Overview
Since ancient times in Greece, steam rooms have been used to stimulate relaxation and wellness. They offer a host of advantages, including healthy skin, muscle pain relief, circulation and sinus relief. It is important to know how a steam room encourages these benefits and what the risks are.
Function
Steam rooms envelop you with heat and steam, which produces an array of benefits. Steam creates an artificial fever once your body temperature has reached 101 degrees Fahrenheit. It opens up your skin pores, releasing toxins that usually cannot thrive in high temperatures. Your heart rate increases, and blood circulation improves. This allows more nutrients to reach the skin, giving it a healthy glow and providing relief for sore muscles. Also, the heat opens passageways in your lungs to promote better breathing.
Benefits
Benefits reaped from sitting in a steam room include better blood circulation, lymph node detoxification, strained muscle relief, stress reduction, relaxation, stronger immune system, healthy skin, increased metabolism and sinus congestion relief.
Expert Insight
Research studies at the Institute of Medical Balneology and Climatology at the University of Munich found that sitting in a steam room can help upper respiratory conditions. It can improve asthma symptoms, as well as bronchitis and sinusitis, by loosening mucus and phlegm, and soothing sore throat.
Risks
Steam rooms usually have 100 percent humidity, with temperatures ranging from 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Those with heart disease, high or low blood pressure or diabetes should consult a doctor before entering a steam room. They are usually not recommended for the elderly, small children and pregnant women.
Warning
If you feel light-headed when you are in a steam room, leave immediately and drink some water. If you have any health conditions that may produce side effects, do not enter a steam bath without a physician’s consent.
