Saunas vs Steam Rooms: Which is better for your health?Saunas vs Steam Rooms: Which is better for your health?
Heat therapy is widely recognised for the benefits it has on both physical and mental wellbeing.
If you are considering joining the thousands of other property owners across the UK who have decided to take advantage of the huge selection of saunas and steam rooms on the market, to bring these treatments into your own home you may well be wondering which one is best.
Saunas and steam rooms share many of the same benefits but are actually quite different in the way they operate, mainly to do with the fact that they generate a different kind of heat.
Saunas create dry heat, using hot stones or electric heating which steam rooms create a very humid environment with (as you might guess) lots of steam.
Why choose a heat treatment?
Many people disagree over whether a sauna or steam room is the most effective but one thing that is undeniable is that both offer tremendous advantages to the user.
Ever since the Greek and Roman times, people have gathered in hot baths to relieve flu symptoms, ease aches and pains, and to socialise.
Having either a sauna or steam room in your own home is a luxury that was once reserved for shared leisure facilities and the homes of the rich and famous, but no longer.
With companies such as ours offering a huge range of standard and bespoke saunas, steam rooms, and spa baths, there is a design for every property type, style, and budget.
What is a steam room?
A steam room, or steam bath as it is sometimes known, really is exactly what it sounds like; a room that has been filled with steam using a steam generator.
They are lined with tiles, plastic, or glass to keep the room airtight and prevent moisture from being able to escape.
They are heated to a temperature lower than saunas, sitting at around 50 °C but make up for it in the humidity levels. Steam rooms are hot and tropical style environments, with humidity levels of between 95-100%.
What is a sauna?
Saunas are the dry version of a steam room. Traditionally, wooden rooms would be heated using heated stones to a high temperature of between 80-90 °C.
However, humidity levels in a sauna are kept as close to just 5% as possible and normally sit somewhere in the region of 10-15%.
Modern saunas often now use infrared waves rather than a traditional heating method to heat the body of the user rather than the room itself. This is more energy efficient and ensures that heat is sent deep within the body, maximising the health benefits from use.
Why choose a Steam room?
Steam room installation Glasgow is fantastic for both mental and physical health, with the addition of steam bringing a range of additional benefits in comparison to dry heat rooms.
These include:
Reducing congestion
Steam is great for dealing with cold symptoms, especially blocked noses, headaches, and sore throats.
As you inhale the steam the mucus and phlegm responsible for a blocked nose will thin and clear, making breathing a lot easier when you leave.
This can also be beneficial for those with bronchitis that decreases airflow or other respiratory conditions.
Clearer skin
Both saunas and steam rooms raise the body temperature of the user to a level where their pores will open up and the toxins that have gathered there over time are released.
Steam rooms have the additional advantage of creating condensation on the skin that will wash away loose debris and dirt that has gathered there over time.
This will leave your skin looking clearer and more toned than ever before.
Reduces stress
There might not be a known scientific reason for it, but there is just something about sitting in a steamy room that makes it so much easier to relax.
Both steam rooms and saunas are fantastic ways to relax but some theorists have suggested that the addition of steam prompts the body to produce endorphins at a higher rate, although there is yet to be firm scientific research to confirm this.
Burn Calories
Using a steam room after going to the gym can help to prolong the calorie burning effects of your workout and aid in your journey towards achieving your weight loss goals.
After training, your health rate is elevated, and your body’s metabolic rate is increased. For a short time, it will remain above the ‘resting’ level and this ‘afterburn’ effect helps to tackle fat after you have finished working.
Steam rooms will keep your body in this mode for longer and indirectly aid in weight loss as a result.
Bear in mind that steam rooms and saunas are NOT a substitute for good diet and exercise and any weight that is lost purely through a steam bath is water weight that should be replaced as soon as possible.