Why is Finland called a homeland of saunas?

Posted by Simona Lukošaitytė  |  July 04, 2016

Is it true, that sauna was invited by Finns?

If you checked the history of saunas, you would see – it’s not the shortest one… For centuries everybody is arguing – who was the one to invent and discover this amazing activity. But in fact, most of the people would agree that sauna is a part of Finnish culture. However, other countries also have quite big traditions related with saunas. Whole Turkey, the Native American inipi or sweat lodge, the Russian banya and Japanese onsen. So why people would really say that saunas – Scandinavian discovery? Well, maybe because Finland has the biggest saunas establishments, including in private homes, hotels, apartments, summer cottages, public swimming pools and even in airports! By the last information, Finland owns a population of 5.3 million inhabitants. You could calculate about two million saunas there! So it proves that Finns are totally crazy about it.

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Top tips to know before hitting finnish saunas

If Finns are inviting you to use their own sauna, it means they respect you and want to know you better. People in Finland is even making jokes that a lot of decisions in political and business life have been made in the saunas. They like to stimulate the blood flow and create a pleasant scent by whipping themselves with a whisk made of fresh birch branches. Finns prefer to take saunas completely naked, and it can be quite strange to other culture people. They think what nudity is not a big deal – it’s natural, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of your own body. But if you don’t like it you can always use a swimsuit or a towel. You can throw water over the rocks whenever you feel this way. If you think sauna is too hot, feel free to say your opinion, because it’s normal to take regular cold breaks to cool down. Do you wanna try authentic saunas? You need to know that when saunas will be dark and silent and only smell of fresh birch leaves and tars. But the most important advice is to keep yourself hydrated – drink soft drinks and water.

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Saunas – natural cure

The reason why people in Finland use saunas so often is not just entertaining thing, but also is like medicaments for a lot of illness. First of all – saunas relieve stress. People who find it difficult to cope with the effects of stress may benefit from using a sauna. The muscles often tense up when a person feels stressed, and the heat from a sauna can help relax tight muscles. Without stress you will sleep better. When the muscles relaxed and blood is circulating optimally, it is easier to sleep at night. Ladies like to use saunas because it helps to clean and make skin more beautiful. Saunas cause the pores to open up. When the body begins to produce sweat via deep sweating, the skin is then cleansed, and dead skin cells are replaced – keeping your skin in good working condition. It also helps if you have too much weight. And saunas make the immune system stronger. Because sessions of sauna helps, produce white blood cells. A few sessions in the sauna improve blood flow to our skin, which aids the growth of new skin and also removes all the dead cells that were building up previously. The oils, which are the natural moisturisers and antibiotics present in our skin are mobilised through saunas. This helps us to look younger in a significant way. All these benefits of using saunas regular make you look younger say scientists. So sauna provides a pampering retreat – where we can relax and restore body and soul and it’s truly makes you feel better.

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