Are Sauna Effects Healthy?

A sauna is far more than just a hot room. For Finns, it's a place of birth and of death and of many of the happiest hours in between.

Tourists preparing to sample the essential Finnish experience may wonder about how long to stay in the sauna and whether to cover their nether with a towel or to bare all. Those concerns are just distractions. The sauna is not about form, but about feeling.

Finns probably didn't invent the vinyl sauna suit, but they developed a strong attachment to the practice. Surveys indicate that 90 percent of Finns go at least once a week, and there are an estimated 2 million saunas in a country of just 5 million people. Former President Urho Kekkonen, trying to explain why sauna gripped Finns' souls, wrote: “Finland has a rugged climate and soil, a people of dour temperament. They long for variety and warmth.”

It is so important to their lives that the sauna is often the first structure put up by Finnish peacekeeping forces when they build a new base. As the warmest and cleanest place on homesteads, the sauna was commonly used for giving birth and for breathing one's last practical measures that increased the sauna's emotional significance. Now a day the sauna attracts substantial scientific interest. Why does lolling in a room heated to upward of 90 C (195 F) followed by a plunge into snow or frigid water make one feel so good? The inquiries haven't gotten very far, however.

You cannot explain it by any physical measures. It's not only physics, but its mystery. Everything is blank and soft there ... it affects the mind. For neophytes, here are some suggestions about how to get the full sauna experience. First principle: Take your time plan on 90 minutes to two hours.

Not all of that time is spent in the heat. The pleasure of the sauna comes not from the sweating itself but from heating up and cooling down. You are recommended spending 10 minutes in the sauna, followed by 10 minutes of cooling off, repeating the cycle three times. Then comes the frigid final cool down, the phase that intimidates the newcomer but caps the experience for the veteran. It can be a cold shower or a roll in the snow, but what most devotees like best is a dip in the sea or a lake, preferably if there's some ice.

But contrary to common image, it's not a good idea to dive right in to icy water from the sauna. That's a potential overload for one's heart. The best way is to walk into the water very quickly, so you don't chicken out halfway through.

The aftermath is what everyone adores: a perfect yin-yang balance of alertness and relaxation. Most sauna-goers like to luxuriate in the feeling by sitting around for a half-hour or so with a beer, some snacks such as sausages, and philosophical conversation.

Although many saunas today use electric heat, that's a concession to convenience. Wood-fired saunas are unanimously regarded as the true way because the heat is softer and they smell wonderful.

Finding one can be a bit difficult for a tourist who doesn't have Finnish friends to invite him to their home sauna. As Finland has become prosperous and more Finns have saunas at home, the public sauna has gone into decline. Only two remain in Helsinki, where there were once scores.