Saunas, Sentos, Bastus and Banyas: The Science Behind A Hot Soak

Saunas have long been a huge part of social culture around the world, and while less prevalent in Western Europe and North America today, they are still a huge part of day-to-day life in many parts of the world. In Russia, the banya is a great place to get naked with your same-sex friends and whip each other with eucalyptus branches. In Japan, the sento is a traditional bath house where many important business meetings happen, while onsens are natural geothermal pools found all over the country.

No matter where you are in the world, you'll likely find a place to turn up the heat and sweat it out with some strangers, but what is the science behind the soak? Why have people been heating themselves up for centuries and where did it all start?

History

It's difficult to tell exactly where the sauna was first invented, but many historians believe that modern-day Finland is the oldest sauna culture. People in Finland have been steaming themselves in public bath houses since as early as the 1300's and today it remains an integral part of modern culture in the country. Historically, Finish families would move to a new area and the sauna would be the first part of the house that they would build. You could cook in it, live in it, bathe in it and even give birth in it due to its sterile surfaces and hygienic enclosure.

Customs

Customs, etiquette and behavior in saunas and bath houses ranges widely between countries. In Russia, Estonia and Finland, it is common to hit yourself and others with therapeutic branches from a variety of trees. These three countries also boast the hottest saunas in the world.

In Russia, the saunas are almost entirely single-sex, while in Benelux and Scandinavian countries, you're just as likely to find mix-sex saunas.

Getting ready for a thrashing at the Russian banya!

In Finland, there is a popular custom of running out into the snow and rolling around between soaks, while Russians prefer to jump in a cold lake before heading back into their steamy taverns.

In Japan the onsens, or natural hot springs, are often rich in minerals, so it is customary to soak in the water and not rinse or even towel off afterwards, so to allow the therapeutic minerals to enter ones skin.

Health & Science

There are many benefits to taking a sauna. It's great for your skin and your heart and the heat of the sauna causes your capillaries to dilate, which brings increased blood flow to your skin. To regulate this increased blood flow, the heart beats faster without increasing blood pressure. This helps to raise your metabolism and actually cleanses the body of unwanted toxins, viruses and bacteria.

Saunas are also great for the skin. When you sit in a sauna, you sweat profusely which cleans the pores and helps your skin to breathe.

Not only is the steam room good for your physical health, but it is thought that saunas can relax your limbs and your mind, giving frequent users positive affects on mental health.

Saunas Around The World

In Russophone nations the word banya is widely used also when referring to a public bath; in Swedish, sauna is bastu, (literally translated: "bath cabin"), in Latvia, saunas are called pirts and in Lithuanian they is known as pirtis. Although cultures in all corners of the world have imported and adapted the sauna, many of the traditional customs have not survived the journey.

There are, however, a few pockets of traditional heat treatments and ceremonial bathings found in modern-day culture. North American saunas are not as popular as their counterparts in Europe, but traditional Native American sweat lodges can still be found around Canada and the U.S offering ritualistic cleansing of the mind, body and soul, very similar to that of the original saunas in Finland and Russia.

Soak It Up

Even if you're not from a country where saunas are a part of everyday life, consider heading down to your local steam room for a quick soak. The physical, mental and psychic effects of the sauna may not be immediately evident to a newcomer, but there's no doubt that you'll feel relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated after a good sweat. After all, our ancestors have been doing it for thousands of years...