We all go through stress daily and some can deal with it better than others can. Too much stress can cause major health problems and it’s always good to deal with stress before it takes over your life.

One way people have always fought stress and everyday life problems over and over for decades is by sauna bathing.

People who sauna bathe daily can definitely see the difference that it makes in their everyday life increasing their energy levels, happiness and overall well being.

There are two different types of sauna; a dry sauna and a steam one. Both similar but with different health benefits.

Sauna Benefits

Sauna has positive effects on our body’s blood circulation. A sauna session could help your muscles relax and make your arthritis pain go away.

Saunas can reach as high as 200° F making the average person pour out a pint of sweat during a 15 minute session. This helps our body detox while increasing our heart rate by 30% doubling the amount of blood it pumps each minute![pullquote_right]15 minutes in a dry heat (stone) sauna disposes of impurities that would take the kidneys 24 hours to remove![/pullquote_right]

Dry Sauna Benefits

A dry sauna uses hot rocks to elevate the temperature in the room and you body’s temperature.
Sauna benefits from a dry sauna are -

• Heavy Detox – Our bodies release toxins through our skin pores from sweat. Our skin pores open up when exposed to hear or relatively high temperature allowing sweat to pour out from them with daily toxins leaving a health skin glow from deep skin cleansing. Toxins in your body could cause high levels of stress, diseases & age you faster. Some of the toxins released during a sauna sessions are; cholesterol, sodium, nickel, cadmium, sulfuric acid and lead.

• Stress – Of course releasing all those bad toxins from your body will dramatically decrease the level of stress in your life, sauna rejuvenate the body while making you feel relaxed with minimum to none muscle pain and body aches. Right after a hard workout session or a long day at work, try out a 15-20 minute sauna session and see the amazing feeling it delivers to your muscles, body and mind.

• Calories – If you would like to burn some unwanted calories while removing toxins and harmful chemicals from your body, the sauna will burn 300 calories in 20 minutes. Due to it’s high temperature the heart rate increase causes your metabolism to increase making it burn the calories right off.

• Circulation – The heart gets to double the amount of blood it usually pumps while resting, therefore the amount of blood the travels through your veins can benefit you from cardiovascular diseases. The warm atmosphere inside the sauna also expands your blood vessels as well while relaxing them at the same time.

You lose a quart of water in a 20 minute sauna session.

• Cleanse Skin – Out of all the sauna benefits this one will be the most noticeable one. Our skin is the largest organ through out your whole body and it requires regular detoxification flushing. A dry sauna is so hot that it will make your pores open up and flush out all the bad toxins while pumping lots of blood right under your skin! This will cleanse out any acne, eczema and other skin imperfections such as un-even skin tone. It’s an amazing rejuvenating feeling and should go in the sauna for 15-25 minutes two to three times per week to see max results.

• Stress – A quick benefit you will notice right away from the first day is relaxation and stress levels low to none. Even though the temperature is higher than a steam sauna, a dry one delivers a lot more health benefits but if you’re looking to just drop your stress levels and relax while rejuvenating your body, then definitely the steam one is a winner.

• Cholesterol – Many Americans suffer from high cholesterol and are being prescribed to medications that don’t cure it instead of educating the patient that a sauna can lower bad cholesterol through sweating. Ofcourse it won’t happen overnight but it will definately benefit you, not only lowering your cholesterol but also helping you sweat out cadmium, sodium and sulfuric acid at the same time! No medicine will ever do that.
• Virus / Cold – The sauna speeds up your metabolic processes of vital organs and inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The high temperatures in the room create a fever reaction that kills dangerous viruses and bacteria while increasing leukocytes in the blood and this causes your immune system to strengthen. Dry saunas can help get rid of the virus and bacteria in your body causing you to be sick, while the steam one open’s up your lungs, airways and cleans up congestion.

Steam Sauna Benefits

Steam sauna has less health benefits than the dry one but it also has benefits that the dry one doesn’t. It delivers it’s strong therapeutic effects through it’s hot steam making the room as humid as possible.

• Cardiovascular – Your blood flow and circulation increases during a steam bath. Don’t worry about your blood pressure because it does not change during a steam bath even though your hear rate could double. The high temperature in the steam room causes your blood vessels to expand and that’s how your circulation increases. This could also benefit circulation at your genital area.

• Fever / Common Cold – Both saunas work the same way when it comes down to getting rid of the flue and common cold. The high temperatures in the room causes your body to think that you are sick making your body’s natural defense killing the organisms and sweating out impurities. The steam also stimulates a discharge of mucous from the throat and lungs if any is there! That’s something the dry one can’t do.

• Deep Skin Cleanse – The steam sauna can cleanse out your skin from deep within. It cleanses you skin better than the dry sauna because it doesn’t dry it out. If you’re focusing on cleansing out the skin, go into the dry one for 15 minutes and then into the steam one for another 25 minutes. Remember to rest in a cool area for 10 minutes before entering the steam one and to always drink lots of water. The only way for the sauna to cleanse out your skin is by flushing it over and over with water you put in your body. Ones you stop drinking water and you start dehydrating, then your body will start burning calories instead of cleansing and detoxing.

• Muscle Spasms & Pains – The hot steam penetrating your skin into the muscles causes inflammation to lower and the arthritis pain and muscle pain to vanish. It won’t make your arthritis pain go away, but it can definitely make those pain killer pills end up in the trash before they damage your liver. A lot of patients have given positive feedback when it comes to relieving back pain, wrist pain, shoulder pain and knee pain.

• Fat Metabolism – This one usually depends on the amount of water you drink before and during your sauna sessions. Drinking lot’s of water is good and healthy, but when it comes down to burning calories and unwanted fat then you have to put the water water. Of course you wouldn’t sit as long as you normally would sit in there while keeping your self hydrated with water before and during the session. You’re body is thirsty for water and since there’s none present.. it start’s to activate it’s fat burning metabolism while burning fat to survive.

• Hydrates Skin – A steam room can hydrate your skin because it causes oxygen to rush to the surface giving your skin a bright and dewy appearance. Dry skin isn’t healthy and definitely not attractive, so right after your done with your steam bath, apply an intense moisturizer to trap moisture to skin. This will rejuvenate your skin and keep it looking and feeling young.

Dry Sauna Benefits

• Detox Body & Organs (sodium, cholesterol, nicotine, alcohol)
• Detox heavy metals (cadmium, lead, zinc, nickel)
• Increase Blood Circulation (expanding blood vessels)
• Relieve Arthritis, Damaged Muscle, Muscle Spasms, Bursitis, Neuralgia & Sprains
• Recover Faster (delivers oxygen-rich blood to depleted muscles)
• Eliminate Stiffness, Aches & Soreness (from aging or workout)
• Increase Fat Metabolism
• Kill Viruses & Bacteria (common cold, fever)
• Treats Cellulite
• Deep Skin Cleanse & Improve Blood Circulation to Skin

Steam Sauna Benefits

• Rejuvenate Mind & Body (stress)
• Detox Body
• Deep Skin Cleanse
• Improve Blood Circulation
• Increase Body Metabolism
• Boost Immune System
• Relieves Discomforts of Allergies, Arthritis and Asthma.
• Relax Muscles, Muscle Pain & Muscle Spasms
• Loosen Mucous from Throat and Lungs
• Hydrate Dry Skin
• Treats Cellulite

Sauna Tips

Both saunas could make you lose weight, detox and live a healthier happy life. They are both proven to be safe and the health benefits they offer are just fantastic and most of all natural.

If you’re trying to lose weight you should avoid drinking too much water before entering the sauna, during and 10 minutes after exiting. Why?

Your body is seeking fluids to flush out “burn” from your body, and ones you have no more water to sweat..that’s when it start’s to burn it’s own body fat to survive activating fat burning metabolism.

If you’re trying to detox and live a healthier life style while remaining the same weight, then drink plenty of fluids before, during and after you exit the sauna. Drinking water constantly will flush out everything from your body leaving you feeling rejuvenated and stress free!