Sauna History

A sauna is a small room or an abode specifically designed to let sauna bathers experience wet or dry heat sessions. A typical sauna session could be a social situation in which the bathers get undressed and sit or lie down in temperatures greater than 80 °C.  A sauna bath not only provides relaxation to the bathers but also make them sweat profusely. In fact its popularity can be attributed to numerous health benefits such as stress reduction, detoxification of the body, improved immunity system and lots more to its bathers.

The word sauna is an ancient Finnish word which means the traditional Finnish bath. The oldest known saunas were basically lowest points dug in a slope in the ground and mainly used as dwellings during winters. At that time the sauna comprised a fireside where stones were heated up to a very high temperature. Thereafter water was thrown on to the hot stones that lead to the production of steam and heat. The increased heat would raise the temperature so high that people used to take off their clothes.

With time the sauna developed and it featured a metal woodstove along with a chimney. Air temperatures were set at 70 to 80 degrees Celsius but at times exceeded up to 90 degrees Celsius in a traditional Finnish sauna. Also, steam vapor was produced by spraying water onto the heated rocks.

The steam vapor and high heat made bathers to perspire a lot. The Finns also used a vihta which is a bundle of birch branches with small and fresh leaves. They used to bind the branches together and gently swat themselves and other bathers with it. This process is still being practiced by many sauna bathers as vihta stimulates the pores and cells, that is, it improves blood circulation. Also, the pleasing birch odour helps in relaxation.

The sauna is a good stress buster. It provides relief from stress in two ways. One way is the natural relaxation you would feel when you spend time in a dry or wet sauna. The other way needs to be explained as it is more technical. When your skin heats up during the steam bath a greater amount of chemicals leave your body. These chemicals are the cause of stress, thus in the sauna your body slows the formation of the chemicals apart from reducing their amount in the body.

Furthermore, your body releases much of the toxins through the skin. Actually toxins get released through the pores of the skin when you sweat. As mentioned earlier sauna induces sweating that ultimately detoxifies the body.

In Finland sauna baths are done on a regular basis as Finns considered saunas to be a natural and the best way to cleanse the mind and revitalize and refresh the spirit. The sauna was and it is still an important part of their daily life. Families there used to bathe together in the home sauna. It will be interesting for you to know that Finnish women used to give birth in the sauna.

When the Finns migrated to the different parts of the globe they disseminated the know how of the sauna designs and customs. They introduced health benefits of the sauna to the other cultures. This helped sauna to evolve further and then electric sauna stoves and far infrared saunas came in which became quite popular. Since then different cultures in every corner of the world have been recognizing, adopting and improvising the sauna.