All about Finnish sauna

The sauna is an important part of Finnish culture. The sauna is not a luxury in Finland, but rather a necessity.

The first Finnish saunas were built from pits covered with animal skins. After that came smoke saunas, followed by wood-fired and electric saunas. For centuries, the sauna was a separate building. When a Finnish family started building a house, they always started with a sauna. The whole family lived there until the big house was finished.

The Finns have such a building made entirely of wood. Along the walls are placed comfortable shelves, where you need to lie down for a while. To create a unique atmosphere and aroma inside hang herbs. The smell of natural wood and plants is unique.

The temperature inside the technology should be up to 120 C, but rarely falls below 100 degrees. In Finland, the humidity inside the sauna must be at a normal level, i.e. no more than 15%.

When the body heats up, the process of intensive sweating begins. At this humidity, the sweat evaporates, so there is no overheating of the body. After sure advised to plunge into the pool with cold water or pour it over. A comfortable temperature for the body in this case is from 32 to 40 C. After these procedures the mood rises, the general state of health improves and you feel a burst of energy.

If we talk about the most primitive sauna, it had the form of a hole dug in the hillside. Stones were placed inside, which had to be well heated. It was they that gave the necessary heat.

In a later version, such a structure began to look like a quadrangular hut made of logs, with an earthen floor and a smokeless stove. The structure was both a house and a bathhouse for the Finns. When the stove was stoked, smoke collected in the room and was then vented. A peculiar smell remained inside such a sauna. Today this type is gaining popularity again, although it is not as common.

The next twist in the culture and history of the sauna was the chimney for the stove. It was only heated once. Later, other stoves were used, and they could already be kept hot for a long period of time without the furnace stopping.

By today's sauna we mean a room or an entire building with wooden walls, floor and ceiling. A stove is installed, which is heated with wood or electricity. The upper part is covered with stones. They give the necessary heat in the room.

The humidity of the air is regulated by small doses of water sprinkled on the stones with a ladle. The resulting steam rises upwards, gradually filling the space. The temperature can be between 70-100 C, depending on the size of the room. Bathers are heated in a hot steam room, often beating themselves with brooms made not only from delicate birch twigs.

Our ancestors used the building not only for bathing. It was necessary for drying flax, making malt, curing meat and for many other agricultural or household chores. In the old days it was also a hospital where folk healers practiced their art. They gave people healing baths, massages, and bleeding. The sauna was also a place for magical rituals related to healing or love affairs.

The wood-fired sauna is the most sought after today. It takes only 30 minutes to bring the temperature inside to the desired temperature. Electric is easy to use, the air inside is dry when compared to the previous option. This kind is often used in large cities, namely in hotel complexes, swimming pools and vacation homes.

If there are no contraindications, such a procedure is always good for health, if only because the increase in body temperature allows you to kill viruses in the blood. It is especially good to warm the joints after a workout.

In addition to the seriously ill and disabled, almost every Finn takes a steam bath at least occasionally for indications. The same is done by patients suffering from chronic diseases, as well as by pregnant women. Bathing small children is safe from the age of a few months. The Finns also do not waive any upper age limit for bathing in the sauna.

However, for those injured in accidents, with open wounds or suffering from acute inflammation, such procedures are not recommended. If there are skin infections, it is better to consult a specialist.

Intense heat, sudden or extreme cooling and especially alcohol all increase the stress on the cardiovascular system.

Among the undoubted benefits of the procedure are:

• good sleep;
• A positive effect on the joints;
• improves metabolism;
• cleanses the skin;
• positive effects on the lungs;
• removes toxins and impurities;
• reduction of tension;
• reduction of muscle pain.

In addition to the Finnish sauna is popular hammam, Russian steam room, Turkish. Today, many dacha owners have a tub-bath in their garden - a small-sized complex, where you can get a real pleasure from the hot steam and fresh brooms.

In the era of new technology, even an infrared cabin is used, where the conditions of stay are trying to be as close as possible to those maintained in the Finnish sauna.

Russian and Finnish baths have a lot in common, they have a beneficial effect on human health. After the procedure you can feel lightness, a rush of vivacity and good spirits.

Our compatriots like it humid inside, so they steam a lot, while Finns prefer dry air. If we compare by indicators, then in the Russian steam room the humidity level can reach the mark of 70%.

There are differences in the way of heating. We put stones directly inside the steam room and there we throw water on them, hence such a level of humidity. Finns heat the stones using an electric or wood-burning stove.

Finns do not often use brooms, but Russians cannot imagine a bath without them.

To enjoy the Finnish sauna, you need to learn how to take the procedure correctly. There are some nuances that the Finns necessarily observe.

• Before you go on vacation, it is better not to abuse fatty foods. It is better to visit such places with a half empty stomach.
• Precisely because a person in the steam room increases body temperature, abuse of alcoholic beverages will only bring harm. Dizziness and vomiting are common in this case.
• It is more interesting to go with friends. Inside, it is necessary to inhale hot air, but you should not talk in the steam room.
• As a rule, everyone carries the accessories himself. Bath accessories must be used only by one person, they are not rented. The same applies to public places. Although hats and slippers are offered there, it is better to have your own.
• Before entering the steam room, make sure to remove jewelry. Nothing will happen to them because of the high temperature, but when they get hot, they will burn the skin.
• If you decide to take a shower or dip in the pool, it is better not to wet your hair.
• The first time inside it is not advised to be more than five minutes, but for someone enough and three. Everyone should be guided by their own feelings. With the next entry time may be increased. On the second and third tiers the temperature is always much higher. It is necessary to calculate your strength and the capacity of the body correctly, so as not to feel bad.
• The deck must be covered with a towel, because it gets hot and you can not touch it with your body, you can get a serious burn.
• Experienced bathhouse attendants like to plunge into the ice water, but those who are just beginning to master the Finnish sauna are advised to cool down in the water with a temperature of about 30 C. Then you can lower the temperature. Then you can lower the degree.
• After the first dip, take a break of at least 20 minutes. This way your body can adapt more quickly to new conditions and temperature changes.
• Be sure to drink plenty of water, especially for those who perspire heavily. It is best to use green tea or plain water.

Before you start building a sauna for dacha, it is worth deciding for yourself whether it will be dry or wet. There are typical projects made of glued beam. They look attractive, and the heat is well kept.

Prefabricated structures are also good in that their installation takes a little time.

The simplest version is a single-seat steam room. This option is suitable for those who are going to build a sauna only for themselves. Such a mini-bath is erected in a few hours and is inexpensive. It is an ideal option for country houses.

If you have experience, you can assemble a building according to a pre-ordered project with your own hands. The design depends on individual preferences. For the walls you can use not only wood, but also brick, stone. Inside lining is advised to do with wood. It is this material creates a unique atmosphere inside.

Since the construction is small, there are no special requirements for the foundation. Variants with a swimming pool are more expensive. This design itself requires the organization of a complex system of water drainage.

Inside it is not uncommon to use a special impregnation, which allows you to save the material from increased humidity.

If we talk specifically about the Finnish sauna, two methods of erecting walls are used:

• frame;
• beams.

This is a special construction technique, which is not easy to perform independently without special knowledge. In this case, it would be prudent to invite professionals. An obligatory requirement for the frame - strength.

The beams are installed vertically, and the distance between them should not be less than 50 cm. All elements are fastened to each other with self-tapping screws. As insulation, mineral wool can be used, which is then covered with a special foil.

For the ceilings, beams with a cross section of 0.6-0.8 cm are used. On top of them you can lay planks of lime. The first element will need to be hammered into the vein through the existing frame and its strapping. The distance between the beams should be kept between 0.6-1m.

Even if the ventilation is done well, you can not forget about good insulation. Be sure to lay a vapor barrier layer. It is placed on the ceiling from above. It is very important that the thickness of insulation on the ceiling was 1.5 times greater than on the walls.

When organizing floors, it is important to consider the fact that wood is not suitable for this. The explanation is very simple. When the steam room is used, the floors cool quickly, condensation forms on them, which makes the surface slippery. All this leads to an unpleasant damp smell inside.

Not every tree is suitable for creating benches used in such conditions. The best proven themselves are birch and aspen, as they are beneficial to the human body.

It is best to use nails and screws as fasteners. Specialists advise that the caps should be immersed in the material by 5 mm. This is how you can protect the bathers from contact with the heated metal.

For convenience, the width of the shelves make 0.6 m, arrange them in tiers, so it is possible to save a maximum of free space inside.

If you want, you can make a small window inside, but the glass must be heat-resistant, otherwise it will simply burst.

Doors can be made of two materials:

• wood;
• glass.

Installation of ventilation in such a room has its own peculiarities. The ceiling cladding must be hermetically sealed.

The intake of heated air mass is carried out through the door from the adjacent room with the steam room.

The design of the stove depends on personal preferences. It can be heated with wood or be electric.

If the second option is preferable, then per cubic meter of room you should count 1 kilowatt of power of the installed equipment.

According to Finnish tradition, the steam room in such a sauna is made small. A maximum of three people can fit in there.

If you look at typical projects, the shelves there are low. Because of this, the doors are installed in the steam room of standard height.

• The room with a terrace can look like this.

• There is another, no less attractive project.

More about the features of the Finnish sauna, see the following video.