Saunas have been around for years. Here, in Canada, they may have waned in popularity, but sales in the last few years are on the upswing.
General Manager of California Spa & Fitness, Tom Sampson has been selling spa equipment in London for years. He says he remembers, 25-30 years ago, when there were more saunas in London than anything else. They were eclipsed by hot tubs, but with the advent of new technologies sales are on the rise again.
“Saunas are coming back stronger [than hot tubs]. The infrared are much stronger than the traditional, right now, but traditional’s growing as well. We’re finding more and more demand.”
Traditional dry heat sauna, with an electric stove.
Photo by Tamara Thornton
Saunas can be divided into three categories:
- Dry heat (traditional)
- Wet heat (steam rooms)
- Infrared
Each type of heat does something different for the body.
Graeme Thomas is a physiologist and a professor of Fanshawe’s Fitness and Health program. He says the different types of heat, particularly wet and dry, cause different types of stresses, but heat in general has some major effects on the body.
“The major thing that’s going to happen is, as your core temperature starts to go up you’re going to try to attempt to cool. You always want to try to stay in a fairly narrow range internally.”
One of the ways your body attempts to cool itself is by sweating. Another thing your body will do, to cool down, is send your blood from your internal organs out towards your skin. Thomas says these things will happen when you get into a sauna.
“One of the benefits of sauna use is improvement in circulation.”
Thermometer and Hygrometer – measure the heat and humidity in a sauna.
Photo by Tamara Thornton
He says this benefit is something that happens in a dry heat sauna rather than a wet heat. Your body will have the same reaction to the heat, but when you’re in a wet, humid environment the sweat on your skin won’t evaporate and cause the cooling effect.
“The risk for the steam bath is actually quite a lot higher than the dry, low humidity environment of a Finnish sauna.”
As for infrared saunas, they use light waves to heat the body. The heat in this type of sauna will penetrate deeper than a traditional or wet heat sauna, so they’re often used by people who have joint stiffness or arthritis.
The benefits of saunas are numerous:
- improved circulation
- cleaner/clearer skin
- improved muscle/joint movement
- relaxation
- acclimation to heat
Picture courtesy of Pixabay
Thomas says there are also risks to exposing your body to heat in a sauna.
“Too much heat stress is definitely problematic.”
Dehydration and loss of body mass are concerns if you stay in a sauna too long.
And there is the possibility of shock if you don’t allow your body to cool properly before going from an extremely hot environment (like a sauna) to an extremely cold environment (like snow or a cold pool).
Thomas adds that age is also a factor.
“For people who have blood flow issues/blood pressure issues… If all the blood has been driven to the skin, because you’re in a hot environment and all of a sudden you jump back into a cold environment that blood is trying to get back in to protect the internal organs. Sometimes it causes an acute drop in blood pressure… It can almost shock the circulatory system too much.”
What it comes down to is common sense. If you listen to your body when inside a sauna the benefits can far outweigh the risks.
Tour of a Finnish country sauna
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