Both are excellent at post-exercise recovery, but hot tubs are designed to focus on alleviating joint and muscle pain, while a sauna may work better to improve flexibility. They can also both work well for you all year long, but each provides a unique benefit throughout the changing seasons.
Saunas are ideal for those seeking deep, sweat-induced detoxification and increased endurance, while hot tubs offer therapeutic water immersion that reduces joint strain and promotes relaxation. Choosing between these options ultimately depends on your health goals, lifestyle, and preferences.
Beyond pleasure and relaxation, emerging evidence suggests that sauna bathing has several health benefits, which include reduction in the risk of vascular diseases such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and neurocognitive diseases; nonvascular conditions such as pulmonary diseases including ...
Taking a sauna bath of 30 minutes reduces blood pressure and increases vascular compliance as well as heart rate similarly to medium-intensity exercise, a study has found. The research provides new insight into changes that take place in the human body during and after having a sauna.
Similar to sitting in a sauna, hot tubs can help you to detox your body through a deep and invigorating sweat. The water inside most modern hot tubs is heated to around 100°F to 104°F. While spending time inside your spa, your core body temperature will rise, ultimately leading to sweat.
Treatment options that tackle unwanted sweating also fight body odor. Physiologically, no; humans sweat to cool ourselves, not to clear toxins. Sweat is made up of 99% water, mixed with a bit of salt, carbohydrates, protein, and some urea (a nontoxic compound made by the liver).
To achieve a positive effect, up to three sauna sessions are recommended per week. For healthy people, there is nothing to stop them from even taking a sauna every day. However, it should be noted that if you visit the sauna several times a week, you should reduce the number of sauna sessions per day.
Cold showers after sauna sessions enhance blood circulation, reduce muscle soreness, and support muscle recovery by alternating between hot and cold temperatures.
A sauna use may also cause blood pressure to fall, so people with low blood pressure should talk to their doctor to make sure sauna use is safe. People who have recently had a heart attack should also talk to their doctor first.
But, if you're reading online about using an infrared sauna for liver detox, you're probably reading a quite misleading explanation of what is truly happening. A sauna doesn't detox the liver directly - instead, it helps detoxification processes become more optimal by removing toxins from the equation!
The short answer is that it's generally not recommended to bring your phone into a sauna. The high temperatures and humidity levels can cause damage to your phone's internal components, and the risk of overheating or even explosion is not worth the convenience of having your phone with you.
Should I Hot Tub Before or After the Sauna? If you're using both, start with the sauna before transitioning to the hot tub.
Hot tubs typically register 100-104 degrees. All of these potentially relaxing experiences can dilate (enlarge) your blood vessels, divert blood from your core to your skin and lower your blood pressure. Your body then compensates for the lower blood pressure by increasing your heart rate by about 30 percent.
After the end of the sauna session, you should not clean yourself with shower gel or soap, just apply some lotion.
Saunas induce sweating, a natural process that helps the body eliminate toxins. As pores open up in response to heat, impurities are released, promoting a thorough skin cleansing- which can contribute to a clearer complexion and improved skin health.
Thoroughly wipe yourself off after your sauna. Optionally shower 15 minutes later with room temperature or cold water. Hydrate all the time and during your session, but avoid restroom breaks that interrupt your session.
While the optimal duration may vary depending on individual factors and sauna types, a general guideline of 15-30 minutes per session, 2-4 times per week, is a good starting point.
Saunas themselves do not directly burn fat. The weight loss observed after a sauna session is primarily due to water loss through sweating, which is temporary and regained upon rehydration. With that being said, there are a few ways that saunas can have indirect benefits that may support weight loss or body mass loss.
Dehydration is a major concern when using a sauna daily. You can lose a lot of fluids through sweat, leading to fatigue and poor physical performance. Drink water before, during, and after your sauna session. Watch for signs of severe dehydration like dizziness and dark urine.
The risks. Germs can spread through hot tub water and cause respiratory, skin, or gastrointestinal illnesses. Hot tub users are at risk for these illnesses if they swallow, have contact with, or breathe in mists or aerosols from water contaminated with germs.
Hot tub lung is an emerging disorder caused by exposure to Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) organisms contaminating hot tub water. The description of this disorder has been limited to several case reports published since 1997.
The Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and other medical professionals and safety bodies have generally recommended that children under the age of 5 years old should NOT use a hot tub or be subjected to extremely warm baths due to potential risks of overheating, heat stroke, dehydration, and bacterial ...