Use sauna properly

Use sauna properly

Going to use sauna properly is the foundation of a relaxing spa day. Few ways to relax have stood the test of time over decades, even centuries, as much as visiting a sauna. Especially in the cold season, more and more people are regularly drawn back to the heat chamber, whether in public facilities or in the sauna at home, to sweat and protect themselves from colds by means of sauna. Regular visits to the sauna can therefore have an enormous effect on your well-being. We’ll now tell you how important it is to use sauna properly.

Why sauna is so healthy

Sauna is so healthy if you use sauna properly! This has not been a secret for a long time. Even the ancient Romans went to the spa to do something good for their bodies in the strongly heated steam bath. Regular visits keep the circulation going, stimulate the blood flow and improve the immune system. Especially the strong sweating of the skin has a positive effect on your body. Your body acts as a flushing system and the sweat as a means of transport. Thus, a large amount of toxins are flushed from your body by the above-average sweat output and your skin continues to be cleaned pore-deep. So not only the inside of your body benefits, but also your skin can convince with purity and a fresh glow.

Shower

Before your first sauna session, you should do one thing in any case: Shower! It is important to rid the skin of old sweat and dirt that has accumulated during the day. First and foremost, this is not only more hygienic for everyone involved, but it also ensures that your skin can start sweating faster. Old, dried sweat and dirt, as well as the natural greasy film of the skin can hinder the process, and in the worst case, this can cause your body to become too hot. After showering, you should also dry yourself off thoroughly. Why? Dry skin starts to sweat faster and therefore your body starts the cleansing process faster.

Nudity

Pants down

“It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes”! Just as Nelly sang about in his 2009 hit, it’s also time to take off your clothes when taking a real sauna. For many, however, with a more pronounced sense of shame, this is an uncomfortable hurdle. You don’t have to worry though. In the sauna, everyone is there just to relax and not to look away from you. Generally speaking, the light in most saunas is very dim anyway, so you can hardly make out any details anyway. If you still feel uncomfortable, you should definitely start with a gender-separated sauna for the time being or simply buy a sauna for your home. There you will feel more comfortable in the beginning. For the intimate area, you can also take a small separate towel with you to put over your sensitive areas. This way, no one will see your basement area and you can approach the matter in a more relaxed manner. But still, don’t get stressed out. As mentioned before: usually no one cares what goes on below the equator with you.

Hygienic aspect

The main argument of the sauna as a textile-free zone is the hygienic aspect. Some people do not understand why they are not allowed to visit the sauna in a bikini or swimming trunks. This is mainly due to the fact that a lot of sweat accumulates in swimwear. Especially when cooling down after a sauna session, it is a somewhat unappetizing idea to have all the sweat in the cooling pool. Furthermore, the majority of swimwear consists of synthetic materials that are exhaled in the heat and through sweating and become airborne, which is also not pleasant and certainly not conducive to good health.

Duration of your sweat session

How long you want to stay in the heat is up to you. No one will hold you down if you decide to end the sauna session early. A rough guide for you might be 8-12 minutes. In this time you will start to sweat and get your circulation going. In any case, your sauna session should not exceed 15 minutes. Remember: Your body is not a machine and needs time to recover. Even if it is good for your body, it is not used to such heat for longer periods of time and it is not designed for it. You should understand this if you have ever spent too much time in the sun in high summer and then suffered heat stroke. You can also vary between sauna sessions. The first round only 8 minutes, the second 10 minutes and the last sauna session 3 minutes longer. How you arrange the intervals, how often and how many rounds you do, is up to you. But always remember: Only as long as it feels good!

Up high or down low

Taking a sauna the right way – no matter if you’re a beginner or an experienced visitor: everyone thinks about the best place to take a seat when entering the chamber. You may be thinking, “Just peg where there’s a seat”. However, this is an assumption that can be fatal to your sauna experience. You have to remember that heat rises upwards, so it’s a lot hotter on the higher benches than on the benches at floor level. Especially as a beginner, when taking a proper sauna, don’t get too comfortable with the temperature or try to prove something to others and literally “start at the bottom”. Before you sit down, be sure to place your sauna towel on the bench. This is most pleasant for everyone involved, as no one will have to sit in your sweat later, and in the best case scenario, you will never have to sit in anyone else’s sweat.

Talk is silver, silence is gold!

The sauna room is a place to relax. During this time you should concentrate on yourself and your body. Nothing is more disturbing than some babble from other sauna-goers. This may seem a bit alienating for all the communicative people here, but it should be respected urgently. When entering the chamber, a friendly nod into the round is quite enough to satisfy the urge of a greeting and still not disturb anyone or destroy one or the other daydream. If you happen to meet someone you know and want to exchange ideas, wait until the end of the passage or leave the chamber quietly. However, there is nothing wrong with brief whispered inquiries. In particular, before you sit down, quietly inquire if the seat next to a person is still available to make sure you don’t intrude too much into a person’s spatial sphere. So in short: Don’t crowd anyone without being asked.

The boss in the sauna

For many, it’s a “worst case” scenario. You meet the boss, the teacher or the unloved neighbor in the sauna. In case it should ever happen to you: don’t panic! The worst thing you could do in this situation would be to leave the sauna room in shock. This will only make the situation more awkward and downright embarrassing for the next encounter. Just give him or her a friendly nod. That’s enough. There should be no unnecessary talking in the sauna anyway, and believe us: your boss certainly doesn’t want to talk to you at this moment any more than you want to talk to him or her. Just sit a few seats away, facing the same direction. This way you won’t offend anyone, your gaze won’t slip so easily and you can both relax and take a proper sauna. You should avoid sitting directly next to him, or directly across from him, as this quickly becomes too personal and simply too close. Depending on the level you are at with your boss, you should consider covering your private parts with a smaller towel. Likewise, the rule for you is: don’t check out what the boss has to offer!

Take your time in order to use sauna properly

Taking a proper sauna should first and foremost relax you. So don’t go to the sauna with time pressure. Nothing stresses you out more afterwards than constantly looking at your watch. Apart from the time aspect, your body should go through the sauna session calmly. Your body is already busy sweating to keep your body cool and can do without other problems like a high pulse. So before you enter the sauna, take a shower and perhaps drink a sip of water without getting stressed. You should not drink during the sauna. When you have done everything, slowly make your way to the chamber and enter it with a clear conscience.

Off to the cold

To enjoy the full effect of proper sauna, you should cool down your body afterwards. To do this, go outside in the cold season and stay there for a few minutes. You should wear as little as possible. For a stronger stimulus, the best known and most common form is probably the literal “jump into the cold water”. This serves not only to cool you down further, but also to toughen up your body! In order not to surprise your body too violently, you should hold your ankles in the cold water beforehand. In most sauna facilities there is a cold water pool in the outdoor area for this purpose. Was there a special location where you cooled down? Tell us about it in the comments section. For the not so tough minded, a cold shower is recommended. You can slowly control how fast you want to go with the shower. You should only work from the outside to the inside. Start with the feet and hands and work your way up to the heart. Taking a proper sauna also means cooling down properly after the sauna session.