Previously we've highlighted eight major health benefits of regular sauna use. Here are 4 simple tips to build into your regular sauna routine that will help you reap the benefits of your own personal sauna. This will help you build a more impactful routine and allow you to start seeing the results you're after from a health and wellness perspective sooner.
Here are 4 simple tips to add to your sauna routine that will help you get the most out of each and every soaking session:
- Build a regular routine or schedule
- Keep it clean
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
- Boost circulation
1. Build a regular routine or schedule
The easiest way to get the most out of your sauna is simple: use it regularly. The simplest tactic is to embed bathing into already established routines. For example, some people stack the use of their sauna immediately following a bout of exercise. The largest studies on the health benefits of sauna use indicate that establishing a weekly routine that has at minimum 3-4 sessions per week.
Beyond just the number of sessions you'll also want to look to optimise your length of session as well as temperature. Everyone will have their own tolerances which likely will increase with practice.
2. Keep it clean
Another key habit is to ensure you're keeping your environment clean. One of the simplest ways to do this is to set a sauna rule of showering before and after your sessions.
This has two positive impacts beyond cleanliness:
- Showering can help stimulate blood flow and can kickstart your body's sweat response which has several health benefits
- Finishing your sauna with a shower also can have benefits of feeling clean and energised. This natural sweat and rinse only with water (no soap or gel) can have amazing benefits for your skin.
3. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Just as we touched on above, saunaing stimulates your sweat glands so it's important to drink plenty of water every time you bathe. On average, a person loses about 500ml of sweat during a brief sauna session. If you are bundling your sauna use with exercise keeping hydrated is doubly important.
Similar to telling you to hydrate with water it's also recommended to avoid alcohol before, during and after your sauna as it is contains natural dehydration hormones (ADH)
4. Boost your circulation
There are several ways to help boost your circulation, including:
- Avoiding restrictive clothing can be helpful as clothing can negatively impact the evaporatory processes naturally occurring while you sweat (this is why it's very common in sauna culture to bathe naked).
- While in the sauna you can rub your legs, arms and core with your hands. This physical process stimulates the pores, boosts circulation and aides in the sweat process.
All of these can be adopted immediately with any current or proposed sauna routine with very little additional overhead or planning.