Category Archives: Sauna & Steam

If you’re doubtful about the benefits that steam rooms can provide in the summer, we’re here to set the record straight. Steam rooms can be incredibly beneficial to your health, even if the weather outside is humid! When it’s stuffy outside, many people compare the humidity to being in a steam room – although when it comes to the physical characteristics of steam and humidity, what you experience outside is nothing like what you’ll find in a steam room.

Steam rooms and the respiratory system

When your body is exposed to the humidity of the air, it absorbs the toxins that are lingering in the atmosphere. These potentially hazardous pollutants are not only absorbed via your skin but also when you breathe in – this includes allergens that aggravate asthma, nasal allergies, and other respiratory problems. In stark contrast, steam therapy has been proven to aid with bronchitis, asthma, and nasal allergies. It has even been found to help in the removal of mucus and in providing relief for respiratory problems. Have you noticed that after a bath or a shower you’re breathing a little easier? This is the water vapour cleansing your respiratory system!

Steam rooms and the skin

Impurities can end up clogging your skin as a result of the pollutants in the air. Did you know that toxins that affect your epidermis don’t simply cause acne and other skin breakouts; they also permeate deeper into your skin until they reach your bloodstream. Spending time in a steam room has been proven to cleanse your skin and help prevent the conditions that lead to pores becoming blocked. According to recent studies, a steam room can also help to hydrate the “stratum corneum” layers of the skin, which function as a protective barrier against toxins and bacteria. When you sweat in a steam room, these impurities can wash away, leaving you with a healthy glow and your skin feeling rejuvenated!

Steam rooms and exercise

The steam room really is the optimal post-workout recovery! It has been scientifically proven that steam rooms can help in the recovery of fatigued muscles following strength-based exercises by removing lactic acid – no wonder all the best gyms often have their own steam room! Steam therapy can also assist with joint pain and muscle flexibility, making it a great option to consider if you suffer from chronic conditions such as Arthritis.

Steam rooms and stress

 Steam rooms don’t just greatly benefit your physical health, they can really help support your mental wellbeing. Steam rooms sessions have been proven to assist in relieving tension and promoting relaxation. This happens due to the influence the steam has on neurochemicals and hormones in the body, helping produce serotonin and endorphins – both of which have significant benefits on mood. Steam therapy also has the ability to help in the regulation of cortisol levels (the stress hormone, that has been found to harm the body when it’s experiencing high levels of stress).

In summary, steam rooms are able to provide a holistic wellness experience that can help improve your body and mind – what’s not to love!

The Hot Tub and Swim Spa Company provide an extensive range of steam rooms and saunas that can cater to every specification and price range! Get in touch with a member of our friendly team today to discuss further!

Using a sauna in the summer may sound a little strange, but saunas can actually help the body cool down in a number of ways – even if it’s a hot day. As the summers keep on getting hotter here in the UK, most people crave a dip in the pool and totally bypass the cooling effects a sauna can provide. Saunas are designed to alter how the body recognises heat and temperature. This is how it works…

When exposed to high temperatures, your body is put under heat stress. This causes a cascade of responses in the body. You may think that as soon as you finish your summer sauna session, you’re thrown straight back into the heat. However, this is not the case. All of a sudden, the intense summer heat isn’t as ferocious. This is because the body has already acclimatised to a higher temperature. This heat stress will leave you feeling much cooler and completely revitalised!

Typically, our immune systems are weakened in winter, but it’s great to boost it in summer too. Reawaken your immune system by combining a sauna with ice right after. Simply dipping your toes in a cool pool or putting ice on your skin can provide you with health benefits. During a sauna session, your core body temperature rises by around 1.5 degrees, which stimulates your immune system. By alternating temperatures like this, you are boosting your immune system in a very natural way, helping your body to fight infections.  

Aside from supporting your immune system, using a sauna in summer is great for your skin. Saunas are able to increase blood flow in a way that summer heat cannot. More nutrients and oxygen are delivered to skin cells, allowing them to regenerate faster, giving your skin that radiant glow. It has also been found that sauna use is a great way to delay the aging process of the skin, leaving it looking smooth and fresh.   

You’ll quickly realise that using a sauna in the summer is a game-changer, preparing your body in a way that nothing else can. It both acclimatises your body to the heat and boosts your body’s response systems. It can be understood as your training your body to work effectively when exposed to higher temperatures.

Choosing to use your sauna in the summer can assist your body to increase strength and efficiency – however you should take precautions if you are pregnant, elderly or have cardiovascular or circulatory conditions. A quick 10–15-minute session can make all the difference and help you overcome the summer heat!

The Hot Tub and Swim Spa Company stocks a variety of saunas and steam rooms for every budget and specification. Get in touch with a member of the team on 0208 300 4003 for further information.

For many of us Brits, we have never entertained the thought of installing a sauna in our homes (unlike in Finland where saunas outnumber vehicles). Even though a sauna can be a significant investment, once installed, it adds value to a property, involves minimal maintenance, and can bring several health benefits to your life.

A sauna can take up a lot of room in your house, ranging in size from 3×4 feet to 8×10 feet. This means you’ll almost certainly need to move part of your furnishings to a storage facility. When selecting a location for your sauna, ensure that it has watertight flooring and access to a 220–240-volt electrical hook-up. Most people tend to locate their at-home sauna near a shower, purely for convenience. Saunas, unlike swimming pools and hot tubs, require very little upkeep. Saunas may be left alone, with the exception of cleaning the floor on a regular basis. Sauna heaters, whether electric, gas, or wood, have few moving components and rarely fail.

Benefits:

• Assist in the removal of toxins from the body: Saunas have the superb ability to get rid of toxins from your body in a natural way. As the body sweats, harmful poisons such as nicotine, lead, and mercury are excreted.
• Soothe your aching muscles: Saunas can help to alleviate arthritic pain by momentarily relaxing muscles.
• Reducing stress levels: Saunas stimulate your body to produce endorphins, which help you relax and feel more energised.
• Rejuvenates the skin: Saunas are great for opening pores, relieve facial tension and encourage cellular development by delivering nutrients to the epidermis.
• Enhance circulation: Heat from the sauna draws blood closer to the skin and encourages blood flow to the whole body.
• Boost the metabolism: Your body can burn hundreds of calories every session and even boost your overall metabolic rate with continued regular use. This doesn’t mean that saunas should be the only thing you include in your fitness programme. Virtually all weight lost in the sauna is water weight, which returns fast.
• Clear your sinuses: Saunas provide a quick fix when it comes to common cold symptoms such as sinus congestion and throat irritation.

Infrared saunas compared to traditional saunas

Traditional sauna temperatures range from 65 to 90 degrees Celsius, depending on the type of heat source. Pouring water over the rocks to create steam, which raises the total temperature while reducing humidity. If you have a limited tolerance for heat, you should consider an infrared sauna. Unlike traditional saunas, infrared saunas use radiation to create heat and can do so while keeping the temperature ambient at as low as 20 degrees. Infrared saunas create the same amount of perspiration at a faster rate and at a lower temperature.

The Hot Tub and Swim Spa Company stocks a wide range of saunas and steam rooms. With a range of traditional and soft options as a modular sauna that allows you to customise the shape, size and design of your sauna and a large variety of ready-made saunas we are sure that we can find the right model for you.

A startingly common belief is that saunas aren’t intended to be used in the summer. This is based on the idea that saunas are fantastic for warming you up, and you’re far less likely to need warming up while it’s hot outside. Many people presume that the heated pinewood chambers in Finland, home of the sauna, provide respite from the cold Nordic winters, which they do. What they are unaware of is that most Scandinavian summer houses include a sauna.

Saunas in the Nordic regions are normally located near lakes so that they may be enjoyed in the summer, coupled with a refreshing plunge in the natural waters. Research has shown that using a sauna has benefits for your body all year round. In fact, it can make the summer heat feel a bit more bearable as it acclimatises your body to heat.

Irrespective of the time of year, a sauna can help you burn calories, lose weight, enhance your cardiovascular and respiratory health, and relax your muscles. Roman baths incorporated three different rooms of varying temperatures. These were utilised as part of the post-exercise purification ritual and were found all across the Roman empire, from chilly Britain in the north, to the scorching heat of Algeria in the south. Undoubtedly, the searing heat of the African sun did not deter Romans from using the hot rooms.

Turkish baths, which are an evolution of the Roman bath, continue to be used today, providing heated water and hot chambers to bathers in hot Middle Eastern and North African countries. Because of the multiple health benefits, the Ottomans, Norse, and Romans all used heated chambers throughout the year.  

When your body temperature rises, tension is released effortlessly from your muscles and joints. Sauna bathing also opens up your pores, aiding the secretion of metabolic waste toxins. This helps to cleanse your body, inside and out, leaving you feeling truly revitalised. With a range of traditional and soft options as a modular sauna that allows you to customise the shape, size, and design of your sauna and a large variety of ready-made saunas we are sure that we can find the right model for you.

If you’re interested in purchasing your very own sauna, feel free to browse our collection online. Alternatively, you can get in contact with a member of our team on 0208 300 4003 or sales@hottub-swimspa.com    

Winter can be a wonderful season, full of fun and celebrations and an end of term feel. However, it’s also a time of year when we can feel grumpy and anxious and illness and physical discomfort can be frequent. With a sauna you can really make the most of the season, no matter how it usually affects you.

1. Improve physical ailments. From a sore throat to a blocked nose, spending some time in your sauna can help to improve many of the minor ailments of winter.
2. Get warm and defrost. The cold can get right into your bones and joints in winter and it can feel hard to get warm. The heat of a sauna is incredibly effective, seeping deep into your muscles and through your system to help you feel toasty again.
3. Sleep better. Poor sleep can impact everything, from the way that you feel to how productive you are. Regular sauna sessions have been found to boost cell activity and improve both the quantity and quality of sleep.
4. Give yourself a detox. Sweating is the body’s most effective way to remove toxins from the system and help to keep yourself healthy, inside and out. Whether you’ve been indulging in festive food or just spending too much time sitting indoors, a sauna is a great way to help give your system a detoxing boost.
5. Looking after your skin. Winter is the time year when many of us are prone to dry skin and chapped lips. A sauna can help to bring back areas of the body that are suffering, providing moisture to help restore a healthy glow.
6. Relax. It’s difficult to switch off at this time of year, especially with the constant news cycle keeping us informed about the latest COVID-19 developments. Take time out in your sauna and you’ll find it much easier to switch off. The heat relaxes you physically and you’ll get a rush of endorphins that will help to boost your mood.
7. Festive fun. Share your sauna with other members of your household and make it a sociable event that brings connection as well as all the physical benefits.
8. Give yourself a space that’s all yours. If your home feels overcrowded and noisy right now, or you just want somewhere to get away from devices and the pressure of life, the sauna is the perfect place to do it. The warm atmosphere will help you to wind down and phones and tablets must be left outside.
9. Give your body an immune boost. Regular time in a sauna improves circulation and has a general boosting effect on the immune system, improving the health of organs and helping to keep sickness at bay.
10. Use the time to plan. If you feel like you don’t have much headspace to think about the future then you could find this in the warm, dark calm of the sauna. Sit back, relax and wait for the inspiration to come as the heat relaxes your body and opens your mind.

Using your sauna in the winter has all these benefits and more.

Winter is coming – no matter how you feel about this time of year there is no escaping that reality. If you often find yourself dreading the switch from the warmer months to the colder seasons then maybe this is a good year to start doing things differently. Especially if you’re lucky enough to have a sauna at home there is a lot that you can do to make this winter not just more survivable but more pleasurable too. These are some of the reasons why we think you need to sauna in winter 2020.

It’s a mood-boosting experience

The winter blues are very common – the days are shorter and darker and there is less opportunity to get outside because of the weather. We also get less sunshine at this time of year and all that can add up to an experience that feels a bit gloomy. If you sauna in the winter then you can help yourself to avoid these kinds of feelings. Using a sauna can trigger a release of endorphins – these are the feel good hormones that boost your mood and also help you to relax. People who regularly use a sauna during the winter months also find that they have more energy, despite the lack of light and the cold outside.

Keeping healthy

There are many health benefits to regular sauna use, ranging from cardiovascular health through to helping to reduce inflammation. If you sauna in winter then you will also be encouraging your body to sweat regularly and this is a fantastic way to eliminate toxins from your system. In the summer we sweat more often and so we are naturally eliminating toxins on a much more regular basis but this just doesn’t happen in winter to the same extent. Unless you sauna. If you do then not only will you help your body become more efficient at removing what it doesn’t need but you’ll get the circulatory and heart healthy benefits of the sauna experience too.

Fending off the winter flu

Although you can’t avoid the flu – or other bugs or viruses – by spending time in a sauna you will be healthier as a result of the experience and this will give your immune system more to work with if it does get attacked. Plus, if you are suffering with a cold or flu then the heat of the sauna can be a great way to help clear the sinuses and make you feel more comfortable. Regular sauna use has also been found to have a positive impact on sleep, which is essential for illness recovery. Not only that but the high heat has also been found to slow the growth of viruses under some conditions.

From being healthier to helping to lift the winter blues and supporting your body through some of the toughest months of the year these are just some of the reasons why you need to sauna in winter – this year and every year to come

Across the world saunas are not just seen as a luxury but an integral part of daily life for many people. If you’re lucky enough to have a sauna at home then there are many health benefits to enjoy as well as the blissful feeling that time spent in a warm, dry atmosphere like this can bring. Getting the most from your sauna depends on whether you know how to use it – and what for. These are our top tips for home sauna use.

Using your sauna – the basics

Using your sauna in the right way will ensure that you have an optimal experience and can enjoy all the health and wellbeing benefits on offer.

• Prepare properly. It’s a good idea to have a shower before you take a sauna so that the surface of your skin is clean. Dry off properly and then drink a glass of water just before you’re ready to go in.
• Dress well. In a sauna clothes can actually make the heat less effective as they will trap sweat against your skin and start to cool you down. So, wear as little as you can in the sauna. For most people this will be swimwear or just a towel.
• Choose your spot. Heat rises and so the higher you sit in a sauna the hotter the atmosphere is likely to be. Make sure you’re sitting completely on your towel with your legs slightly drawn up towards you so that you don’t burn your skin on the surface of the sauna.
• Start slowly. If you’re getting used to the sauna for the first time then spending two to six minutes in there for each session is ideal. You can then start building up to 10-15 minutes when you feel more comfortable and used to the heat and the way it will make you feel.
• Give yourself time to cool down. You’ll get the most from your sauna if you go in for several rounds at a time but it’s important to make sure that you spend some time cooling down in between each one. Sit and drink some water to replace the fluids that you’ve lost, have a cold shower or take a dip in a cool pool for a circulation boost.

The way that you use your sauna may depend on what you’re looking to get from the experience. Saunas are renowned for their ability to relieve stress and relax muscles and using a sauna before bedtime can help to improve both the quality of your sleep and how easy you find it to get to sleep. Saunas will flush the toxins from your body and can be a great tool in getting clearer skin and helping your body to fight illness. They can also improve cardiovascular performance and help to burn calories.

Using your sauna the right way ensures that you have the best possible experience and that you get the most from what your sauna has to offer to your health and lifestyle.

If you enjoyed your sauna throughout the winter months but now you’re planning to shut it up until autumn then you may want to reconsider. In countries where saunas are popular and in regular use they are never closed for the winter. That’s because a sauna can help to improve health and lifestyle all year round and even has some summer-specific advantages that can help you to get the most from this warmer time of year.

Yes you can still use a sauna in the summer

In fact, you should. All the benefits that you enjoyed from sauna use during the winter are still there if you continue to use it during the summer. You might have seen an improvement in your cardiovascular health through regular use, for example, or have been integrating the sauna into a fitness and weight loss plan. Your sauna might have been a key component in a relaxation routine during the winter or with respect to helping to improve respiratory function or the quality of your skin. Instead of stopping sauna use when the mercury rises we highly recommend that you continue if you want to enjoy these benefits all year round.

How can a sauna be beneficial in the summer?

Other than the year round benefits already described there are some other reasons why you might want to continue to use your sauna in the summer. It may seem odd to go from hot conditions outside to a dry heat inside and it’s true that you won’t get the same ‘warming up’ effect that you do in winter. However, in the summer a sauna is a great way to help your body to acclimatise to higher temperatures. If you regularly struggle with the heat of summer and find that you’re just not able to function when it gets hot, spending time in your sauna could help your body to adjust. This is the approach that many sports teams take if they’re going to be participating in competitions in warmer locations.

How should you adjust your sauna use in summer?

The main thing to remember is that you might be stepping into the sauna already dehydrated due to higher temperatures outside. As a result, it’s important to monitor your water consumption and ensure that you remain hydrated while you’re in the sauna and in the hours afterwards. You can also opt for a cold shower after your sauna – or invest in a cold plunge pool to dip into after your sessions. This is something that is especially enjoyable when the weather is warm outside and which will feel very refreshing after the heat of the sauna.

As we move into the summer months there are plenty of reasons to make sure you’re still using your sauna on a regular basis. From general wellness to helping you cope better with the summer heat this year, using a sauna in the summer makes a lot of sense.

Summer heat can already feel like a sauna so why would you then want to use your home sauna on top? Here are 10 very good reasons why we think that sauna use in summer is actually a great idea.

• More endorphins. Studies have found that sauna sessions release endorphins (feel good hormones) in the same way that exercising does. Whether you have an injury that means you can’t be that active or you’re just looking for an additional endorphin release in each day, spending time in the sauna could help you to get it.
• Better skin. Sweating is the primary way that the body rids itself of toxins and this is something you’ll do in abundance in a sauna. This, combined with the increase in circulation can help to detoxify, remove dead skin cells, improve skin elasticity and release any tension, leading to overall improved skin condition.
• Reducing stress. Just because the sky is blue and the sun is shining that doesn’t mean that life suddenly becomes carefree. Your sauna is a calm and quiet space where you can relax into the heat and let the cares of the day simply melt away.
• Managing the heat of the summer better. Spending time in the sauna can help you to adjust to hotter days – nothing outside is likely to feel as warm as the 20 minutes you spend in the sauna heat.
• Better pain management. Whether you suffer from a condition such as arthritis or you have sporting aches and pains from a new workout routine a sauna is a great way to help ease this out of your body. The warm environment has been found to work wonders on aching muscles and joints.
• Supporting weight loss and fitness. As your heart rate rises in a sauna this can be a very effective way for the body to burn calories as your metabolic rate gets a boost. Whether you’ve been eating too much banana bread in lockdown or you’re looking for ways to supplement weight loss routines a sauna can be a useful tool.
• A boost to your immune system. Especially right now most of us are looking for any opportunity to increase internal immune support. Sauna time not only helps to clear airways thanks to the steam but also tricks your body into thinking you have a fever, which will trigger the release of white blood cells to fight off any infection.
• Relaxation and pain relief. Heat can have an instant impact on any inflammation in the body that may be responsible for discomfort and pain. It also provides a boost to circulation and helps muscles that may have been rigid to relax.
• Event training. If you’re planning to take part in an event in the summer – whether this year or next – a sauna could be a useful part of your training. Regular sauna use can help you to acclimatise to the heat so that your performance doesn’t dip when it’s warm.
• Holiday feels. The summer can feel chaotic and uncomfortable and your sauna can be a relaxing space in which you can escape, sit back and chill out as if you were on holiday.

From a relaxing space to a healthy environment, your sauna is a great place to be this summer.