As part of your quest towards improved health and wellness, you may have come across the terms “steam room” and “sauna.” While both provide relaxing environments with numerous health benefits, they do differ slightly – in this article we’ll outline these key differences and look specifically at steam rooms as a form of therapy compared to saunas as well as their specific advantages (with emphasis placed on their advantages for steam).
Types of Sauna
Saunas are classified into several types based on how the room is heated.
These include:
Wood burning
Wood is use to heat the sauna room and the sauna rocks. Low humidity and high temperatures are typical in saunas powered by wood.
Electrically heated
Electric saunas, like wood-burning saunas, have high temperatures and low humidity. An electric heater attached to the floor heats the sauna room.
Infrared room
Far-infrared saunas (FIRS) differ from traditional saunas heated with wood or electricity. Special lamps heat the body of the person being heated rather than the entire room. irrespective of the fact that the temperature is usually lower than in other saunas, the person still perspires in a similar manner. Infrared saunas are typically heated to 60 degrees Celsius.
Benefits of a Sauna
The effects on the body are the same regardless of how hot or humid a sauna is. In a sauna, a person’s heart rate rises, and their blood vessels dilate. The sauna improves circulation in a way that is similar to light to moderate exercise, depending on how long you spend in it. While in the sauna, your heart rate may accelerate to 100 to 150 beats per minute. This could be beneficial to your health.
Easing pain
Increased circulation may relieve arthritis pain, improve joint mobility, and reduce muscle soreness.
Reducing stress levels
A sauna’s heat can aid in circulation while also calming you down. Feelings of well-being could thus advance as a result.
Improving cardiovascular health
Stress reduction in a sauna may be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events. A Finnish study followed 2,315 men between the ages of 42 and 60 for 20 years. The findings suggest that people who use saunas may be less likely to develop certain diseases. The study had 878 deaths from heart disease, coronary artery disease, or sudden cardiac death. The participants were divided into three groups based on how frequently they used saunas: once per week, twice per week, and four to seven times per week.
Skin problems
Dry saunas dry out your skin. Some psoriasis sufferers may notice a reduction in their symptoms while using a sauna, while others may notice an aggravation.
What is a steam room?
Saunas and steam rooms are both similar. Both are supposed to benefit your health while sitting in a small, heated room. Where they differ significantly is in the type of heat they provide. Steam is generated from boiling water to heat steam rooms. The humidity is responsible for the steam room’s unique health benefits.
The atmosphere in steam rooms is tropical. They are usually line with tile, glass, or plastic to keep moisture inside and seal them off from the outside. They have a humidity level of 95% to 100% and a temperature range of 114 to 120 degrees. You’ll probably immediately notice droplets on your skin due to the high humidity in a steam room.
Benefits of Steam Rooms
There are, of course, multiple health benefits to the use of steam rooms. They are:
Improves circulation
Sitting into a steam room has been shown to be beneficial to the cardiovascular system, particularly in the elderly. A 2012 study discovered that moist heat, such as in a steam room, can increase circulation by dilating capillaries, which are tiny blood vessels. As a result, blood circulates more freely and transports oxygen throughout the body. Steam room therapy can also help lower blood pressure, protect the heart, and heal damaged skin tissue caused by wounds such as ulcers.
Skin health
Perspiration is common in both steam rooms and saunas due to the heat. The skin’s surface is cleansed through pore-opening sweating. Warm condensation can also help to remove dirt and dead skin cells and may even be used to treat acne. A steam room, as opposed to a sauna, also helps to remove toxins trapped beneath the skin.
Workout recovery
Muscle soreness is common after a workout. DOMS is the medical term for this type of discomfort. It is critical to relax the muscles after exercise to ensure a quick and pain-free recovery.
Relaxes strained joints
Just as a pre-workout warm-up helps to loosen up the joints and increase flexibility, using a steam room before a workout can do the same. A 2013 study found that applying moist heat to a joint had similar healing benefits to using dry heat, but the application time was much shorter. Steam rooms can also help with joint pain relief.
Reduces stress
The heat of a steam room can release endorphins. They are known as “feel good” hormones. They help the body cope with stress.
Conclusion
As we read in “Wellhealthorganic.com:Difference-Between-Steam-Room-and-Sauna-Health-Benefits-of-Steam-Room”, there are multiple health benefits to sauna and steam rooms. We expanded on “Difference-Between-Steam-Room-and-Sauna-Health-Benefits-of-Steam-Room” exponentially in this blog. We also gave multiple differences between both a sauna and a steam bath.