Posts Tagged ‘Humid’

Sauna and Steam Baths – what are different health benefits?

The use of a steam room or sauna is a health practice with numerous health benefits. Saunas and the steam rooms are the rooms designed for the treatments with the use of heated air, which is of a temperature that varies between 800 and 1000 degrees of Celsius.

Difference between a sauna and a steam room?

Sauna air is heated by hot, porous rocks that emit a long-lasting heat. Because the humidity in a sauna is low, saunas are usually made of softwoods. In a steam room, the water vapor carries the heat. The wall construction is typically acrylic, tile, marble, or other stone. Steam rooms are much cooler than saunas although they often feel warmer.

Steam Bath Benefits

A steam room is an enclosed room which is made warm and humid by use of a heater and steam.
- they have high moisture content.
- the condensed moisture relieves pressure in the sinuses and lungs, which helps to counteract conditions such as asthma and allergies.
- steam baths or rooms give us relief from muscle soreness, relief from stiff joints, immune system enhancement, lymph detoxification, blood circulation improvement and sinus congestion relief.
- people with respiratory ailments often prefer the benefits of the steam room to those of the sauna.
- steam helps in the enhancing the speed and intensity of the metabolism of our body, in turn leading to weight loss.

Sauna Benefits

A sauna is a low humidity chamber that uses hot rocks (or even infrared rays) to create a high, dry heat.
- cleaning and detoxifying your skin.
- increases blood circulation.
- improves immunity system.
- sweating in sauna helps eliminate bacteria and viruses from inside your body.
- heart pumps harder which is an aerobic workout in itself.
- the heat also helps in stimulating production of white blood cells, exactly what your body needs to fight off illnesses.
- sauna bath has been proven to help in weight loss.

NOTE : One must be careful, since the excessive exposure to the hot air may cause some severe burns. Because of that, it is very advisable to take a lot of water, both, from the inside (by drinks) and from the outside.

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How to stay cool in hot summers ?

Experts say, the temperatures recorded last weekend have been the highest in five years. Staying healthy during summer requires more than just eating the right foods. It is important to take care of your health to protect yourself against the heat. Also, make time to rest, relax and take a nap whenever possible. So enjoy a fun-filled and healthy summer with these natural health tips.
Fitness: A hot workout
• Avoid dark colours while working out as they absorb heat. Wear apparel that’s breathable. Give track pants a miss, wear shorts instead. Stop tying your sweat shirts around your hip, you are just trapping heat.
• While gymming, your feet sweat, so avoid wearing synthetic socks.
• Have a glass of water before you start as it takes time for fluids to get absorbed into the system.
• 21-220 celcius is the best temperature at which you should exercise.
• Best time to get your body moving is before 8 am or just after sunset.
• If you are working out outdoors, try and pace the intensity.
• Avoid steam and sauna as your normal body temperature is 370 degree C and a sauna will work adversely.
Health
• Headaches and migraines get precipitated by heat. Avoid walking in the sun or wear a hat.
• Those who do not sweat a lot are prone to heat-related exhaustion — manifested in fatigue, light-hotheadedness, etc. At an extreme level, it leads to a heat stroke or you may be paralyzed or unconscious.
• Skin allergies like psoriasis too get aggravated because of dehydration.
• Do not let your body dehydrate.
• Excess sun causes nose bleeds because of excess pressure of heat on the nostrils. Boils and sun burn are also common. The best way to counter them is drink plenty of fluids and avoid alcohol and smoking. Have instant energy boosters such as honey, electrolytes or glucose.
• Maintain immunity with fruits such as papaya and pineapple.
Diet: Eat cool
• Take electrol twice a day. Mix it with coconut water, khus sharbat or lemonade. This will replenish minerals lost due to excessive sweating.
• Have more succulent veggies that rehydrate — bottle gourd, turai, pumpkin, lotus stem and the like.
• Avoid oily and fried stuff.
• Adopt different cooking techniques — steaming, grilling, baking and roasting.
• Avoid coffee as cocoa activates sweat glands further leading to dehydration.
• Have poha, porridge, fruits or idli for breakfast instead of dosas and parathas. Khichdi with multi-grain dal, chaach and green chutney is a good option for lunch and dinner.
Clothing
• The obvious choice of fabric for summer has to be natural ones such as cotton, linen and its derivatives such as mul, voile, or bamboo fabric.
• Wear loose-fitting clothing, preferably of a light color. Cotton clothing will keep you cooler than many synthetics.

Beauty: Keep it fresh
• Kokum sharbat is the best way to beat prickly heat from the inside.
• To remove a tan, powder masoor daal and soak it in milk for an hour or half. Massage it over your body and let dry. Rub it off in circular motions. This bleaches and exfoliates your skin.
• Put papaya pieces through a mixer and massage the pulp into your hair, section wise. Rinse after two hours to get shiny, smooth hair.