The bathhouse is a wonderful place for recovery and a pleasant pastime. After all, a visit to the steam room in combination with contrasting water procedures helps to relax, lift your spirits, strengthen your immune system and simply have a good rest. But how often can you go to the bathhouse for it to bring health benefits? What should be the frequency of bath procedures and is it worth visiting the steam room every day?
The benefits of visiting a steam room
To maintain the health and youth of the human body, experts recommend starting to visit the sauna and bathhouse.
The steam room has a unique beneficial effect on the body: stimulates regeneration processes, cleanses and strengthens blood vessels, relaxes the muscle corset, reduces the negative effects of stress, expands and cleanses pores, removes toxins, improves blood circulation and well-being.
Regular bathing procedures strengthens the heart and lungs, cleanses the respiratory system, and tones the skin. This is a wonderful prevention of colds, a means to strengthen the immune system and rejuvenate the body.
What to do before and after visiting the steam room
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In the intervals between steaming, you can do contrast hardening or rest at room temperature. This increases blood circulation in the skin, has a positive effect on metabolism and strengthens the immune system.
Before visiting the steam room, take a shower and cleanse your face. After steaming, water procedures are also recommended: the pores are wide open, and the sebaceous glands, narrowing, draw back harmful substances that are released with sweat. This leads to inflammation or worsening of the inflammatory process, for example, with acne. Warm skin absorbs nutrients more effectively, and after a shower it is recommended to apply skincare products: serums, creams or masks.
The main life hack for any steam room: use a broom to enhance the beneficial properties of steaming. The leaves and bark contain trace elements, phytoncides and aromatic oils that have a healing effect on the entire body.
After a sauna or bath, anti-cellulite and lymphatic drainage massages are especially useful, for example, in combination with body peeling.
Contraindications to bath procedures
Despite the obvious benefits of visiting a steam room, such procedures are contraindicated for many people.
Often the heating temperature of the air in the steam room exceeds 60 degrees, which can negatively affect weakened hair, sensitive skin and blood vessels, respiratory, cardiac and reproductive systems.
Before deciding on such a vacation, you should find out whether people who have some health problems can go to the bathhouse. After all, visiting a steam room can do more harm than good for them. The bath is contraindicated in the following cases:
- acute cardiac and vascular diseases;
- severe kidney pathology;
- oncological diseases;
- infectious skin diseases;
- heat;
- period of pregnancy and lactation;
- postoperative period.
It is highly undesirable for men to abuse bath procedures, as they can cause dysfunction of the reproductive system and male infertility.
Restrictions and contraindications
The temperature inside the room is maintained at a high temperature. It reaches 60 degrees, and in a dry sauna it reaches 100-120 degrees. Such conditions can lead to health problems.
It is forbidden to steam for a person who has brittle hair, increased sensitivity of the respiratory system, or circulatory disorders.
You should not take a steam bath if you have:
- disruption of the circulatory system;
- kidney diseases;
- presence of oncology;
- dermatological diseases, problematic skin;
- hypertension, fever.
Visiting the steam room is strictly prohibited for pregnant women and is not recommended for married couples who want to conceive a child.
Recommended frequency of visiting the bathhouse
Fans of passive relaxation feel a boost of energy and vigor every time after visiting the steam room, so they are ready to go to the bathhouse every day.
According to many medical studies, with regular visits, the bathhouse actually has a powerful therapeutic effect on a person. The result of such a rest can be improved well-being, weight loss, normalization of blood pressure, and a decrease in insulin levels.
To get the maximum benefit from bath procedures, you need to know how many days a week you can visit the steam room:
- The optimal frequency of visiting baths and saunas for beginners is once a week, and the duration of one procedure should not exceed 5 minutes.
- People with heart and lung diseases can go to the sauna and bathhouse once every two weeks to gradually accustom the body to serious thermal stress.
- Active bath attendants with good health can steam in a bathhouse up to 4 times a week, while the time spent in the steam room is halved.
- When carrying out cosmetic procedures, visiting the bathhouse is enough only 2 times a week.
Is it possible to go to the bathhouse every day?
Those people who really like the bath, who like to spend time in the steam room, feel better and more energetic after the bath, can go to the steam room almost every day. How correct is this from a medical point of view, and is it dangerous to health?
Frequent exposure to high temperatures on the body is not the most positive thing. First of all, under the influence of high temperature the skin can be damaged, therefore, if you have any problems with the skin, you should either abstain from the bath for a certain time or at all.
Exposure to high temperatures also leads to a pronounced dilation of blood vessels, which means a decrease in blood pressure. Many people think that this is a very good effect against high blood pressure, but in fact this is not entirely true, since rapid, sharp and pronounced dilation of blood vessels can cause angina, heart attack, and stroke.
Therefore, before going to the bathhouse, you should at least consult a doctor and, if necessary, undergo an appropriate examination.
Duration of the bath procedure
The optimal duration of the procedure depends on several indicators: the type of steam room, state of physical health, preliminary preparation and goals.
Experts recommend spending as much time in the bathhouse and sauna as necessary to ensure good sweating and warming up the body. Therefore, this meaning is individual for each person.
The main rule is not to harm your own health. If you experience discomfort or feel unwell, you must stop the procedure.
The optimal time to stay in the steam room in one session is from 4 to 25 minutes.
How long is it recommended to stay in the bath?
There are no specific figures on this issue. The length of time a person spends in a bathhouse depends on the following indicators:
- type of steam room - it can be combined with a sink or be isolated from it;
- the presence of diseases or pathologies in the visitor (if you have health problems, you need to spend less time in a stuffy room);
- visitor habits (if you visit the establishment frequently, you can increase the time spent in it).
The duration of stay in a room with high temperature directly depends on the general condition of the visitor. To spend a certain time in the steam room, you do not need to set a timer or mark the minutes. The main point is to listen to your own body. If, according to your feelings, the body has already received the required heat, then leave the steam room. A longer stay may make your situation worse.
Procedures last a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 minutes. If you feel uncomfortable, immediately leave the stuffy room. Do not harm your own health.
How to choose the main attribute of a Russian bath - a broom
What is a Russian bathhouse without a broom! This attribute is absent in eastern hammams and baths in other countries. One thing has been proven for a long time - the most accessible and inexpensive massage with 100% results is whipping with a bath broom. All steam lovers have their favorite broom, so I’ll tell you about the most common ones.
Birch
The most common and accessible. Helps well with muscle pain and aching joints. Birch leaves are famous for their antiseptic properties and help with various skin irritations. Also, one of the advantages of a birch broom is its help in the fight against chronic cough.
Oak
Carved, openwork. The steam disperses evenly throughout the body in a wide and hot wave. The main advantage is lowering and stabilizing blood pressure.
Lime
Has a slightly sweet smell. Good in combination with wormwood branches for headaches.
The benefits of brooms can be supplemented with essential oils of cedar, eucalyptus or fir. An orange is very harmonious for the mood. Add to broom water and enjoy.
What else should you take with you to the bathhouse?
To visit the bathhouse, in addition to a hat, you will have to stock up on a few other things that will make your health trip more comfortable. First of all, take care of a rug made of waterproof material that can be laid on the floor. It will help avoid injuries, which unfortunately do not happen very rarely when people slip on a wet floor. In addition to the rug, prepare slippers or flip-flops that you can quickly take off when going inside a heated room. If you want to get an additional healing effect, you can take steaming steam with you for the bath. By dissolving a small amount of healing infusion in hot water and sprinkling it on the walls and sometimes applying it to stones, you can immerse yourself in an aromatic healing cloud that has a beneficial effect on the skin, respiratory and many other systems of the body. And, of course, what’s a bathhouse without a broom? Be sure to stock up on a broom from the wood that you prefer. Most often, a birch, oak or juniper broom is used. Each of them has its own characteristics.
If you care about the beauty of your skin and hair, you can use various scrubs, masks and rinses in the bath. Hot steam perfectly opens pores, enhancing their healing effect.
Getting used to the heat
Today we are talking about a classic steam room, where water pours onto the heater and the dizzying smell of leaves from a broom. And in order to easily endure the heat, you need to know how to properly go to a Russian bathhouse. In order for you to have the most pleasant impressions, you need to make the first adaptation run. The optimal temperature in this case is +60 °C, that is, the bottom shelf of the steam room is suitable. Lie on it and get used to the conditions. The first run usually lasts 3-10 minutes, so don’t be too zealous. For now, you just need to steam the broom, the most important thing is yet to come.
How many times should I go to the steam room?
Visiting the steam room also has its own rules, which should be strictly followed so as not to harm the body. There is no need to try to sit in the steam room for as long as possible, running the risk of getting heatstroke. People enter the steam room several times, taking short rest breaks. The number of times you enter the steam room depends on your preparedness and can range from 3-5 to 10 times. The first run should be the shortest and the temperature should be minimal. 60 degrees will be enough. To do this, you can sit on the bottom shelf and stay for 3-7 minutes so that the body begins to get used to the hot air without a sharp change.
On the second pass, you can wave the broom to saturate the skin with the beneficial substances it contains, as well as create the healing effect of waves of hot air and the massage effect of the steamed broom. Under no circumstances should you whip a broom on heated skin. Such blows can only lead to injuries - scratches and cuts, but will not bring any benefit. You need to work with a broom very carefully - blowing hot air onto the body, carefully applying the broom with slight pressure to the skin and only lightly patting without applying force. The second entry can be made for 10-15 minutes. Then you should definitely leave the steam room for a while and take a rest.
There must be moderation in everything
Despite the fact that even a daily visit to the bathhouse does not pose any direct threats to health, if a person does not suffer from one or another pathology (primarily vascular), going to the bathhouse almost every day is unreasonable. At least because in this case, after a while you will simply get tired of it.
Therefore, the best option is to visit the bathhouse regularly, but without fanaticism, since exposing the body to stress and spending time monotonously is, at least, unreasonable.
Since ancient times, people have visited the bathhouse on weekends, using it both for hygiene and as a way to relax. Probably, this was the best option, and it can be considered as such to this day, since the bathhouse remains both an excellent method of hygiene and a place for complete moral relaxation and friendly communication, however, even all the best should be in moderation, because, as you know, medicine Only the dose distinguishes it from poison.
What are the benefits of a Russian bath?
According to doctors, the Russian bath relieves fatigue and actively affects the function of internal organs, the cardiovascular system and metabolism in general. In the steam room, a person begins to actively sweat, an abundant release of moisture from the body occurs, which leads to its cleansing and renewal. Bath procedures help you lose excess weight and help get rid of cellulite.
From time immemorial, our ancestors treated various ailments and illnesses with the help of hot steam and a broom. It was in a heated bathhouse that it was customary to give birth, at least among peasants. Thus, the mother and baby were protected from infections, since viruses and bacteria died from high temperatures. In addition, in a warm and relaxed environment, the birth process was easier.
By the way, doctors claim that visiting a Russian steam room is beneficial for women with gynecological problems. The Russian bath alleviates the symptoms of menopause, treats complications after abortions and miscarriages, menstrual irregularities and even infertility. And it is also very beneficial for the skin. It is useful to go to the bathhouse for those who suffer from hives and various dermatitis.
Research concerning the influence of the Russian bath on the human body was also carried out by foreign scientists. Thus, Japanese researchers have found that moderate bath procedures in patients suffering from high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes lead to strengthening of blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and blood sugar. German experts found that children who do not visit a bathhouse or sauna get sick twice as often as their peers. In addition, the contact of water with hot stones leads to the formation of negatively charged ions, which have a beneficial effect on the body.
Broom massage
First of all, plowing of the person lying on the shelf is performed. In this way, the injection of hot air is achieved. The massage continues with shaking. This is shaking a broom under the ceiling of the steam room and briefly pressing it on the feet, lower back and shoulder blades. Now you can move on to whipping and light blows to the skin. It is imperative to alternate them with lingering strokes. An excellent type of massage is a compress. A hot broom is lowered onto the skin with firm pressure for 4-5 seconds. Do not forget that although this procedure is pleasant, you should not drag it out too much. 5-7 minutes is enough, after which you need to lie down for another 2-5 minutes, relaxing as much as possible, and only then you can get up and go to rest.
Cover your head from the heat
Experienced bathhouse attendants know the dangers of visiting a steam room with your head uncovered, as you can get a thermal stroke, leading to the most dire consequences. Our head is designed in such a way that the brain is protected by practically nothing except the bones of the skull from intense heat, which can be destructive. Therefore, under no circumstances neglect additional protection - buy a felt cap and put it on your head before entering a heated steam room.
Felt is an excellent thermal insulation material with a low heat transfer coefficient due to its fibrous structure and creates a comfortable microclimate, protecting against heat. Hence one more rule - do not enter the steam room without a hat!
