Maximize the Benefits of your Sauna Session

Happy New Year! Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions this year? We did! And our resolution is to help you maximize your sauna use with these 6 helpful tips:

1) Take it slow

If you are new to the sauna experience, start with 10-15 minutes at a time in the heat. Let your body adapt. The benefits of sauna come with consistency, rather than length of time spent in the sauna. Practice sauna 2-3 times a week for 10-15 minutes. Then, see how you feel. Once you get the hang of it, feel free to add on a little bit more time. It is recommended that after 20 minutes you step out of the sauna and take a break, letting your body cool off.  

2) Listen to your body

If you start to feel queasy, nauseous or dizzy while in your sauna then it is time to get out. Heat affects us all differently. Find what works best for you. 

3) Drink water

Stay hydrated! Drink water before, during and after your sauna session. This is so important. Your body loses up to one pint of fluid during a short sauna session. Make sure to replenish in order to get the full benefits of a traditional or infrared sauna. Add electrolytes for a hydration boost! Buy a fun flavored electrolyte drink or make your own using citrus, honey, and salt. 

4) Add light therapy and aromatherapy

Think about adding colored lighting or essential oils to your sauna experience. Blue light is beneficial to waking up the circadian rhythm in the morning, while red light is soothing right before bed. Essential oils not only smell amazing, adding to the calming atmosphere of a sauna, but they also have added health benefits and healing properties.  The scents we offer are pine, ylang ylang, lavender, cedarwood, frankincense, eucalyptus, peppermint, and lemon oil. 

5) Sweat, rinse, repeat

Take a shower before and after your sauna session. A rinse before ensures that you enter your sauna clean and ready to sweat, while after removes any toxins that were eliminated by sweating during your sauna session. A cool shower before and after will  leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed. Once you’ve cooled down a bit, feel free to jump back in the sauna for another session and do it all over again! 

6) Be consistent 

Many of the benefits of sauna come with consistency. This means using your sauna 2-4 times a week for 10-15 minutes. Think of it as a mini workout. It takes commitment and consistency to get the benefits that you want. The more you sauna, the more acclimated your body will become to the heat, and the more physical, mental, and emotional benefits you will receive. That being said, there are still calming, relaxing, and de-stressing benefits of sauna no matter how many times you use it throughout the year. 

Give it a try! Make the sauna one of your New Year’s Resolutions. Let us know how we can help!