 visits to the steam room.
3. In order for the body to gradually get used to the heat, in the steam room in the first minutes they are placed on the bottom shelf - sitting or lying down. After this, they begin to steam with a broom.
4. A dry broom is dipped in hot water, a wet one is lightly dried over a heater. The first movements of the broom are made above oneself, without touching the surface of the body, pumping additional hot air. Then lightly pat individual areas of the body with a broom, starting from the back and gradually moving to the legs.
5. After the first drops of sweat appear, a broom is used to make several rubbing movements from top to bottom over the entire body - along the back, stomach, arms and legs.

Important: when rubbing, lightly touch the skin with a broom.

Then they add clapping movements, gradually moving on to the actual soaring while lying down:

• raise the broom high and, grabbing more steam, forcefully lower it onto the body;
• the impact force should be moderate;
• if there is not enough steam, go up to the shelf or throw another portion of hot water onto the heater - no more than 1-2 glasses;
• if the steam is too hot, the movements are accelerated - the body will not acutely sense the high air temperature;
• during the next rise, the broom is untwisted, and then forcefully lowered onto the hot body and sealed;
• move from a lying position to a sitting position and steam certain areas of the body that require additional heat.

You can't get up from the shelf suddenly. If you immerse your body in cold water after a steam room, the heat will rush to the internal organs. To actively sweat, just wrap yourself in a towel and relax in the dressing room.

To compensate for dehydration after a steam bath, you need to drink as much as you want. Drinks are drunk in small sips - no more than a glass of tea or herbal infusion. Drinks should not be cold.

To lose weight, it is better to steam in a sauna than in a Russian bath - sweat evaporates well in dry air. A broom is good for steaming areas of the body with large muscles - the pelvis, back, thighs. After resting for 5 minutes, begin self-massage, which promotes weight loss.

Important: the heart area, groin area, popliteal cavities are not exposed to steam.

If you feel ringing in your ears or spots appear before your eyes, you must urgently leave the steam room to rest in the waiting room. In this case, returning to the steam room is contraindicated.

Promotion internal temperature During bath procedures, just 2–3 ºC leads to fatigue of the whole body. In the following days of rest, your health improves: metabolism increases, pathogenic bacteria die from heat, and blood vessels become more elastic.

Bath procedures are an ancient folk remedy.

You can take a steam bath for health, prevention and increase a person’s vitality 1 or 2 times a week.

MOST VIRUSES DIE WITH SUCH HEATING OF THE BODY.

To BE YOUNG AND HEALTHY, it is necessary that the processes of synthesis and purification are ahead of the aging process.

People have long loved to take a steam bath. Bathing procedures speed up the blood just as well as running.

When the blood flows strongly, it heals diseased tissue. Sauna heat is even effective against cancer: inhibiting cancer cells.

HOW DOES THE STEAM ROOM EFFECT ON THE HUMAN BODY?

Is a steam room a pleasure for you? And for your body this is severe stress, which it fights, throwing almost all of its energy into battle. physiological systems. He, unlike the owner, knows that he will not be able to withstand heating of internal organs to a little over forty degrees for a long time, and turns on thermoregulation mechanisms developed over tens of millions of years of the existence of warm-blooded animals. Why “he has strength for himself, and not torment.”

PAIRED PHYSIOLOGY

The sweat glands begin to work at full capacity, not paying attention to the fact that in the fight against overheating, only the amount of sweat that has time to evaporate is effective. Therefore, by the way, 80-100°C in a sauna with a relative humidity of 10-15% is perceived approximately the same as 70-80° in a Russian bath with a humidity of 80-100% or 50-60° in a steamy Turkish hammam, not speaking of Japanese furo: it is difficult to withstand even 45° in a barrel of water (the thermal conductivity and heat capacity of water is much higher than that of air).

Under the influence of high temperature, the capillaries in the skin expand, and to enhance heat transfer, those that usually do not function and are in reserve for emergencies open. Blood from internal organs flows to the skin (and at the same time leaves such blood depots as the spleen and liver). The heart begins to beat 1.5−2 times faster, and cardiac output with each beat increases 1.5−1.7 times. The intercellular fluid enters the lymphatic ducts, and from them into the bloodstream. Increased blood flow in peripheral organs leads to a decrease in it in the brain, causing a feeling of relaxation and mild euphoria. Kidney function decreases due to decreased blood pressure renal arteries. The concentration of electrolytes in all liquid media of the body changes - if only because the body loses from 20 to 40 ml of water per minute in the steam room (beer with vobla will help restore the loss of water and sodium, and the lack of potassium, necessary for normal heart function , neurons and much more, you can compensate with cabbage brine or a Pantogam tablet).

The adrenal glands, on the contrary, are activated, as under the influence of any stressor, causing the concentration of adrenaline and norepinephrine in the blood to increase, and a paradoxical feeling of relaxation and vigor appears in the soul. The bronchi expand, the frequency and depth of breathing increase, which additionally activates heat transfer and compensates for the lack of oxygen in the brain. But the effect of hot air on the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract reflexively enhances changes in the cardiovascular system. Muscles relax due to relaxation of the central nervous system, increased blood supply and increased local temperature. Massage - manual or with the help of “young twigs” - helps to further relax them. At the same time, the movement of air accelerates its heat-insulating layer at the surface of the body, and for the one who waves a broom, it also increases overheating of the body due to the release of heat during muscle work.

AND NOW IN THE COLD!

And now - into the hole! Or in a snowdrift, in a swimming pool, under a cold shower - what would a bathhouse be without contrasting thermal procedures? At the same time, the thermal receptors in the skin faint, the cold receptors suddenly turn on, the thermoregulation center in the hypothalamus does a somersault and turns on the cold adaptation mechanisms at full power, all the physiological systems briefly described above hit the brakes and put the car in reverse.

The most important misconception about the bathhouse is that it will “fix everything” when acute diseases or during exacerbation of chronic diseases. In fact, in case of acute inflammatory processes - be it a cold or radiculitis - a bathhouse will not cure, but rather harm. Wait until the acute phase of the illness passes and go to the bathhouse with residual effects or with chronic (in remission) manifestations of a variety of diseases, and very preferably - after consultation with a doctor.

In terms of the intensity of the impact on the body, the steam room is approximately the same as running. This is an excellent means of hardening and general health, but only for more or less healthy person and with gradual adaptation to the load. For the treatment of many different diseases, thermal effects are also indicated, but it is necessary to increase the load gradually and use this powerful method of physiotherapy only in the absence of obvious contraindications. We will not give a list of them “on eight sheets”: if in doubt, ask a doctor. A bathhouse will fix everything - or almost everything, but only if you use it wisely.

SO WHAT'S BETTER, HOT OR HUMID?

There are different saunas, different sensations, different pleasures. When choosing a particular type of oven, you can choose a combination of temperature and humidity that gives you the most pleasant sensations.

STEAM SAUNA (HAMAM)

The temperature is maintained at 45−65°C with a relative humidity of 40−65%. This is a gentler sauna option that is suitable for people of all ages and allows for longer stays compared to a traditional sauna. A constant level of humidity is maintained using a special device - a steam generator. You can add herbs and aromatics to its water tank.

The wooden cabin gives way to a technological interior made of tiles, glass and plastic, which is filled with mesmerizing clouds of steam. The steam generator maintains a constant 100% humidity, which creates a feeling of deep penetrating heat at relatively low temperatures of 40−45°C. You can spend a lot of time in such a bath; it is suitable even for people who have difficulty withstanding heat. In addition, it can be combined with a shower cabin

MULTISAUNA

You can install a traditional stove and infrared emitters in the cabin at the same time. The radiation not only has a beneficial effect on the body, but also allows you to quickly warm up the air in the sauna. A traditional oven provides the desired combination of temperature and humidity.

INFRARED SAUNA

Instead of a furnace, infrared emitters are used. Thermal radiation penetrating deep into the body is widely used in medicine and health treatments to relieve muscle tension and pain of rheumatic origin

TRADITIONAL SAUNA

The temperature is maintained at 75−95°C with a relative humidity of 20−35%. Periodically, a ladle of water is poured onto the hot stones, and a searing wave of heat penetrates deep into the skin. Pouring water on stones is not only a way to maintain moisture, but also an important relaxing ritual. A traditional sauna requires a stove with stones that are in close contact with the heating element and receive heat from it. In Tylo ovens, the heating element passes not only through the stone compartment, but also through air channels located on the sides. They provide efficient heating air in the sauna. An extreme version of the Scandinavian sauna is an almost dry room with a temperature of 95-110°C.

WHAT IS THE HEALING MYSTERY OF BATH PROCEDURES?

Before you understand the power of bath procedures, you need to understand: that blood, if its flow does not lose speed, is a powerful healing agent. The bathhouse is valuable because it accelerates the blood: strengthening its channel. Blood “heals” any organs: if you put the capillaries in order and let it work at a speed of 8-9 circles per minute.

The heat of the bath is indispensable in creating strong blood flow: which cleanses the blood vessels, removing cholesterol and other deposits from them, like a strong stream of water. To increase blood flow, and only a strong blood flow can remove layers from the walls of blood vessels, you need to warm up the body: which is best done by the heat of a bath. Redness of the skin indicates that the warming up was successful. In response to the effect of heat on the skin, blood rapidly rushes to it: and therefore the body temperature rises. This happens because many receptors are located on the skin: nerve endings. For 1 sq. see fingertips, for example, about 100 sensitive points.

There are also thermoreceptors on the skin. They instantly respond to heat: transmitting excitement to the brain. This is a kind of “headquarters” from where commands are issued to various systems. Information about the thermal effect on the skin is received by the hypothalamus: that tiny part of the brain that regulates not only sleep, appetite, emotions, wakefulness, thirst, but also body temperature. In response to heat, the hypothalamus reacts by dilating blood vessels. Microscopic nerve fibers cause the capillaries to dilate under the influence of heat. Through them, blood from the “depot” rushes to the outskirts: starting to treat diseased tissues. A rush of blood to the skin means that its flow has sharply increased: which is beneficial for the treatment of diseases.

Making its way through the capillaries, the blood flow cleanses them along the way: delivering nutrition to starving cells and taking into its bed dead cells and toxins. This restores the movement of fluids, including blood exchange, in the body. So by influencing the skin with the heat of the bath, we influence the peripheral brain. This is the main function of the skin. Within an hour, the body can produce enough heat to boil a liter of ice water. This property of the body must be used: by creating, through heating or otherwise, a blood flow of such strength that it can literally “wash” diseased tissues, intensively nourish them and heal them.

After bath procedures, blood tests recorded an increase in hemoglobin, as well as the number of erythrocytes (red blood cells) and leukocytes (white blood cells). It is enough to increase blood flow to 8-9 circles per minute to improve blood quality.

The growth of leukocytes in the blood leads to the elimination of microbes and viruses, the body’s defense will be strengthened. After all, leukocytes are germ eaters. In conditions of strong blood flow, and the blood should move at a speed of 8-9 circles per minute, the work of the heart also normalizes. The pulse rate increases by 20 beats per minute: although before the bath procedures the pulse had no best characteristics. The heat of the bath, strengthening the blood flow, enhances all metabolic processes: including oxidative ones. This is extremely important for health, since the blood carries not only nutrients, water, but also oxygen. And it is a powerful cleanser of the body.

So if you are determined to regain your health, work on strengthening your blood flow. When it is strong, everyone has their own personal super doctor. This is his own blood. However, most people do nothing to maintain strong blood flow even at a young age.

Scientists have found that by the age of 25, the volume of blood circulating in the muscles of young men is halved. This means that they do not support a strong blood flow in any way: neither with bath procedures, nor with sports, nor with alkaline nutrition, nor with any other measure of maintaining health. As a result, the blood heals at half strength: using only part of the available blood in this work. Is it any wonder that a person quickly ages and dies? The rest of the blood stagnates: it deteriorates and rots, like stagnant water.

If, for example, the bloodstream is not cleared of dead leukocytes in time (they are not removed with a strong bloodstream), serious breathing problems can be expected. At first, these disruptions can be expressed in snoring, and then in more severe symptoms. The blood flow can be strengthened by running, as well as by other sports. But people are lazy. But they enjoy going to the bathhouse. That’s why we’re talking about it: as a passive healing remedy for the majority.

INCREASING BODY TEMPERATURE PROMOTES THE DISPLAY OF ITS PROTECTIVE FUNCTIONS

Bath procedures accelerate the blood so much that they include reserve blood in the work of healing the body. This is 1 liter of blood, which is always in reserve: in case of emergency situations in the body. There is no disease that a strong blood flow cannot cope with. That is why after bath procedures the condition of patients improves: what is recorded by blood tests, urine tests, and a heart cardiogram. Health indicators are improving dramatically. Such a common disease as hypertension can also be treated. The pressure drops as the blood vessels dilate.

The vessels dilate well even during a short 6-minute bath procedure. The pressure drops within an hour after the procedure: which normalizes the condition of the patients. However, bath procedures must be approached with caution: first, accustom the body to high temperatures. Remember that nature does not like jumps. Bath heat is contraindicated for some. These are, as a rule, people with extremely acute inflammation of the heart, as well as advanced heart failure. Such patients are prohibited even from water procedures and bathing.

After the bath, the condition of asthmatics also improves. The disease recedes as the bronchi expand under the influence of high temperatures. The muscles of the respiratory organs soften. The bath procedure also has a healing effect on the kidneys. They are relaxing during the bath procedure. The patient is so warm that sweating begins. This means that the conclusion liquids coming mainly through the pores: due to which the kidneys rest. Is it surprising that after the procedure the level of protein in the urine decreases!

However, kidney patients should first consult a doctor before using bath procedures. There are subtleties that only a specialist can weigh. Under the influence of bath procedures, blood sugar levels also drop. Before the beneficial heat, radiculitis, neuritis, sciatica, rheumatism, gout, hemorrhoids, etc. recede. Even cancer recedes: if the patient still has time to fight this deadly disease. Scientists have proven that sauna heat inhibits cancer cells. It turns out that high temperature is fatal to tumor cells.

This was noted experimentally, by prescribing bath procedures to cancer patients, which accelerated their blood and increased body temperature; it was surprising to discover that when the body warms up to 39 degrees, growth slows down cancer cells. When reheated to 40 degrees for an hour, the tumor cells died off. Strong blood flow, and it increases reserve blood, takes them in its own direction: sending them out of the body and cleansing cancerous tissue. Rapid removal of dying cells – important condition treatment. If dead cells accumulate at the site of tumor growth, they prevent the birth of new ones: that is, the treatment of the disease. Here the movement of fluids is disrupted: blood exchange is inhibited. As a result, the disease goes deeper...

Bath procedures do the opposite: restoring the movement of fluids - including blood. This is how the idea of ​​multi-stage cancer therapy was born. Doctors combined warming the body to 39 degrees in the first procedure and up to 40 degrees in the second with saturating the tumor with oxygen, glucose, vitamins, etc.: substances that dramatically increase metabolism. A complex chain reaction began, resulting in the death of cancerous tissue. Cancer patients can survive if they have the strength to undergo bath procedures. However, do not forget that the body must adapt to high temperatures. Do not start abruptly, so as not to cause harm.

Among the well-known health measures, only bath procedures, knowing the laziness of people, have a chance to become a method of healing for the majority. We must understand that water is indispensable in metabolism: both taken internally and in the form of baths. All life processes occur with the participation of water. Through it, both cold and hot, you can influence all organs.

This is possible because water has the property of dielectric constant. Thanks to this, it can overcome the adhesion between molecules and atoms of substances. That is why treating the skin with water as the most large organ, we get a quick effect of treating all other organs. Two buckets of cold water, poured one after another on the head of a person in a bath, creates a one-time jump in high temperature in the body, which will help normalize and balance the state of microbes.

Honey has amazing healing powers if you smear it on a clean, steamed body for a while. Through the pores, the entire body is cleansed of waste and toxins, which cause cell destruction.

Even such a simple procedure as a hot bath in a city apartment with sea salt without E additives perfectly cleanses and accelerates the blood, forcing the blood to make its way with nutrition to diseased tissues.

YOU WILL STEAM THE BONES AND YOU WILL CORRECT YOUR WHOLE BODY! OR HOW TO STEAM CORRECTLY

A bathhouse or steam room is useful not only for cleanliness of the body in a superficial sense, but is very useful for cleansing waste, poisons, toxins and the entire human immune system through artificial sweating.

The bathhouse does not tolerate fuss. The bathhouse loves regularity and your pleasure! We steam until the 3rd, or better yet, the 7th sweat - here, of course, according to how you feel. The well-known health formula “keep your feet warm, your stomach hungry, and your head cold” applies primarily to guests of a Russian steam bath. Therefore, you need to come to the bathhouse on an empty stomach; you can only eat fruit. Remember that “a good bath is better than a hearty lunch.”

First visit to the bath shelf

Lying in the soft fragrant warmth, the chilled soul thaws, and the tired body is filled with life-giving warmth. Our heat center is the liver, the stove involved in hematopoiesis and purification of our blood. We help her warm up by stroking and steaming the liver area with a live birch or oak broom with delicious steam. This continues until the heart, responding to the thermal load, wants to rest with us and leave the steam room.

A Russian bath should only be enjoyed! The feeling of discomfort is eliminated by appropriate equalization of the steam-air environment “hot-warm-cool”. There is a phenomenon of the Russian steam room: “the body loves warmth, and the soul loves coolness.” The body is bathed in hot aromas, and we breathe “deliciously” and easily through a chilled bath broom, covering our face with it.

During our entire stay in the steam room, terry sheets hang next to us, keeping us warm and dry. Thanks to this, when we leave the steam room, we always cover our sweaty and hot body with a dry and warm sheet.

Relaxing in the living room after visiting the shelves for the first time

Coming out of the steam room and washing off the sweat in a hot shower, we relax in the living room at the sauna table. We do this sitting or lying down. The sheet retains our body heat longer and we continue to sweat. Thirst should never be tolerated, especially on our bath day. Fragrant Herb tea, hot honey sbitni, in the living room they drink in small sips, slowly and enjoying. This, and, if desired, a dry foot bath of heated rock salt, maintains a pleasant languor in the body for a long time and creates a feeling of deep peace.

Second visit to the bath shelf

After the body has cooled down and the sweat on it has dried, we return to the steam room, increasingly using the heater and fanning, stroking and steaming our body with a broom, warming it up more and more. At the same time, peripheral blood circulation is gradually activated, breathing deepens and heart function increases. After a good warm-up, we wash off the sweat in a hot shower and, without covering ourselves with a bath sheet, go out to the hydromassage department.
Mustard-salt ladka - rubbing after the second visit to the shelf
On a warm massage bed, well doused with boiling water, we, independently or with the help of a bath attendant, begin an extremely important and at the same time enjoyable bath procedure. A mixture of ordinary table salt and mustard powder, moistened with bread kvass, or clean water, we thoroughly and deeply rub all the skin of the body with the exception of the face and eyes. In this way, the body is cleansed of dead layers of the dermis along with all its impurities, sweat, and sebum. At the same time, the skin is sterilized, freed from all pathogenic bacteria, while simultaneously stimulating all its physiological functions. Skin circulation is activated, and the osmotic effect of the salt solution on the body supports sweating. Having finished rubbing, we immediately or after resting until the salt dries on the body, we return without washing the salt from the body to the bathhouse shelf.

Third visit to the bath shelf

The presence of table salt on the body in combination with vigorous salty steam in the steam room (for this we specially apply a solution to the heater sea ​​salt V hot water) creates an extremely beneficial environment. Active cleansing of the body begins through all the skin, nasopharynx and lungs. The salty steam-air mixture we inhale organically and easily rejects the mucus and phlegm accumulated on the mucous membranes and membranes. And now the time has come for a real parka, our original Russian bath-broom massage! Through young, already cleansed skin, profuse sweat continues to rid the body of metabolic products, toxins and many impurities.

Hot soapy birch massage after the third visit to the shelves

This is a continuation of the revival of youth in our body. Having washed off the sweat in a hot shower and doused ourselves with cool water to freshen up, but not cool the body, we return to the hydromassage department on a clean, heated massage table. The last, but equally enjoyable cleansing procedure is carried out with hot, well-whipped soapy foam with a fresh birch bath broom. Brooms made from other types of wood are not suitable for this purpose.
To maintain a high temperature, the bucket of foam must be in a vat of boiling water, into which a bath broom is also dipped before starting work. Along with rubbing the body, which is performed both softly and with force, especially with a dotted, intermittent drawing of a broom over the body with weights from the hand of a massage therapist, other massage techniques are used, but affecting the body through the broom foliage.
In this case, it is unacceptable for soap foam to get into the windpipe. The alkali can spasm it until breathing stops completely, so caution is needed. The person’s face is covered with a fragrant broom.
As a result of the soap-birch massage, the body acquires a blissful feeling of airy weightlessness and feels like it is easily breathing with rejuvenated skin. The final chords of this action are gentle, very slow dousing of the body, always alternating between very warm and slightly cool water. Begin pouring directionally, from head to feet, so that the washed-off foam does not get on the face.

Fourth visit to the bath shelf

The climax of the bath celebration is coming!
A fierce battle with yourself!
Our skin is cleansed, the body is deeply steamed, the purified hot blood circulates more freely, and we are already in vigorous steam.
The time of sweet peace has passed. The time of inspired emotional and physiological recovery is coming.
The skin burns, the blood boils, but “the steam doesn’t ache the bones, it doesn’t drive away the soul!”

It begins “such a parka that the sky will be hot”, “the bones are softening, all the veins are humming”! Living bone loves warmth, and our goal is to warm up the most intimate part of nature - bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons and the holy of holies - hematopoietic red Bone marrow! The place where forever young blood stem cells are born and live, which, as is now known, can turn into any other cells to restore damaged tissues of our body. That’s why “the day you steam, you don’t grow old”! People in whose lives the Russian steam room occupies a significant place, even in their old age, look surprisingly young and healthy.

Judging by their appearance, activity and mobility, they look twenty to thirty years younger. Bath procedures help strengthen and rejuvenate the senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, respiratory system of the entire skin and internal organs). A person becomes fit, energetic and efficient. Strength develops, the spine becomes more flexible, and elasticity appears in the tendons and lumbar muscles. From the bath shocks of a Russian person, “the wisdom of the whole organism and a feeling of inner freedom awaken in it.”

So, having warmed up powerfully and deeply, we move on to contrasting procedures - diving into a cold pool, an ice hole or a snowdrift. Having emerged naked from the steam room and quickly washed off the sweat in a hot shower, we dive into the pool. We dive sharply, only in this case is rapid and simultaneous spasm of the entire peripheral circulatory system achieved. Pure hot blood quickly flows into our body, washing and healing the entire body. Taking a deep breath before jumping, we slowly and continuously exhale the air and jump into the pool in a “sitting” position. At the same time, we stretch our legs horizontally forward, and our arms to the sides. This achieves a slight slowdown in the descent to the bottom of the pool.

Having cooled down in this way, we should not feel cold, but restore the warmth in a hot shower or by briefly returning to the steam room. All this is repeated again and again until the “soul yearns for space” and feels the delight and joy of being.
Fifth visit to the bath shelf
Lying on the shelf in the fragrant and hot steam, we ourselves or with the help of the bathhouse attendant begin the general cold treatment. To do this, we use a whole arsenal of frozen items, combining the effects of cold and bath heat on the body, rejuvenating, warming and tightening our body.
We relax after the fifth visit to the shelves in the living room with fragrant tea.

Sixth visit to the bath shelf

During the sixth visit to the steam room, we are already calmly relaxing in the gentle, light and fragrant steam. By continuing to sweat lightly, we gradually reduce the heat load on the body.

Honey ladka - rubbing after the sixth visit to the shelf

Having washed off the sweat in a warm shower, we lie down on a clean, warm massage trestle bed for honey ladka - rubbing our body.
Honey should be fragrant, soft, and not contain hard crystals. In this case, it is advisable to use 2-3 different types of honey, for example, amazing snow-white honey from white acacia flowers, golden May or linden honey, dark buckwheat honey. Before and after a honey massage, it is pleasant and especially beneficial to drink a glass of flower tea with the same types of honey. This simultaneous use of honey internally and externally gives a special healing effect and great well-being. In this action, it is important that the feet are warm and, if necessary, they can be warmed in a bowl of hot salt water or dry hot salt.

Seventh visit to the bath shelf

Having rested well during and after the naked honey rub, we go to the steam room for the last time. At the same time, the temperature and humidity conditions in it should be maintained as moderate as during the first run (comfortable warmth). This is our last “clean” exit with a feeling of bliss and complete contentment. “The bathhouse fed me, melted all my joints, softened my tight cartilages.” After the seventh visit to the shelves, we wash our hair and dry our rejuvenated body for a long time and thoroughly in post-bath languor. There is no need to rush here. The song of restored health sounds in the body and you don’t want to leave this feeling of celebration within yourself.

“No one ever gets sick in a Russian steam bath!”

Now you should try to follow the special bath rule.

“You should leave the bathhouse with the same humidity and body temperature as when you arrived.” In practice, this position can be performed in cold weather without going outside and taking a good nap in warmth and peace. And this also happens well during a friendly feast, a meal after the end of bathhouse battles.
Enjoy your bath and good health!

Health and longevity to you!

Every time you finish your training session, you take a number of steps to ensure a fuller and faster recovery. Everything comes into play - from drinking/not drinking water to such moments as closing the protein or protein-carbohydrate window. All of these are extremely important aspects of recovery after training. In addition, these activities stimulate your anabolic scales, helping you achieve greater strength and endurance.

However, in pursuit of the ideal functional body, many athletes cross the line and begin experimenting with things that are not related to in a healthy way life and can do more harm than good. One of the dubious and highly controversial methods of recovery is the sauna after training.

The effect of a sauna on an athlete's body

Nowadays, many fitness centers have saunas. Eat different variants executions:

1. Hammam.
2. Classic sauna.
3. Russian bath.

And a dozen other innovations that, according to the owners of the establishments, should help you achieve your own goals during training. But are they really safe? And most importantly, are there any real benefits and effectiveness from them?

Before answering the question of whether it is possible to visit a dry sauna after a workout, you need to find out its effect on the body. To do this, you will have to delve a little deeper into biochemistry and physiology. Let's start in order.

Lactic acid

If you know how to properly take a sauna after a workout, then by increasing body temperature you can slow down the synthesis of lactic acid and remove it from the body faster. This is due to the following factors:

• thinning of blood and macroelements under the influence of temperature;
• in the process of thermoregulation;
• lactic acid is partially dehydrated, which reduces it negative impact on the body.

Stress for the body

During the training process, our body experiences serious stress, which triggers a super-recovery mechanism. Sometimes stress turns out to be excessive, which leads to a rollback of strength indicators by several months, or creates a plateau effect. The sauna helps to get rid of stress. In the sauna, the body produces (not to be confused with), which leads to a decrease in the catabolic factor in the short term and acts as a prevention of overtraining.

Resynthesis of protein and glycogen

The sauna optimizes all the body's resources for thermoregulation. For this reason, protein resynthesis slows down, which impairs recovery and almost completely eliminates the effect of closing the protein window. The situation is similar with glycogen resynthesis, which affects closure.

Violation of water-salt balance

Another extremely negative factor is violation. Even if you drink enough fluids during, before and after exercise, you are not getting the right amount of minerals and salts. They are restored over the next 1-2 days only as a result of food intake. In the case of a sauna, you exacerbate this effect because you remove the remaining salts through the additional sweat that inevitably comes from being in an excessively hot room. All this is fraught with demineralization of the body and other unpleasant consequences.

Sauna and weight loss

The only time a sauna will really help you achieve your fitness goals is for intense weight loss.

But even in this case, the procedure should be treated with extreme caution.

Let us remember that our body is constantly subject to thermoregulation. During training, due to the significant release of energy, you create additional heat, which accelerates your metabolism and stimulates calorie consumption. The energy deficit is compensated after training by taking the required amount. But an infrared sauna after a workout is a relatively safe procedure that allows you to lose excess weight. And what’s most interesting is that not only water will leave, but also. But glycogen will remain virtually untouched.

Why is this happening? The fact is that after training, our body is in an accelerated state, therefore, it is ready to equally receive energy both from glycogen and from triglycerides that are more complex in structure. However, with increasing temperature, triglyceride cells take on a more pliable and plastic form, while glycogen “burns” only during motor activity. All this stimulates active fat burning. So in 1 hour of a good steam room you can burn up to 700 kcal, which is similar to the amount of energy spent during the workout itself. In other cases and for other purposes, the benefits of such a procedure and its safety remain a big question.

The dangers of taking a sauna after exercise

Unfortunately, despite some positive effects, in general the sauna is an extremely dangerous place for athletes, especially during periods of intense drying. And if you don’t feel any special changes while gaining weight with proper fluid intake throughout the day while visiting the sauna, then using this procedure for additional weight loss is fraught with dangerous consequences, although it will help drain almost all the excess water.

During training, the body greatly accelerates the heart. This stimulates the formation of lactic acid, but most importantly, the heart, like any other muscle group, has a sensitivity threshold, after which it begins to work worse, i.e. get tired.

As a rule, athletes' training during drying is characterized by increased cardio load. Accordingly, the pulse zone is in the range between fat burning and the formation of scar tissue, however, with the right approach to training, this does not lead to negative consequences. At the same time, after training, the heart is in a state of fatigue, and it needs recovery before the next load. Due to pre-fatigue, it has increased excitability, so any load will lead to an increase in heart rate. A sauna increases heart rate to regulate temperature. In the short term, if you are very tired, you can easily get a heart attack. Another danger is excessive blood thickening, which will lead to the formation of a blood clot and instant death.

But even if you get enough fluid during the day and during the training process, the heart muscle in the sauna can remain for a long time in a state in which micro-tears will be overgrown not with muscle tissue, but with connective tissue. As a result, in just a month you will turn from a healthy person into a disabled person suffering from serious heart failure.

How to properly visit the sauna after training

How to properly go to the sauna after training to minimize harm and benefit? There are a few simple recommendations, which will help protect you from heart attack and other unpleasant consequences.

1. Do not use the sauna during heavy workouts, so as not to accelerate the heart rate.
2. Do not use a sauna while drying due to excessive dehydration, especially in the last stages.
3. Close the protein and carbohydrate window at least 10 minutes before taking a sauna. Only in this case will you reduce the effect caused by the training process.
4. Do not use the sauna if you feel nauseous or feel unwell.
5. Replenish your body's fluid balance in advance. The preferred option is mineral water with a strong alkaline addition (medicinal).
6. While in the sauna, have an additional source of fluid nearby.
7. Never leave the sauna abruptly.
8. Do not bring the air temperature and humidity to uncomfortable levels.
9. Do not spend more than 40 minutes in the sauna. In the case of an infrared sauna, the period is even shorter.

Types of water treatments and their effect on the body

Let's consider how different types saunas, hammams and steam baths affect the body, and how a classic sauna is useful after a workout.

Procedure	Impact principle	Impact on the athlete's body
Hammam	Turkish bath with a swimming pool integrated into it. Low steam influence – high humidity.	Increases sweating, stimulates the reduction of body fat and additional energy loss associated with the body's thermoregulation. The presence of a swimming pool nearby allows you to avoid dehydration during the procedure. Has an extremely high load on the cardiovascular vascular system. Reduces the synthesis of new protein and glycogen. Stimulates the release of endorphins.
Dry sauna, electric sauna	Using dry air heating to create minimal sweating while heating the body at a high intensity.	Dry air stimulates your own sweating, but its intensity is incomparable with the increased load on the body. cardiovascular system. Stimulates the release of endorphins. Does not cause dehydration and is excellent in fighting colds. For sporting achievements it is meaningless. Has an extremely high load on the cardiovascular system. Reduces the synthesis of new protein and glycogen.
Infrared sauna	Heating exclusively the body without the external environment.	The effectiveness of such a sauna is extremely doubtful.
Bathhouse with brooms, wet sauna, Russian bathhouse	A wet water procedure with a mechanical abrasive effect on the skin.	Increased sweating, acceleration of fat deposits and loss of energy associated with the body's thermoregulation. Has an extremely high load on the cardiovascular system. Reduces the synthesis of new protein and glycogen.
Combined procedures	Involves the use of a contrast shower after the main warm-up procedure.	A contrast shower after warming up reduces the load on the vascular system, but can lead to fainting due to a sharp change in internal pressure.

Destroying myths about the infrared sauna

What are the benefits of an infrared sauna after a workout? Nothing! Despite the fact that it warms up the body faster and more accurately without warming up the ambient air, it does not bring any benefit to the body.

At the same time, the use of infrared radiation is fraught with very unpleasant consequences:

• Overheating of the body. Due to the low humidity of the environment, the body does not always cope with thermoregulation on its own, since it does not have the main conductor of heat capacity - water.
• Change in internal pressure. The body heats up separately from the entire environment.
• Lack of moisture leads to dehydration without further replenishment.

Note: You can just as easily sunbathe. Despite their relative benefits, they will be identical in effectiveness to an infrared sauna.

Results

So, is it possible to go to the sauna after training? If you have a healthy heart and normal blood vessels, a sauna, like any other water procedures, will not cause you any significant harm. However, remember that the sauna is first and foremost hygiene procedure, which does not have a pronounced positive effect on recovery processes.

A sauna, or dry air bath, is a method of physiotherapy that combines hot dry air and cold fresh water that affect the body. This procedure has been successfully used as helper method treatment of many diseases, but if used incorrectly it can cause harm to the patient more harm than benefit. What effects a sauna has on the human body, in what cases this method of treatment is indicated and contraindicated, as well as the design of a sauna and the procedure used will be discussed in our article.

Sauna design and parameters

A modern sauna includes several rooms:

• locker room;
• sweat room - a chamber in which heating occurs;
• cooling room containing a swimming pool and showers.

The thermal chamber (sweating room), as a rule, has a volume of no more than 40 m3 and is equipped with an electric fireplace or a stone stove - the main source of hot air. Several (usually 3) rows of wooden shelves are located next to the heat source at different heights.

In most cases, the pool has a depth of up to 1.5 m and an area of ​​6 to 8 m2.

The air temperature and humidity in the sweat room depend on the height of the shelves:

• at floor level the temperature is approximately 40 ° C and the humidity is from 20 to 60%;
• on the bottom shelf - 50 ° C and 13-27%;
• on the middle shelf - 60 ° C and 8-23%;
• on the top shelf - 80 ° C and 3-10%;
• under the ceiling of the room - 100 ° C and 2-5%, respectively.

That is, as the air temperature increases, its humidity, on the contrary, decreases.

The water temperature in a bath or pool ranges from 10 to 28 ° C.

There is a type of sauna called a hammam, which has 2 sweat rooms. In the first of them the air temperature is 30 ° C, and in the second it is 45 ° C and gradually rises to 60 ° C.

Sauna effects

While in the sweat room, the patient experiences the effects on his body of thermal radiation from a heat source, heated walls and ceiling, plus hot air of low humidity. To increase air movement in the sauna, use special brooms made from branches and leaves of birch, oak or other plants. In addition, when quilting the skin with such a broom, the blood flow in it significantly increases. Also, in order to enhance the flow of absorbed heat, a so-called steam boost is created - they simply water the heater stones with cold fresh water. As a result of the subsequent evaporation in the sweat room, both temperature and humidity increase for some time.

The thermal factor at low absolute and relative air humidity causes a spasm of blood vessels in the skin and subcutaneous fat, which, through a short time is replaced by their expansion, as a result, blood flow increases 3-5 times. These changes are carried out due to the accelerated synthesis under sauna conditions of mediators - local regulators of blood flow - bradykinin, histamine and prostaglandins.

Intense centripetal flows of impulses from skin structures sensitive to high temperatures activate thermosensitive nerve cells of the hypothalamus, in which centrifugal flows of impulses are formed and spread along the fibers of the autonomic nervous system to the sweat glands. As a result of these processes, sweating and evaporation from the skin surface significantly increases. During a steam boost, due to increased humidity, the intensity of sweat evaporation decreases.

As the air temperature in the sweat room increases, sweating increases proportionally, the volume of sweat varies from 200 ml to 2 liters. Superficial tissues heat up to 40-42°C, and the temperature of internal organs increases by 1°C. The temperature quickly normalizes as the body cools, and the amount of fluid lost in sweat is replenished within several days.

Activation under conditions of elevated temperature of central temperature-sensitive cells nerve cells hypothalamus leads to an increase in heart rate, which steadily progresses, especially when the patient is on the upper shelves of the sweat room and in vertical position. Diastolic (“lower”) blood pressure and blood flow velocity tend to decrease, which promotes expansion coronary vessels heart and increased contractility.

The hot sauna air inhaled by the patient stimulates the dilation of the bronchi, a decrease in the secretion of their mucous secretions, a decrease in the resistance of lung tissue, and an increase in the rate of gas exchange in their distal parts - the alveoli. Intense evaporation of sweat from the surface of the tracheobronchial tree leads to an improvement in its patency, which entails an increase in the depth and frequency (up to 22-24 per minute) of breathing.

The effect of a steam bath on the neurons of the posterior hypothalamus leads to activation of the sympathetic nervous system and increased synthesis of some pituitary hormones, in particular adrenocorticotropic, somatotropic, luteotropic and others. As a result of these changes, attacks of bronchial asthma are eliminated and immunity disorders in rheumatological diseases are weakened.

The high temperature of the sweat helps to activate the processes of basal metabolism (by a quarter) and tissue respiration (up to 2 times), accelerate the absorption of oxygen by tissues by 30-60% and the processes of excretion of catecholamines in the urine.

Unfortunately, the sauna does not affect the level of lipids in the blood, which means it does not slow down the formation processes atherosclerotic plaques and does not reduce the risk of myocardial ischemia.

As part of intensely secreted sweat, the body loses urea, ketone bodies, creatine, potassium, sodium, chlorine, magnesium ions, and some amino acids. For this reason, he experiences dehydration. A deficiency of intercellular fluid causes an increase in blood hematocrit, the level of leukocytes, platelets, and a decrease in pH. The fibrinolytic activity of the blood is significantly reduced.

The release of protein metabolic products through sweat has a beneficial effect on the kidneys, reducing the load on them. As a result of a decrease in the processes of filtration and reabsorption (reabsorption) in the glomeruli of the kidneys, the amount of urine excreted by the patient decreases - diuresis.

Lymph drainage and blood flow in the venules are activated, which leads to an increase in skin turgor and elasticity, a decrease in swelling and pastiness of tissues.

The following effects are associated with immersing the patient in water after the heating procedure. At the same time, norepinephrine is released and the skin vessels reflexively narrow. An increase in blood pressure is also detected, cardiac output and an increase in oxygen consumption by the heart muscle. Spasm of the coronary vessels of the heart can cause an attack of angina pectoris in predisposed patients. Ventilation of the lungs in cold water increases, and the respiratory rate and carbon dioxide tension in the blood decrease. The lumen of the bronchi narrows, this can cause an attack of bronchial asthma in a predisposed patient.

Being in a sauna involves alternating exposure of the sick body to hot air and cold water. These procedures stimulate the functioning of the main systems of the body - respiratory and cardiovascular. As a result, blood pressure stabilizes and heart rate decreases. Thermoregulation improves.

10-15 dry air bath procedures lasting 1.5-2 hours each, carried out once a week, reduce fatigue, cause positive motivation, relax muscles, create a feeling of vigor, and form a person’s sustainable adaptation to damaging environmental factors.

Summarizing the above, it is worth noting the following medicinal effects saunas:

• vasoactive (effects on blood vessels);
• thermoadaptive (increasing the body’s resistance to the effects of temperature factors);
• diaphoretic (stimulation of sweating);
• psychorelaxing (I think the term does not need to be deciphered);
• metabolic (acceleration of metabolic processes);
• trophic (improving blood and lymph flow);
• secretory (stimulation of the synthesis of many hormones);
• dehydrating (removing excess fluid from the body).

Indications and contraindications for dry air baths

Visiting the sauna is good for health, but there are also contraindications to this procedure.

The effect of sauna healing factors on the body is beneficial for the following diseases:

• essential hypertension (hypertension) stage 1;
• vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• tracheitis, bronchitis;
• arthrosis;
• osteoarthritis;
• increased muscle tone;
• urinary incontinence (enuresis);
• vertebrogenic radiculopathies;
• paralysis (only mild);
• rheumatic disease in an inactive form;
• obesity;
• chronic hepatitis;
• biliary dyskinesia;
• chronic glomerulonephritis in the stage of stable remission;
• urolithiasis with small diameter stones;
• cystitis;
• dermatitis;
• psoriasis;
• eczema;
• neurodermatitis.

In some cases, a sauna will not bring benefit to the patient, and may even cause harm. Such diseases are contraindications:

• acute infectious and non-infectious inflammatory processes of any localization;
• chronic heart failure stage I-II;
• angina pectoris above functional class II;
• pulmonary heart;
• myocarditis;
• endocarditis;
• pericarditis;
• mitral valve stenosis;
• essential hypertension stages II and III;
• hyperfunction of the thyroid gland;
• diabetes;
• climacteric disorders;
• chronic kidney disease;
• glaucoma;
• decompensated autonomic disorders;
• psychopathy and psychosis;
• pregnancy;
• The patient's age is over 60 years.

The body's reaction to the sauna: periods

Conventionally, when taking a dry air bath, there are 3 periods:

1. Period of short-term adaptation. Skin, subcutaneous fatty tissue And skeletal muscles consistently and gradually warm up. The heating rate decreases when sweating processes are activated - 5-7 minutes after entering the sweat room.
2. A period of intense and deep warming up. Are heating up internal organs. During this period, all body systems experience maximum heat load. The rate of evaporation of sweat from the surface of the body is as high as possible. If the procedures are inadequately dosed, the result of this period may be overheating of the body, the symptoms of which are an increase in body temperature to 39°C, dizziness, severe vegetative disorders ( headache, palpitations, heart pain, shortness of breath, weakness and others).
3. The period of recovery from hyperthermia. While the patient is in cold water, the tension of the heat transfer mechanisms is replaced by their relaxation. Body temperature quickly drops to normal values. This period should not be shortened - this may result in hypothermia, leading to a cold.

Technique of the procedure

The duration of the heating phase, as a rule, ranges from 8 to 20 minutes (depending on the patient’s tolerance to heat and the height of its location in the sweat room). The duration of the cooling phase depends on its resistance to cold and is an individual value. Heating and cooling are repeated 2-3 times in 1 session.

• The patient in the locker room takes off his clothes, rests for 10 minutes, takes a warm shower, washes his body with soap, and wipes himself dry.
• He enters the sweat room and sits on a shelf of a suitable height (depending on his heat tolerance) sitting or lying down.
• If the patient tolerates the temperature of this level of sweating well, he should rise to the level and remain there until a burning sensation occurs when inhaling.
• 3-4 minutes before leaving the sweat room, the patient pours 250-500 ml of water or a solution of aromatic substances onto the heat source.
• After leaving the sweat room, he douses himself with cold water, takes a shower, lies down in a bath, or dives into a pool of cold water.
• Repeat the steps described above 2-3 times.
• After the last exit from the sweat room, the patient washes himself with soap in the shower, wipes himself dry and stays in the rest room for half an hour.
• Before entering the sweat room and after the last exit from it, you can take a warm (35-40°C) foot bath for 5 minutes.
• During the procedure, it is allowed to take liquid on demand, but in small portions.

Proper use of a sauna gives the patient a feeling of vigor and freshness. A feeling of fatigue is a sign of an inadequate temperature regime for a particular patient.

As mentioned above, the course of treatment is 10-15 visits to the sauna, each procedure lasting up to 2 hours and with an interval between them of 5-7 days. A repeat course is possible no earlier than after 2-3 months.

Combination of therapeutic factors

The sauna goes well with such physiotherapy procedures as manual therapy, and ultraviolet radiation.

In conclusion of the article, I would like to repeat that a dry-air bath, or sauna, is undoubtedly a very useful procedure in many cases, but in a number of pathologies this kind of thermal effects are categorically contraindicated. If you have any acute or chronic diseases, please check with your doctor whether you are allowed to use the sauna - this way you will not cause harm to your body.