To Sauna Or Not To Sauna – That Is The Question

Do you want to sauna, or not? Will it really give you any benefits or not? Is it expensive or not? All very good questions. Bottom line is this – do you want to feel better and provide your body with a healthy and beneficial experience? If you answered yes to that last question, then whip out the books and plans on saunas and start doing some research.

You can't really get a good idea of what a sauna is or what it can do for you, without knowing some of the history, and some of the benefits you could derive from using one. You also need to have some kind of idea of the types of saunas on the market, and how you can either build one yourself (you handy devil you) or assemble one yourself (with some friends and a few beers).

Finnish immigrants began homesteading in the USA, building saunas first, and their houses next. They obviously had their priorities straight. A sauna bath was "the" place to get warm, get relaxed, to socialize as a family, and to above all else, open the body's pores as a result of the high heat and sweat out the "bad" stuff in your body. Sauna baths were also used to care for the sick. Over the years of course, saunas evolved from saunas that were fueled by wood to electric saunas, infrared saunas and all manner of combinations in between. From the bare basics – heat, humidity, benches, heater, a water bucket and ladle to contemporary high tech saunas with etched glass doors, sound systems and a variety of other "must have" sauna accessories.

What are the health benefits of sauna baths? Sweating does three things for us – gets rid of body wastes, regulates our body temperature and keeps our skin clean and pliable. During a 15-minute sauna, approximately one liter of sweat is lost from your body. Sweat is known to eliminate wastes from your body. This is definitely one of the major health benefits of sauna baths. Sweating can excrete heavy metals that would take the kidneys 24 hours to eliminate. Over 90 percent of what reaches the skin's surface is water, but the remainder is wastes your body does not need. A higher internal body temperature also affects your endocrine glands, which regulate metabolism, thyroid, adrenal, ovaries and testes. Your oxygen needs will increase making your lungs more efficient.

You can either design your own sauna or opt for pre-builts. For designing your own, choose a plan to follow and adjust, pick your wood, figure out the size of the room you want, where you want to put it, use the proper insulation, venting, lighting and heater. If you're handy, this will be a snap for you to accomplish. If not, don't despair, you can always buy a kit and take it from there.

For an indoor sauna you can try a pre-built kit in which you get everything you need – ceilings, walls, panels, etc. and they are finished on both sides and insulated inside. Along with the kits comes a "put together by the numbers" set of instructions for sauna installation. It's not like there is any actual construction involved.

An outdoor sauna kit is relatively easy as well. Do you want a pre-cut sauna kit, or a pre-built modular sauna. Pre-cut packages have items in them like tongue-and-groove cedar boards for walls and the ceiling, and pre-cut benches. They also include the heater, door and accessories. If you happen to be doing the building outdoors, then you will need to draw up some plans and build an insulated frame on a poured concrete pad. There is lots of help available from experts in the industry, and online.

If you don't have experience building, then the pre-built modular sauna kits will work for you. Just have a contractor pour your concrete slab to the dimensions specified in the kit. Lay out the floor frame and start by sliding the pre-built wall panels onto the floor frame. It's pretty straightforward as most manufacturers go out of their way to make easy lock in place panels. In addition, you'd have pre-assembled benches and pre-hung doors. The only other thing you would need is an electrician to finish up with the wiring. You would pay more for this kind of a sauna kit.

Choices, choices, choices – aren't they grand? You can go so many routes to have the sauna of your dreams, that there is absolutely no excuse not to get one right? See you at the sauna building bee!