Keep Calm and Sweat On!

Photo taken from blog My Two Cities: Seattle Dalian

Sometimes the body needs a little detox and relaxation, especially after a stressful week, a hard workout, or a crazy weekend at the ‘Shoe. Lucky for the students here at Ohio State, the RPAC (one of my most favorite places on campus) provides two dry saunas located in the Aquatic Pavilion. Now, a lot of you probably didn’t even know that we had an aquatic pavilion, let alone that it housed saunas. I don’t blame you, since the saunas are kind of hidden from the rest of the RPAC’s facilities. To be honest, I only just recently discovered these saunas during spring quarter of my freshman year. Ever since then, I seem to make weekly trips to the sauna after my daily workouts.

Besides the feeling of relaxation in a stress-free confinement, a dry sauna has plenty of health benefits (which gives me even more motivation to go!). According to Livestrong.com, a dry sauna increases blood circulation and body metabolism. Due to the high heat, your heart rate increases, thus prompting your body to burn off more fat. However, in order to stay hydrated, it is recommended that you drink plenty of water after your sauna sesh to replenish your body of the vitamins and minerals lost from sweating.

Another benefit of dry sauna sessions is toxin release. Your pores open, causing you to sweat, and therefore permits an easy detoxification of the body. Although there is not enough research to prove this, according to the Mayo Clinic, I have found that my body feels more healthy and invigorated (especially when stricken with deadly colds) after sitting in the sauna for as little as 15 minutes.

If your schedule permits, take some relaxation time for yourself and explore the saunas (a typical sauna visit is recommended to last only 15 to 20 minutes in order to keep yourself from not overheating your body, so it won’t take much time). Plus, with everyone starting to get sick, a quick sauna sesh may boost your immune system and fight off these viruses, thus improving your health in the long run. And ladies, don’t be afraid to sweat profusely in front of the other visitors, especially those of the male gender! There are far more sweaty people that like to visit the saunas…trust me.

Information sourced from:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/26219-health-benefits-dry-sauna/

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/sauna_health_benefits