2019.10.29 - How to use saunas above 50

How to use saunas above 50

Even though most people (especially men) start their families between the ages of 30 and 50, our biological clock doesn’t stop, but our health gets more and more endangered. Do we have to worry about saunas or it is actually helpful?

Many who’ve turned 50 doesn’t take being put into one category with elderly people well. Teenagers tend to hurt their feelings by calling them old. The quality of medical help and the spreading trend of healthy and sporty lifestyle make it possible that the ones above 50 are usually in perfect health and they don’t have to worry about anything. 

Perhaps it is the healthy lifestyle trend that leads many people into baths and saunas. Saunas have an amazing detoxifying effect, it stimulates blood circulation, improves metabolism, and vitalizes tissues, so it is appropriate to use for both the youth and elder - perhaps maybe the elderly need it even more due to their more passive lifestyle which needs a little shake-up. 

So overall sauna is generally recommended, although it shouldn’t be used recklessly! It isn't a coincidence that all saunas have at least one emergency alarm since it can also be dangerous. The main reason for that is that saunas are burden our body, blood circulation becomes more vivid and metabolism gets accelerated since the body responds to the increased temperature by sweating. This overuses our hearts without any activity, (so you don't run nor do any exercise) but your heart rate increases. In addition to that, fluid selection results in salt loss and can damage your body's water-salt balance if you don’t replenish the fluid and the lost minerals. 

This may also endanger young people, however, the young body tends to be more tolerant towards burden, but with age, the subsidence in veins and being a little overweight make the circulatory system more vulnerable, thus it is more likely to collapse in the sauna. Just as we don’t run a marathon without getting prepared, we should make our circulatory system and heart getting used to saunas, and then stay for longer periods. 

How shall we use saunas over 50?

1)  First of all, you should be aware if you have any hidden circulatory disease. Cardiac arrhythmia, possible previous infarction, varicose veins, blood pressure problems. Naturally, this diagnosing should be done by an expert which is useful even if you are not planning to visit saunas regularly. If you have any problem that might be a risk factor you should consult a doctor about this. Don't take unnecessary risks!

2)  Regardless of your state of health, do not start hopping into saunas recklessly. Get your body used to the burden! In the beginning, do fewer laps and spend less time in. The actual amounts can be found out by experiencing for yourself, but you can also ask the sauna master about this who is available in most baths. Just as you don’t start jogging by doing 20-30 kilometers, you don’t start with spending hours in the sauna! 

3)  In the getting-used-to-it phase, you ought to choose the lighter types of saunas! From the Finnish sauna through the steam cabin and the infrared sauna to the tepidarium, there are many levels to choose from. Steam and Finnish saunas are equally exhausting to the heart, an infrared sauna is less hard, although it is the most effective one when it comes to detoxification, while tepidarium is lightest among them which makes it not so effective in detoxification, although its relaxing effect is excellent. 

4)  Make intensity and frequency systematic! There is no point in getting your body used to something if you don't practice it afterward. Our body responds in a completely different way to the burdens it can prepare for than it does to the completely unexpected challenges. Don't use shock therapy, because it reverses! The recommended strength of a sauna depends largely on the frequency, history, and regularity of its use.