Some people suppose that dry saunas and steam rooms are the same, but they are separate. As a matter of fact, for multiple decades, there’s been an ongoing sauna vs steam room debate between those endorsing sauna use and those who believe steam rooms are better.
Before racing into the sauna vs steam room comparisons, it is valuable to set apart a wet sauna from a steam room. In a wet sauna, water is transferred onto hot rocks, which raises the humidity a tad, but not close to the humidity levels existing in a steam room. Indeed, in a wet sauna, the relative humidity is nearly 20%, compared to 100% in a steam room.
Far infrared saunas and steam rooms are fundamentally different types of hot baths, but a far infrared sauna has dry heat and a steam room has moist heat. To put it another way, saunas have very low levels of humidity, permitting them to be quite a bit hotter than steam rooms. You know how 90 degrees outside with decreased humidity is quite a bit comfortable than 90 degrees outside with elevated humidity? Similar principles pertain in the sauna vs steam room example. Saunas consist of dry heat, and the body can tolerate elevated temperatures if the humidity is low enough. Steam rooms contain moist heat, and due to the fact that sweating is far less efficient (since it can’t dissipate easily) in a steam room, the temperature have to be kept lower.
In a far infrared sauna, the temperature can get to 180F and are safe since the heat is dry. In a steam room, the temperature is kept at about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, since if it were much hotter it could blister the skin.
Infrared sauna and steam rooms are constructed differently since of their divergent heating methods and the varying conditions inside steam rooms and sauna. Steam showers use a generator to boil water and diffuse it throughout the air, creating 100% humidity. Dry saunas use stones placed atop a heater, which is usually electric or wood-burning (but gas and propane powered dry saunas heaters exist too). When water is drenched onto the hot rocks, the steam quickly dissipates.
Steam showers have to be constructed in certain ways to deal with the elevated moisture levels established by the steam. Typically they are lined with ceramic tile, and they are typically made with slanted ceilings so that steam build-up won’t “rain” onto the steam bathers.
So what is the main point in the far infrared sauna vs steam shower debate? The following are some major points.
1. Steam rooms feel hotter, even though they’re cooler, due to the fact that sweat can’t evaporate. You won’t actually perspire more in a steam room; it’s just that when the sweat doesn’t evaporate, you’re more attentive of how much you’re sweating.
2. Some people with sinus complications or asthma may desire the moist heat of steam baths. Steam inhalation is soothing to bothered respiratory passages, and dry heat can possibly make them feel more bothered.
3. However, if steam showers are not entirely and regularly cleaned, they may be reproducing grounds for germs such as MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) and the fungus that leads to athlete’s foot.
4. Some people feel that saunas over-dry the dermis and can result in irritation and busted capillaries.
5. Far infrared sauna use can be very dehydrating, so it is paramount to drink water before and after using a far infrared sauna. The same is true to a smaller extent for steam showers.
It is unlikely that the sauna vs steam room debate will have a clear winner anytime soon. There are advantages and disadvantages of both. If, for example, you are a guest at a health club that has both, you should make your decision based on your specific health history and on considerations such as cleanliness and sanitation.
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categories: Sauna,Steam Room,Infrared Sauna,Steam Shower,Exercise,Fitness,Weight Loss,Cardiovascular,Skin,Toxins