Dry saunas and steam rooms should be familiar to patrons of spas, fitness centers and pools. Both amenities use heat for various therapeutic effects. Although these facilities have many similarities, there are some key contrasts between the two. Know the various differences between these facilities to get the best possible benefit from both.
History
Dry saunas and steam rooms trace their long histories back to the elaborate bath houses of the Roman Empire. Over the centuries, these facilities have been used by Native Americans, Finns, Russians and Turks. Traditional Russian and Turkish bathhouses can be enjoyed today in cities with high populations of these nationalities.
Atmosphere
The most striking difference between the dry sauna and the steam room is the humidity of the air. The dry sauna, as its name implies, uses dry heat to administer its therapeutic effect. The walls and benches are wood, which makes them cool enough to touch or sit on. The room is typically heated with an electric heater. Steam rooms, by contrast, are as humid as possible, ideally with humidity at 100 percent. The room is lined in tile to resist the moisture that would damage the wood of the sauna. Instead of a heater, the temperature of the room is attained by piping steam into the small room.
Temperature
While the steam room and dry sauna both feel very hot to the user, the steam room is significantly cooler than the dry sauna. Steam room temperature normally does not exceed 125 degrees Fahrenheit. The high humidity makes it seem hotter than it is. The dry sauna will often be about 50 degrees hotter than the steam room, with some reaching almost 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The dry atmosphere of the sauna allows the body to cool itself efficiently, so that users often feel hotter in the steam room, despite the cooler actual temperature.
Benefits
The dry atmosphere of the sauna causes profuse sweating, which is thought to efficiently rid the body of toxins through perspiration. Athletes such as boxers and wrestlers will often use the sauna to temporarily reduce their body weights for competition. Steam rooms also cause sweat loss, but not as much as the sauna, due to their humidity. The water vapor of the steam room soothes airway and nasal passages. To enhance the effect of the steam, some users will add eucalyptus oil to the water source, which clears the sinuses.
Warning
Both the dry sauna and steam room employ very high temperatures and should be treated with extreme caution. Limit your first exposure to only five minutes, increasing your exposure as your tolerance improves.
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