When homeowners consider dedicated spaces for health, wellness, and fitness around the house, the first thing to come to mind for most might be a home gym, pool, or spa/swim spa. But one option that most might overlook is a personal home sauna. With a history dating back thousands of years, the Finnish tradition of sauna use still carries many modern-day health and wellness benefits – both physical and mental. In addition to soothing and relaxing sore, tired muscles and joints, sauna use can treat arthritic pain, improve heart health through improved circulation, and provide tension, stress, allergy, and sinus relief.
Types of Saunas
While the many health benefits associated with regular sauna use may persuade you into considering an in-home sauna, there are a few different types of saunas from which to choose, each very similar to the other, but with slightly different methods of increasing your body’s core temperature.
- Traditional Finnish Sauna – Traditional Finnish saunas utilize a heater, rocks, and water to create some of the highest heat you can get from a sauna. Finnish saunas allow you the option to pour water on the hot rocks to create steam in order to achieve a higher humidity. The higher humidity creates an extreme ambient temperature (as high as 190 degrees Fahrenheit) that elevates your core body temperature. For example, compare a 90-degree day in Georgia to a 90-degree day in Nevada; while it’s the same air temperature, the higher humidity makes it feel hotter, meaning you’ll sweat more, which also carries additional health benefits.
- Dry Sauna – A Finnish sauna can also be used as a dry sauna simply by eliminating the use of water to create steam and extra humidity. The temperature in a dry sauna uses a lower, milder heat than you’d find in a Finnish sauna – typically around 140 degrees Fahrenheit. While the dry sauna offers a lot of the same health benefits, the lower humidity level may not provide the same respiratory benefits or sinus relief as a traditional Finnish spa.
- Infrared Sauna – Infrared saunas are similar to dry saunas in that water is not used, but the dry heat is created by light emitted from infrared lamps instead of a heater or a stove. While an infrared sauna creates a lower, milder temperature, the light waves given off by the infrared lamps travel deeper into the body, generally causing a more vigorous sweat, in spite of the lower temperature.
Which Sauna is Best for You?
While the best type of sauna for any individual depends mainly on their own comfort preferences and reasons for use, the decision will most likely come down to the availability of two things – space and money. The great news is that a custom sauna requires very little space. The sauna experts at Atlanta Spa & Leisure can not only help you plan a custom sauna in an otherwise unused space, but they can also help you build it, too! Atlanta Spa & Leisure also offers traditional freestanding, panel-built sauna kits, complete with finished interior and exterior and enhanced lighting.
And when it comes to the money part, Atlanta Spa & Leisure offers a convenient financing option which allows you to buy today and pay over time so that you can enjoy all the wonderful health and wellness benefits of a sauna RIGHT NOW.
For more information, visit one of our Atlanta-area showrooms or download our FREE sauna guide to learn more about owning your very own personal home sauna.
