Keeping you Healthy this Holiday Season
Posted: December 15, 2020The holiday season is here, a time where our thoughts are on the ones we love and a time to look back on another year now coming to an end. We know its been a challenging year both mentally and physically for so many of us. While we cannot always control the environment around us, we can however control how we practice wellness in our daily lives. At Aqua Quip we know we have the perfect wellness solution for you at home this holiday season. Nothing is more reinvigorating than a deep, relaxing sauna bathing in your own home. A few minutes a day is all it takes to feel better and stay healthier this holiday season.
Here are a few of the top health benefits of sauna bathing:
1. Sauna Helps Fight Illness
Medical research shows that saunas were able to significantly reduce the incidences of colds and influenza amongst participants. As the body is exposed to the heat of a sauna it produces white blood cells more rapidly, which in turn helps to fight illnesses and helps to kill viruses. In addition, saunas can also relieve the uncomfortable symptoms of sinus congestion from colds or allergies.
2. Sauna Burns Calories
Did you know that a hot sauna can burn just as many calories as a run? The raised temperature stimulates sweating and a calorie burn in the same way as when the body temperature is raised through physical activity. The body consumes said calories due to the acceleration of heart activity. As heart activity increases and as these processes demand more oxygen, the body begins to convert more calories into usable energy.1
3. Sauna Improves Cardiovascular Performance
In the high temperatures of a traditional or infrared sauna, skin heats up and core body temperature rises. In response to these increased heat levels, the blood vessels near the skin dilate and “cardiac output” increases. Research has shown that regular sauna bathing may dramatically lower the risk of suffering from heart disease.2 Regular sauna usage has been proven to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality and fatal cardiac incidents along with reduced risk of stroke and hypertension.3
4. Sauna Relieves Stress
Sauna use can help the body and mind adapt to stress and reduce the risk of depression and other mental disorders. The heat in the sauna helps us to relax and regulates the level of cortisol in our blood. Cortisol is the hormone that is released when we are stressed and too high levels of cortisol can lead to a number of health issues such as problems with the immune system and with sleeping. Sauna bathing reduces the levels of cortisol in our blood and instead stimulates the production of serotonin. Serotonin is our “happy hormone” that makes us feel good helping to therapeutically ward off the effects of depression and anxiety.4
5. Sauna can Induce a Deeper Sleep
Research has shown that a deeper, more relaxed sleep can result from sauna use. In addition to the release of endorphins, body temperatures, which become elevated in the late evening, fall at bedtime. This slow, relaxing decline in endorphins is key in facilitating sleep. It is this cooling-down process and your body’s return to normal temperatures after the sauna that will lull you off to sleep, leaving you calm and relaxed enough to sleep soundly through the night.4
6. Saunas Flush Toxins
Due to the heat of a sauna, the core body temperature begins to rise. Sweat production is primarily designed to cool the body, and is composed of 99% water. However, deep sweating in a sauna can help reduce levels of lead, copper, zinc, nickel, mercury and chemicals.5
7. Sauna Cleanses Skin
Taking regular saunas, especially steamy ones, can have a truly transformative effect on the skin’s appearance. The elevated heat and the increased sweating and circulation stimulates the production of collagen and deeply cleanses and rejuvenates your skin.6 Don’t forget to rehydrate, both from the inside, drinking plenty of water, and externally with a nice moisturizing lotion.
8. Sauna Aids in Exercise Recovery
Sauna bathing has been shown to help people recover more quickly from exercise by easing joint and muscle pain and eliminating lactic acid build-up.5 Regular sauna use may also benefit strength training through improved recovery and muscle growth through the increased growth hormones.6
A lot of people are rethinking gym and health club routines and memberships right now, and a home sauna is an affordable alternative. Having a family friendly home amenity that provides 24/7 access to detoxification and relaxation has never been more important. Your health and the health of your family matters and that is why we are offering great deals on Finnleo Saunas and fully virtual product demonstrations during our Heat Up the Holidays Sales Event! Click here to see our Finnleo sauna selection today!
- Dean, Ward. “Effect of Sweating.” JAMA, American Medical Association, 7 Aug. 1981, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/ article-abstract/360118.
- Laukkanen, Tanjaniina. “Sauna Bathing and Mortality.” JAMA, American Medical Association, 1 Apr. 2015, jamanetwork.com/journals/ jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2130724.
- “Scientists Uncover Why Sauna Bathing Is Good for Your Health.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 5 Jan. 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2018/01/180105124005.htm.
- “7 Benefits of Having a Home Sauna.” Finnleo, April 3, 2020, https://www.finnleo.com/finnleo-blog/7-benefits-of-having-a-home-sauna
- ProHealth.com • December 21, 2005. “To Sweat or Not to Sweat? Saunas and Detoxification.” Prohealth, 21 Mar. 2018, www.prohealth.com/library/to-sweat-or-not-to-sweat-saunas-anddetoxification-22920.
- Iguchi, Masaki, et al. “Heat Stress and Cardiovascular, Hormonal, and Heat Shock Proteins in Humans.” Journal of Athletic Training, vol. 47, no. 2, 2012, pp. 184–190., doi:10.4085/1062-6050-47.2.184., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3418130/
- Patrick, Rhonda. “Hyperthermic Conditioning’s Role In Increasing Endurance, Muscle Mass, and Neuro genesis.” Found My Fitness, www.foundmyfitness.com/reports/sauna-report.pdf.