Finnish sauna - what is it, how is a steam bath useful, how is it different from a Russian one, do-it-yourself construction in a house using Finnish technology

The Finnish sauna is becoming increasingly popular and in demand not only in European countries, but also in Russia.

It successfully competes with the traditional Russian bathhouse in matters of healing and rejuvenation of the body due to its unique healing properties.

In addition, building a Finnish sauna on your own personal plot is much easier than organizing a Russian bathhouse.

Finnish sauna and its meaning for Finns

Among our compatriots, steam rooms in all their varieties are highly valued. The pleasure that a visitor receives when warming up from the hot steam and cooling down by jumping into a real snowdrift or a cold pool is unforgettable. But at the same time, we have never heard the name “Finnish sauna”, but the word “sauna” is heard regularly.

Building your own sauna using technology that came from Finland is quite difficult, but if you have the necessary amount of money, a lot of time and patience, you can bring such a building to life. You need to start construction by studying the features that the Finnish steam room and other rooms in the building under construction have.

When talking about what a Finnish sauna is, the Finns tell an interesting legend. In their opinion, the sauna was invented because of the leaking roof of one of the houses, where hot stones were lying on the fireplace at that time. The water, when interacting with the stones, turned into steam and warmed up the room, which the residents really liked. Since that time (about 2 thousand years ago), the tradition of taking procedures in the sauna has been consolidated and has become a real national treasure of the Finns.

What's the benefit?

The sauna, like any bathhouse, is good for everyone, from young to old. Most sauna complications occur due to heart problems. Therefore, if you have such problems, you should visit the bathhouse only after your doctor’s permission. Especially during exacerbations.

Also, people with high blood pressure should not get carried away by sudden alternations of temperatures and plunge into ice water after serious warming up.

The advantages of a sauna include the following:

Sweating cleanses the skin and body of toxins.
Heat relieves muscle pain and improves sleep quality.
The sauna helps you relax and relieve stress.
Blood circulation improves and metabolic processes accelerate.
Skin condition improves.
Immunity is strengthened.

Operating principles of a Finnish sauna

Today, a bathhouse using Finnish technology is a room in which steam is replaced by dry heat with a temperature of 90-110 degrees Celsius and humidity of 10-25 percent. This combination of air parameters makes it easier to tolerate by the body than in a Russian or Turkish bath (hamam). The sauna relaxes not only the body, but also the soul. The immune system and nervous system are strengthened, and the charge of energy received makes a person more efficient for several days ahead.

The mechanical process of warming up in a Finnish bathhouse is like being in a Russian steam room, but the difference is that under the influence of dry heat, the sweat released immediately evaporates from the skin, preventing the body from overheating. The therapeutic effect of a sauna is maximum due to the activation of this process of thermoregulation in the body with intensive work of the sweat glands.

An additional therapeutic effect on the human body is achieved through the use in the construction and decoration of the sauna of those types of wood that are not only good for use at elevated temperatures, but also emit various beneficial substances, which is accompanied by a very pleasant smell.

Naturally, after the steam room you need to cool your body. In this case, as in a Russian bath, they use the nearest body of water, a swimming pool or an ordinary shower. Such a contrasting temperature effect on the body strengthens the immune system and is an excellent preventive measure for the entire cardiovascular system. Speaking about the benefits of a Finnish sauna, it is worth saying that the correct visiting regime is no more than once a week.

How quickly will the body recover?

If the procedures are performed correctly, the condition of the heart and blood vessels will be restored within 20 minutes, and recovery may be accelerated. For this purpose, contrasting procedures are provided, including a warm shower or a dip in the pool. It is worth considering the additional load that comes from using cool water. It is not worth the risk for children without preparation for such events and for persons with diseases affecting the heart or blood vessels. Contrast exposure can also lead to hypothermia and colds.

The usefulness of saunas using Finnish technology

So, the main difference between a Finnish sauna and a Russian bath is dryness and higher air temperature. Under its influence, blood flows to the skin and muscle tissue, helping to relax the nervous system and improve the overall emotional state of a person.

Also, hot and dry air is very beneficial for the respiratory system. Of course, you need to take the procedures wisely and pay attention to the manifestations that occur in the body while in the steam room. Excessive heating or hypothermia of the body can cause serious illness.

Basics of medical use of the Finnish sauna:

Regular visits to this establishment allow you to activate your metabolism and lose excess weight;
with profuse sweating (from 0.5 to 2 kilograms per visit), various negative substances are released: lactic acid, toxins, waste, etc.;
a number of diseases can be cured much faster if you combine a course of treatment with constant use of the sauna: hypertension, respiratory diseases, bone and joint diseases, kidney disease, various injuries, sprains, dislocations and other disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Basic rules for visiting a Finnish sauna:

Do not use soap in the shower before entering the steam room;
Do not get your hair wet, as wet hair conducts heat perfectly, which can cause heat stroke;
in the steam room, it is best to sit on the bottom shelf and relax your muscles as much as possible;
You should drink herbal tea made from lemon balm, currants, rose hips, strawberries and hawthorn;
After leaving the steam room you need to rest for at least half an hour.

Building layout

The national traditions of Finland are such that steam rooms in saunas have a minimum size for 1-3 people to stay at the same time. Even large families, when visiting a Finnish sauna, go to different steam rooms according to gender: women and men separately. Typically, the area of this room is from 5 to 10 square meters, and the entire building occupies from 30 to 40 “squares”. Mostly in standard projects, relatively low ceilings are used (2.1 meters), which allows the use of standard size doors.

The Russians have modified such designs to suit themselves, since they require greater comfort and, for the most part, violate the Finnish traditions of taking bath procedures. The steam room is made with a size of about 15 square meters, and only 5 “squares” are allocated for the washing area. The rest of the space is allocated for a rest room, combined with a locker room, vestibule and dressing room. To maximize the space for visitors’ activities, an electric stove-heater with minimal dimensions is installed.

Ceilings and floors

The ceilings are mounted from beams, which in cross-section have a cross-section from 0.6 to 0.8 centimeters, and on top of them they are covered with linden boards. The beams are cut into the crown of the building at the required height through the strapping of the entire frame. The pitch between the beams can be set from 0.6 to 1 meter.

When starting construction work, we must not forget about the laying of thermal insulation materials, since the premises must be airtight, even taking into account the fact that their high-quality ventilation is the main functional element of the building.

A vapor barrier layer is laid on the top floor. The thickness of the insulation on the ceiling should be one and a half times greater than the layer on the walls, since convection leads to the accumulation of hot air at the highest point of the room.

Floors are rightfully considered the coldest surface in a sauna, since wood becomes covered with moisture over time, creating the effect of a slippery surface and causing unpleasant dampness. It would be wiser to tiling with ceramic tiles and use a concrete screed as a subfloor. It is best to use bitumen felt as a thermal insulation material.

A custom of deep antiquity

What is a sauna and what is done there, from the point of view of the customs and traditions of the Finnish people.

Strange as it may seem, the custom of steaming with a broom, attributed exclusively to the Russian bathhouse, is also in the order of things among the Finns. Moreover, the most respected and revered broom is a birch broom. It is harvested in the second half of June, in slightly shaded areas of birch groves, avoiding burnt and swampy areas. After all, in burnt areas, the dominant position is occupied by young animals, from which, according to Finnish beliefs, it is impossible to make a durable broom. A good Finnish broom - vikhta, should lose 1 - 2 leaves during the entire soaring period and retain its shape and volume. In the old days, on forest farms, a broom was formed using a birch rod; in villages and suburbs, flax rope was more often used. The broom is dried en masse in the shade under awnings with a mandatory good air flow. In closed sheds it easily dries out and loses its elasticity. This broom is stored all season in a dry place. The matings should not be placed in the sun, since the sun's rays actively destroy chlorophyll, causing the leaves to acquire an unsightly yellowish color. In the north, it is customary to freeze brooms. To do this, in the old days they were placed in the cellar on ice blocks, cut in winter and serving as the prototype of a modern refrigerator, and a very effective one at that. The frozen sheaves were carefully placed in thick linen bags and stored there until frost arrived, after which they were taken out into the yard.

A word from Experienced! On the coast it was customary to salt brooms. The broom, air-dried for 2 - 3 days, was transferred indoors to the place of final drying, where it matured for another 10 - 12 days, after which the finished product was placed in dense, several layers of linen bags, generously sprinkled with coarse salt. Salt played the role not so much of a preservative, but of a moisture separator. Naturally, such a tradition became widespread only when salt went beyond the scope of an expensive product and became cheap and widely available.

It is customary to soak a dry broom before use. First in cold water, then in moderately hot water. What is a Finnish sauna without a properly prepared broom - just a washing room.

Attention! Before moving on to phytomassage procedures, you need to warm up thoroughly until the body gives off the first profuse sweat and only after that begin the procedure.

I must say that the sauna is quite a serious tool in the treatment of various diseases, especially colds and infectious diseases. As the Finnish old people said, “if the sauna, tar and vodka did not help the patient, then only the earth will help him.”

Installation of shelves and benches

Again, focusing on the beneficial effects of certain types of wood on the human body, you need to install shelves and benches in the steam room from aspen or birch. The planks are secured with a small gap using stainless steel screws and nails. Hats must be immersed in the wood at least 5-7 millimeters to protect visitors from accidental contact with hot metal.

The width of the shelves should be at least 0.6 meters, and they should be arranged in tiers to expand the area of free space in the room. From the top tier to the ceiling it is necessary to make a span of at least 1.05 meters so that the visitor can sit without difficulty. For convenience, footrests should be placed under the lying shelves. It wouldn’t hurt to have a small window in the steam room design through which the sun’s rays would penetrate.

Contraindications

Not all visitors are allowed to enter the steam room; there are a number of contraindications that should be followed.

Chronic diseases of internal organs.
Oncology.
Breastfeeding and pregnancy.
Serious skin diseases.
Fever.
Epilepsy.

In addition, it is prohibited to take children under four years of age and elderly people over sixty years of age into the steam room.

Window and door openings

You can install a door made of glass or wood in the steam room. It makes the most sense to use wood, since a solid door leaf will enclose the space of the steam room. All gaps between the door block and the leaf must be sealed with felt. The fittings inside the steam room should also be made of wood so that they can be used during procedures and heating the air to extreme temperatures.

It is possible to make windows in a building, but even those that will be used for natural lighting and ventilation must be placed lower and the linear dimensions of up to 50-70 centimeters must be observed.

Material for construction

When developing a Finnish sauna project, it is important to decide on the building materials that will be used for construction.

To build walls, you can use stone or brick.
The interior decoration should be made of wood, which gives the desired effect when heated.
The foundation can be made in any way, since the weight of the structure is small.

Ventilation system

When installing ventilation, you must adhere to the following rules:

the cladding of the floors must remain airtight;
the intake of air that will be heated must be carried out by supplying it from the adjacent room through the door;
the air must be exhausted in the same way until a clean corridor is created to the street;
the channel in the wall of the steam room must be placed under the lower tier of shelves so that during the convection process the already cooled air escapes through it;
a corrugated tube should be used as finishing for the ventilation duct.