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Mikrodermabrazja kontra sauna - Która metoda pielęgnacji skóry jest lepsza?
Risks
Overall, saunas are safe for most people. But if you have certain health conditions, you should avoid using saunas.
For example, individuals who have kidney disease, are pregnant, had a recent heart attack, have unstable angina (chest pain), or have severe aortic stenosis (narrowing of the heart's major artery) should avoid the sauna.
Concerns about sauna use include:
- Dehydration: During a sauna session, an average person will expel a pint of sweat through their pores. This releases toxins, but requires replacing the water lost to avoid getting dehydrated.
- Changes in blood pressure: During a session in the sauna, blood pressure can increase and decrease, while pulse rate can jump by 30% or more. This doubles the amount of blood that the heart pumps by the minute. As such, it is important to talk to a healthcare professional before going to a sauna if you have a heart condition.
Does Sauna Use Kill Sperm?
Frequent sauna use may affect spermatogenesis, which is the origin and development of sperm cells. Therefore, people with testicles who are actively pursuing parenthood may want to refrain from regular sauna use.
Table of Contents
- Sauna Culture in Sweden: A Tradition of Relaxation and Rejuvenation
- Centralbadet
- Hellasgården
- Sturebadet
- Ribersborgs Kallbadhus
- Yasuragi
The love for saunas in Sweden has deep roots that link it to the surrounding Scandinavian countries, with Finland often recognized as the birthplace of sauna culture. Saunas have been an integral part of the lifestyle in this region since ancient times, functioning not only as a place for relaxation and personal hygiene, but also as locations of social gatherings and even healing.
“In the heart of Stockholm or by a serene lake, find your moment of peace in the age-old ritual of Swedish saunas.”
Cool off with a Cold Shower or Cold Plunge
Your post-sauna routine is all about transitioning from the intense heat of the sauna to a cooler environment. Saunas change the activity in your body, so when you step out you need to cool off and recover to return your body to its normal functioning.
Cooling off with a cold shower or cold plunge is important for a number of reasons and processes, including lowering your skin temperature, closing your pores, cooling airways and lungs, stabilizing your blood pressure and circulation, redirecting blood flow to your core organs, as well as the stimulation of muscles.
As your body heats inside the sauna, your heart beats faster and your blood pressure rises in order to divert blood flow away from internal organs and to your skin. Your pores then dilate so you perspire efficiently, flushing your body of toxins.
While this process brings many health benefits, it’s unhealthy to keep your body in this heat-activated state for a long period of time. It’s crucial that you cool off before resuming normal activity after a sauna session.
Some people enjoy more extreme cooling techniques after leaving the sauna. Unless you have underlying medical conditions, such as heart or respiratory problems, anemia, Raynaud’s syndrome, kidney disease, or infections, cryotherapy can quickly help your body cool off after sauna use (see our article about cryotherapy for more information about this cooling method).
Eat Nutritious Food to Replenish Minerals and Vitamins Like Sodium
The best way to replace lost electrolytes and other nutrients are not just by drinking plenty of nourishing fluids but also by eating nutritious foods. It’s important to eat a healthy snack as part of your post-sauna routine. You might notice that you crave salt when you leave the sauna.
That’s because of the lost electrolytes, especially sodium. While it’s tempting to grab a bag of chips or other high-sodium junk food, doing so is unhealthy and doesn’t add the right amount of sodium back into your system. Remember why you are embracing the sauna life in the first place.
Quite likely, you are doing it for positive health benefits. Enhance the benefits with the right foods to replace lost minerals the good way. Among foods that can replace water and nutrients lost to sauna sweating are green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, watercress, and collard greens, beets, nuts, bananas as well as foods that are high in water like melon and pineapple.
Because your body’s circulation hasn’t fully returned to normal and your digestive system isn’t experiencing adequate blood supply, avoid eating large and/or heavy meals. Stick to a small snack instead. This is where drinking beverages with electrolytes can be very helpful because it supplies your body with the minerals it lost without requiring intense digestion and can speed your recovery time.
Adding electrolytes to your water can be as easy as adding Hi-Lyte Sugar-Free Electrolyte Powder (on Amazon). A convenient way to snack and hydrate after the sauna is to make a smoothie (you can even add electrolytes to it) ahead of time. Step out of the sauna, keep sipping water, cool off in the shower, and then grab your smoothie out of the fridge and relax.
Other Things to Do After the Sauna
After you’ve showered, put on loose-fitting, comfortable clothes so you don’t get too warm and thus restart the sweating process within your body. Sit or lie down for at least 10 minutes to allow your heart rate and circulation to return to baseline.
It can be both helpful and refreshing to get some fresh air and do some deep breathing. Slow, deep breathing cools the airways, slows your heart rate, and, like the sauna itself, contributes to stress relief and relaxation.
Once you’ve begun to rest and recover, you might help your muscles recuperate by doing some light stretching, using a foam roller like this one (on Amazon), or massaging out knots and soreness with a handheld massage gun (on Amazon).
If you use a sauna at night before bed, avoid using the TV, your phone, or other screen devices to relax. Sleep experts warn that these interfere in sleep, thus defeating one of the benefits of saunas. Saunas are an excellent addition to a healthy lifestyle and can be great for your whole body. Adopting this simple four-step post-sauna routine can help you recover quickly and continue to reap the benefits.
