Saunas, Steam, and Bathing: The Ancient Relaxation Techniques That Are Still Keeping Us Youthful
Steam is one of the oldest known human health treatments, and it's still one of the most effective today. Its anti-aging benefits and positive effects on mind-body wellness make it the perfect antidote to life in the 21st Century.
Saunas have evolved alongside steam treatments and are incredibly popular today. How is a sauna different from a steam room? Essentially, saunas are "dry," while steam rooms are wet. However, both have incredible health benefits.
So what makes them so magical? Discover how an ancient relaxation method could transform your life, and learn how you can enjoy these benefits from the comfort of your own home!
Ancient Relaxation
Heat treatments have been used by humans for thousands of years. Naturally-occurring steam baths like hot springs are virtually unchanged today from how they appeared to our Neolithic ancestors. Meanwhile, we've found all kinds of creative ways to replicate and enhance these benefits indoors.
Let's run through a brief history of steam and heat treatments.
Prehistoric Bathing
There are documented cases of humans using hot springs for rest and relaxation thousands of years back – as early as 7,000 BCE in modern-day Türkiye and perhaps as early as 12,000 years ago in regions from China to the Americas.
However, the health benefits of this ancient relaxation technique may be far older. Archeological evidence suggests that hot spring areas in the East African Rift Valley were known and somewhat understood by our ancestors as far back as two million years ago.
Today, as we seek a balanced lifestyle that promotes mind-body wellness, we often regret our loss of "animal" instincts that naturally let us know what was good for us and what wasn't. Our prehistoric attraction to geothermal areas where natural steam baths occurred shows this instinct at work.
Of course, this is one instinctive benefit we haven't quite forgotten. Anyone who has tried steam baths recognizes the innate "goodness" in how they feel afterward! This ancient relaxation technique runs deep in our nature.
Steam Bathing in Antiquity: Greece and Rome
Among the best-known "formalized" early steam baths are those developed in Ancient Greece and Rome. Around 2,500 years ago, the Greeks started building indoor complexes with large public bathing areas. The water was heated artificially using burning coals or hot rocks, creating a warm, steamy environment where citizens could relax.
The steam bath wasn't immediately accepted in Greece, as it was perceived as running counter to masculine ideals. However, over time it became an integral part of Greek life, and the athletic recovery benefits of steam treatments were widely accepted in the homeland of the Olympics.
Romans and Greeks shared many cultural phenomena, and the Romans expanded Greek baths (literally). Roman baths were much larger, open to more people, and less intimate.
They also introduced the Laconium, or "sweating room." This featured no water and is an early predecessor of the modern-day dry sauna.
The Finnish Sauna
Hundreds of miles north of the balmy Mediterranean, around 2,000 years ago, early Finns were developing a way to keep warm in the frigid winters. The earliest saunas were more practical than beneficial to health, as the heating method typically filled the room with smoke.
However, over the centuries, the Finns added chimneys to counter this and discovered that the sauna was therapeutic as well as practical. Saunas typically use "dry heat" rather than steam, although variants known as "wet saunas" exist.
The sauna has become ubiquitous in athletic recovery and mind-body wellness. This ancient relaxation technique is used all over the world today by professional athletes and individuals who enjoy its anti-aging and health benefits.
Ancient Steam Baths in the Americas
Geothermal springs exist across Central and North America, and there's evidence that Mesoamerican civilizations used steam baths called temazcales for numerous purposes. These included health treatments and mind-body wellness practices, as well as meeting places for political discussions and even romantic encounters.
The healing benefits of steam rooms were well-known to the Aztecs and other civilizations across the Americas. People would visit to cure their illnesses and seek spiritual communion, emphasizing the steam bath as a sanctuary of mind-body wellness.
Global Popularity and Modern Heat Treatments
Civilizations worldwide have enjoyed steam baths for millennia – China, Türkiye, and Iceland all have long-established cultures of using hot water and steam for health, anti-aging, and relaxation. East Africa is home to the earliest recorded uses of geothermal energy for rest and relaxation. Despite some decline around the 18th Century, steam rooms and heat treatments have achieved global popularity today.
This ancient relaxation technique is available at private venues like spas but is also accessible from the comfort of your own home. Private saunas and hot tubs are both fantastic ways to enjoy all the benefits of these ancient treatments, from anti-aging to athletic recovery and mental wellness.
Now that we know our history, let's explore those benefits in full.
Anti-Aging
In a market flooded with anti-aging products and procedures, heat remains one of the most effective and well-tested anti-aging treatments of all. Rather than relying on complex combinations of ingredients and "new science," heat treatments offer a few key benefits that have helped individuals age gracefully for millennia.
Exfoliating Pores
Exfoliation is central to maintaining healthy skin. We sweat through our pores, and the combination of water, dirt from our skin, toxins, and other detritus builds up, leading to pores clogging.
Exfoliating means opening up the pores and encouraging sweat. This is how heat treatments work – the heat naturally opens up the pores, and our raised body temperature means we start sweating.
As we sweat, dirt is pushed out of the opened pores. Pores become unclogged, and our skin is able to breathe more easily. This removes the feeling of greasy, oily skin that we become accustomed to if we don't wash for days or live in highly polluted areas.
Exfoliating treatments are available in myriad forms, but sometimes the old ways are best. This anti-aging method is as old as the hills and still the best tool we have.
Reducing Inflammation
As we age, we become more susceptible to aches, pains, and other injuries. Inflamed muscles and joints are especially common.
Heat treatments have been reported to stimulate muscle recovery by increasing protein synthesis. Protein is essential for muscle recovery and healing inflammation.
This has obvious athletic recovery benefits, but it's also central to the anti-aging benefits of heat treatments. We feel and look older as we stop moving so easily to accommodate our aches and pains. The better your muscles and joints heal, the younger and spryer you'll feel!
Detoxification
"Detox" is a buzzword in modern health circles. Again, there's a huge range of products available to help you detox, from drinks to skincare products to medication. But what does detoxification mean?
Simply, it's removing toxins from your body – in this case, via your pores. Toxins are responsible for numerous health problems, including skin conditions like acne. Opening your pores allows your body to expel these toxins and heal your skin and body.
Heart Health
Your heart rate rises when the ambient temperature is warm. This is because blood vessels move closer to the skin – this is what causes you to turn red. Your heart rate increases to compensate for the reduced blood pressure at your body's core. Infrared saunas are especially effective in this regard.
Consistently raising your core temperature can help reduce blood pressure in the long term, which has long-lasting health benefits and reduces the risk of cardiac arrest and other heart problems. High blood pressure is the enemy of mind-body wellness, as it has numerous other related symptoms like stress, fatigue, and general discomfort.
These all lead to premature aging, both inside and outside the body. The anti-aging properties of heat treatments are holistic, accessible, and proven throughout the millennia.
Mind-Body Wellness
The relationship between mind and body is essential to any successful wellness practice. The body suffers when the mind is stressed and worn out. Meanwhile, an unhealthy body can make it harder to enjoy the benefits of a healthy mind.
As an ancient relaxation technique that also promotes physical well-being, heat treatments have been a pillar of mind-body wellness practices for eons. Here's how it works.
Promoting a Calm, Tranquil State
From Mesoamerican associations with underworld water gods to the Roman use of the bathhouse as a good place to read, contemplation and tranquility are staples of steam treatments. Bathing or soaking in steam can be a profoundly meditative experience, promoting mental calm and clarity.
Meditation is often practiced in conjunction with physical activity to achieve a holistic sense of mind-body wellness. Many cultures integrate meditation into athletic activities such as martial arts. Using a steam room or sauna as a meditative retreat that also heals the body is a tried-and-tested technique.
Clearing Sinuses
The common cold is widely accepted as a "minor" illness, but even mild cases leave you feeling like you can't do anything at 100%. Clogged sinuses prevent regular breathing and make the mind feel thick and heavy.
Using steam to clear sinuses is one of its best-known benefits. Whether it's a bowl of hot water and a towel over your head or a full steam room, it's a proven recovery technique for clogged sinuses.
Keeping the Body Supple
As noted, heat treatments can reduce blood pressure and heal inflammation. High blood pressure and inflamed muscles and joints aren't conducive to a healthy mind – they're irritating, tiring, and put us off activities that would improve our mood (e.g., exercise).
Using a sauna or steam room can make a huge difference simply by letting your body heal naturally. An improved mood is often linked to a healthier body.
Healthy Mind, Healthy Body
The relationship between mind and body can't be overstated. Taking care of both is essential for a healthy, balanced lifestyle and a positive outlook.
Athletic Recovery
Professional athletes often use saunas and steam rooms to recover from intense exercise sessions. Even hot showers after exercise do more than wash off sweat and dirt – the rising steam helps muscles heal and pores exfoliate.
The benefits of heat for athletic recovery have been known since ancient times. The Greeks, a society that prized physical prowess, embraced bathhouses as an integral part of their culture despite initial resistance and claims that the practice was unmasculine compared to cold-water washing. This may have been partly because even hardened warriors and elite athletes discovered that warm baths promoted athletic recovery.
Healing Muscles
When we exercise, our muscles suffer small tears and become inflamed. This is a natural part of their growth, but athletic recovery can be painful – this is why your body hurts after an intensive workout.
Muscles need protein to heal properly. Protein synthesis is better achieved at higher temperatures, which is why athletes often use heat treatments like infrared saunas to increase the body's core temperature and improve protein synthesis.
Reducing Stiffness
Likewise, stiffness results from a build-up of lactic acid in our muscles. Stretching helps release this acid and keeps us feeling limber after exercise.
Saunas may help release excess lactic acid as you recover after exercise. This helps you recover between sessions and means that exercise doesn't have to leave you feeling sore in your daily life!
How an Ancient Relaxation Technique Became the Antidote to 21st-Century Life
Saunas, hot baths, and steam rooms have been part of humanity's most holistic healing methods for millennia. Sometimes, when we're looking to improve our mind-body wellness in a stressful world, it's helpful to look back at techniques that our ancestors have long understood the benefits of.
A sauna or hot tub provides the perfect place for your mind to escape and your body to relax and heal. Redwood Outdoors offers an incredible range of indoor and outdoor saunas, hot tubs, and holistic heat treatments that you can enjoy at any time from the comfort of your own home.
Let us help you find your peace. Get in touch to learn more!