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A Sauna Story

If you didn't already know it worked, the concept behind saunas might seem a bit strange: sitting in a wood hut, sweating, with an icy shower to top it off - it doesn't sound like the most relaxing pursuit. But those Scandinavians know their health treatments. If you've never had a sauna, you don't know what you're missing.

The Origin of Saunas

The sauna as such is of Nordic origin. But there are similar concepts in many other cultures, including the Turkish hammam and the Native American sweat lodge. That's probably because the detoxifying properties of sweating are intuitively clear. But there's also the social and cultural element of it - saunas and their cousins have been around for thousands of years as a method for people to bond and restore themselves in many more ways than the physical. Sweat lodges, for example, became a symbol of Native American resistance against the early settlers and their use was suppressed in proportion to how defiant the tribe was (the Sioux especially got it in the neck).

The practice is taken so seriously in Finland that a Finnish town, Heinola, hosts annual World Championships where the world's most hardy sweat bathers battle to see who can stay in the fearsome heat of 110 degrees Celsius the longest (the usual temperature is about 80 degrees). Considering how deeply ingrained this pursuit is in Finnish culture it's probably not surprising that the country has taken most of the titles since the competition started in 1998 (although Belarus has had a look in for the women's events in recent years).

Built or bought, it could be fun to inaugurate your new room with a party - a popular pursuit in all sauna-loving parts of the world. But be careful, and if you're having a party limit the booze while sweat bathing. Heat exhaustion can be very dangerous, even lethal, and will be exacerbated by excessive alcohol. That raises the wider issue of safety. There are some golden rules with saunas. Among them are: don't stay in for too long, particularly if you are not used to them; if it's a steam bath, don't put too much water on the coals because excessive steam can scald; don't wear jewelry while you're in there; and don't do it if you're very tired, or, as we discussed above, have drunk a lot of alcohol.

For more information please visit Guide4Home on the benefits of saunas and steam rooms.