|
Reserve enough time
says the Finnish Sauna Society's bathing guide. Since a group of real
experts has compiled the instructions they are well worth following.
The brief instructions may, however, need a few additional explanations.
Start the session by having a shower.
This instruction probably exists for reasons of general hygiene, and is
as such necessary. But showering or swimming in the summer before the
sauna is also good for another reason. Bathing in a hot sauna is said
to be more pleasant if your skin is wet. Many disagree, though, and
bathe without wetting their skin because they want to feel the sweat
forming on their skin. So, there are two schools of thought: believers
in a wet and a dry skin. It's a question of personal taste.
Use a bench cover to sit on,
say the instructions, again probably for reasons of hygiene. A bench
cover is also useful because the benches in a sauna get very hot,
sometimes burning hot.
About the heat level, the advice is that 80-90°C / 175-195°F (maximum 100°C / 210°F) is enough.
Add humidity by throwing water on the stove. It is also good to know
that you should stay in the heat only as long as it feels good.
Competition about who lasts longest is unhealthy and contrary to the
spirit of the sauna.
The sauna is a sweat bath. Many bathers know very little about sweating, though, and go about it in totally the wrong way
by throwing two or three ladlefuls of water on the hot stones as soon
as they sit down on the bench. What follows is a sudden heat shock, a
real battering on the skin enough to stop the normal functioning of the
sweat glands. It takes time to perspire properly. To sweat bathers need
their body temperature to rise by a couple of degrees, a kind of
self-induced fever. This takes 8-12 minutes, depending on the person's
perspiration capacity. Raising the temperature of the sauna will not
speed up the perspiration process.
In this respect a sauna at 80°C / 175°F is comparable to one where the
temperature is 100°C / 210°F. If the sauna is too hot and dry, the
sweat dries as soon as it reaches the surface of the skin. Continue bathing in the steam and finish off by beating yourself with a soft sauna whisk.
The culmination of the steam bath, to beat yourself gently with a whisk
of birch fronds or cedar boughs, is when you have reached the high
point of sweating.
A rapid change from hot to cold is not recommended. That
means a really sudden change! You need a suitable length of time to
adjust first. Otherwise, too, cooling off and resting are an essential
part of sauna bathing. The worst shortcoming of town saunas is the lack
of a suitable terrace or balcony where the bather could cool off. The
advantage of a waterside sauna is that you can plunge into the cooling
water straight from the heat and exchange your steam bath for a watery
one. In winter the bravest take a dip in icy water or roll in pure
white snow. Only the rugged North can offer such wintry pleasures.
Before washing, warm yourself up, then after washing you can go back to the heat, say the instructions. Cleanliness is an essential part of sauna bathing.
Folk tradition recognizes all types of sauna, except one for washing
in. Researchers have calculated that in the olden days only 2-3 liters
of water was used per bather. Today things are different. Lots of water
is used and far too much soap. Less would suffice, because the thorough
sweating opens up the pores and cleans them of sebum, bacteria and all
sorts of dirt. After sweating and a good rinse the bather is squeaky
clean. Mothers should be particularly aware of this and not pester
little boys with horrid washing routines!
The instructions allow repetition of the sauna/cooling off process as many times as the bather likes.
Washing and swimming are followed by a gentle after heat. How many
times should you go into the heat? As many as you wish. Once is enough
if that's how you feel. Three times is perhaps the average moderate
number. Finish the bathing session by rinsing yourself with refreshing water.
Then rest and drink something refreshing. Only dress after you have stopped perspiring altogether.
After a sauna bath you should not be in a hurry to go anywhere. Even
dressing can wait. Although you may have a heavenly feeling, you should
keep your feet firmly on the ground. The Sauna Society, with its
authoritative voice, therefore concludes its instructions to all
bathers saying: Before and while in the sauna
avoid anything alcoholic and over eating. A light snack and a
refreshing drink are the perfect ending to an enjoyable sauna.
Sauna Information
written for Virtual Finland by Erkki Helamaa, architect, Professor
emeritus and Juha Pentikainen, Professor, University of Helsinki. | 
