Sauna

A Finnish wood-heated sauna

A sauna (IPA pronunciation: ['sɔ:nə] or ['saʊnə], Finnish ['sɑunɑ]) (also sweathouse, sudatory, steambath) is a room or a smallish separate house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions. Most modern saunas have also a separate room with showers, and an additional dressing room. A sauna at a Finnish summerhouse by a lake also has a deck or a porch to cool down and perhaps enjoy a light meal after sauna.

The word sauna is also used metaphorically to describe an unusually hot or humid environment.

A sauna session is usually a social affair in which the participants disrobe and sit in temperatures of over 80 °C (176 °F). This induces relaxation and promotes sweating.

History of sauna

Etymology

The word sauna is an ancient Finnish word and its etymology is not clear but it may have originally meant a winter dwelling of this kind.

First saunas

Sauna is thought to have developed from ancient dwellings, dug into the earth and heated with a fire. Eventually it was discovered that a pile of stones added on top of the fire radiated the heat in the dwelling. When water was thrown on these hot stones, steam was generated, and it helped in loosening the dirt and grime regular washing did not. The sauna was born.

Evolution

The sauna evolved from the original "smoke sauna" to use a metal woodstove, or kiuas [ˈkiu.ɑs], equipped with a chimney. Air temperatures averaged around 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit (70-80 °C) but sometimes exceeded 200 °F (90 °C) in a traditional Finnish sauna. Steam vapor, also called löyly [ˈløyly], was created by splashing water on the heated rocks.

The steam and high heat caused bathers to perspire, helping remove dirt, clean the pores and increased circulation in the body. The Finns also used a vihta [ˈvihtɑ] (Western dialect, aka vasta in Eastern dialect), a bundle of leafy birch branches, to gently slap the skin and create further stimulation of the pores and cells.

The Finns originally used the sauna as a place to cleanse the mind, rejuvenate and refresh the spirit, and prepare the dead for burial. The sauna was an important part of daily life, and families bathed together in the home sauna. Indeed Sauna was originally place of mystical nature where gender/sex differences did not exist. Because the sauna was often the cleanest structure and had water readily available, Finnish women also gave birth there.

When the Finns migrated to other areas of the globe, they brought their sauna designs and traditions with them, introducing other cultures to the enjoyment and health benefits of sauna.

Sauna traditions and old beliefs

In Finland and Estonia, the sauna is an ancient custom. It used to be a holy place, a place where women gave birth, and where the bodies of the dead were washed. There were also many beliefs and charms that were connected to sauna. It was, among other things, a place for worshipping the dead – it was thought of as such a wonderful place that even the dead would surely like to return to it. Curing diseases and casting love spells could also happen in the sauna. As in many other cultures, fire was seen as a gift from heaven in Finland, and the hearth and the sauna oven were its altars.

One word in Finnish, strictly connected to sauna, is löyly. It means the heat of the sauna room, especially the heat you get when you throw water on the hot stones of the sauna oven. Originally this word meant spirit or life. In many languages which are related to Finnish, there is a word corresponding to löyly. An example would be lil in Ostyak, which means soul, or leil in Estonian. All this also hints to the sauna's old, spiritual roots.

There still exists an old saying, "saunassa ollaan kuin kirkossa," – you should be in the sauna as in a church.

Saunatonttu, literally translated sauna elf, is a little gnome that was(is) believed to live in the sauna. He was(is) always treated with respect, otherwise he might cause much trouble for people. It was(is) customary to warm up the sauna just for the gnome every now and then, or to leave some food outside for him. It is said that he warned the people if a fire was threatening the sauna, or punished people who behaved improperly in it – for example slept, or played games, argued, were generally noisy or behaved otherwise "immorally" there.

Saunas and sex

In many countries, "saunas" are a front for brothels, and sex clubs and gay bathhouses may have saunas in which patrons have sex.

In the Finnish and Northern European tradition, associating sexuality with sauna is a social faux pas. Public saunas are often segregated between men and women, and have separate times for men and women to bathe.

The modern sauna

Inside a sauna

Most North American and Western European college/university physical education complexes and many public sports centers and gyms include sauna facilities. They may also be present at public and private swimming pools. Most houses in Finland have their own saunas, as do high rises and condominiums, where it is either a communal facility, often with a pool, or each apartment unit has their own.

Under many circumstances, temperatures approaching and exceeding 100 °C (212 °F) would be completely intolerable. Saunas overcome this problem by controlling the humidity. The hottest Finnish saunas have very low humidity levels, which allows air temperatures that could boil water to be tolerated and even enjoyed for longer periods of time. Control over the temperature experienced can be achieved by choosing a higher level bench for those wishing a hotter experience or a lower level bench for a more moderate temperature. Good manners require that the door to a sauna not be kept open so long that it cools the sauna for those that are already in it.

Infrared saunas are growing in popularity, using far infrared rays emitted by infrared heaters to create warmth.

Saunas can be dangerous. Heat prostration or the even more serious hyperthermia (heat stroke) can result. The cool shower or plunge in a pool or a lake afterwards results in a great increase in blood pressure, so moderation is advised for those with a history of stroke or hypertension (high blood pressure). In Finland, the sauna is thought of as a healing refreshment. The saying goes: "Jos ei viina, terva tai sauna auta, tauti on kuolemaksi." ("If booze, tar or the sauna won't help, the illness is fatal.")

In Finnish sauna culture, a beer afterwards is thought to be refreshing and relaxing. Oftentimes a sauna is an all night affair, and is combined with a light meal and socializing with friends and family.

Social and mixed gender nudity with adults and children of the same family is common in the conventional sauna. Sauna is considered not only a sex-free, but also almost a gender-free zone. In the dry sauna and on chairs one sometimes sits on a towel for hygiene and comfort; in the steam bath the towel is left outside.

As an additional facility a sauna may have one or more jacuzzis.

Finnish sauna

Finnish Savusauna by the lake

Historical evidence and records indicate that the Finns built the first wooden saunas in the 5th or 8th century. Early saunas were dug into a hill or embankment. As tools and techniques advanced, they were later built as freestanding structures. Rocks were heated in a stone fireplace with a wood fire. The smoke from the fire filled the room as the air warmed.

Once the temperature reached desired levels, the smoke was allowed to clear through wall openings and the bathers entered. The wood smoke aroma still lingered and was part of the cleansing ritual. This type of traditional sauna was called a savusauna, which means "smoke sauna" in Finnish. Many people find the smell of smoke and wood to be relaxing.

In Finland swimsuits, towels, or any other garments are rarely worn in the sauna. Families often go to the sauna together. In these private saunas swimsuits or towels are never worn. In public saunas it is more common that men and women go to the sauna separately, although people of both sexes may sometimes bathe together. Still, saunas are not associated with sex and sexuality. Quite the contrary, historically saunas have been the most sacred places after the church, and most houses which could afford to build a sauna had one. In older times women also used to give birth in the sauna because it was a warm environment with a ready supply of warm water. Children were occasionally born in saunas still in the beginning of the 20th century.

The lighting in a sauna is low, and Finns prefer to sit in the sauna in silence, relaxing. The temperature is usually between 80°C (176°F) and 110°C (230°F). Sometimes people make a 'vihta'; they tie together small birch branches and swat themselves and their fellow sauna bathers with it. One can even buy vihtas from a shop and store them into the freezer for later (winter) use. Using a vihta improves blood circulation, and its birch odour is considered pleasing.

Technologies

Smoke sauna in Enonkoski, Finland.

Today there are a wide variety of sauna options. Heat sources include wood, electricity, gas and other more unconventional methods such as solar power. There are wet saunas, dry saunas, smoke saunas, steam saunas, and those that work with infrared waves. The Finnish word for a sauna heat source is kiuas. There are also two main types of kiuas: continuously heating and "always on"-type. Continuously heating kiuases have a small heat capacity and can be heated up on an "on-demand" basis, whereas an "always on" kiuas has a large heat capacity and can take up to 24 hours to heat up.

You can have a sauna in your home or apartment, in your backyard, on your rooftop, or even on a pontoon boat. The possibilities are endless and creating innovative and sometimes quirky designs has become part of the appeal of sauna bathing.

Smoke sauna

Smoke sauna (Finnish savusauna) is the original sauna. It is a room with a rock or masonry stove topped with stones. A fire in the stove is maintained for several hours, until the desired temperature in the sauna is reached. This type of sauna does not have a smokestack so the smoke is dispersed through an open door and openings in the walls. The walls and benches are usually covered in soot, and people sit on towels places on sauna benches. When the sauna is ready, the stove has a glowing bed of embers, the large amount of rocks are heated through, providing a reservoir of heat and a gentle smell of smoke. Temperature is low, about 60 C, and humidity is high. The smoke sauna tradition nearly died out, but was revived by enthusiasts in the 1980's.

Continuous fire

A continuous fire, instead of stored heat, is a recent invention. There is a firebox and a smokestack, and stones are placed in a compartment directly above the firebox. It is much hotter than a smoke sauna, even 100 C, and lacks the smell of smoke characteristic of its predecessor. It takes a much shorter time, an hour or less, to heat up the sauna. A wood fire heated sauna requires some manual labor in the form of maintaining the fire; the fire can also be a hazard and this type of sauna is usually not allowed in apartments or high rise buildings.

Electric heater

The electric continuous heater offers virtually identical performance to the continuous-fire type kiuas. The difference is that a click of a switch is all that is needed for heating it up. The fire hazard is mitigated, making this type of sauna the favorite in apartments and personal saunas in high rise buildings.

Always-on

Wood-heated Floating Sauna on Iowa Farm Pond

An always-on type kiuas has a very large heat reservoir, about 150-200 kg of stones. It is more expensive and is used in public saunas. The heat source is electric, but other sources are also known.

Infrared

Infrared saunas use a special heater that generates infrared radiation rays similar to that produced by the sun. Unlike the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, infrared is said to be beneficial to overall health. Infrared radiation has been shown to kill the bacteria responsible for acne. In an infrared sauna, the electric heaters warm the air and also penetrate the skin to encourage perspiration, producing many of the same health benefits of traditional steam saunas.

Similar sweat bathing facilities

The Finnish-style sauna (generally 70-80 °C (158-176 °F), but can vary from 60 to 120 °C (140-248 °F)) and the wet steam bath are the most widely known forms of sweat bathing. Many cultures have close equivalents, such as the North American First Nations sweat lodge, the Turkish hammam, Roman thermae, Nahuatl (Aztec) temescalli, Maya temazcal, Russian banya,Estonian saun, the Jewish Shvitz, African Sifutu, and Japanese Mushi-Buro. Public bathhouses that often contained a steam room were common in the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s and were inexpensive places to go to wash when private facilities were not generally available.

Modern sauna culture around the world

As the home of the sauna, Finnish sauna culture is well established. Although cultures in all corners of the world have imported and adapted the sauna, many of the traditional customs have not survived the journey. Today, public perception of saunas, sauna "etiquette" and sauna customs vary hugely from country to country. In many countries going to sauna is a recent fashion and attitudes towards saunas are changing, while in others traditions have survived over generations.

File:Suomalainen savusauna.jpg

Finnish "smoke sauna"

In Finland, Estonia and Russia sauna-going plays a central social role. These countries boast the hottest saunas and the tradition of beating fellow sauna-goers with leafy, wet birch bunches ('vasta' or 'vihta' in Finnish, 'viht' in Estonian). In Russia public saunas are strictly single sex while in Finland and Estonia both types occur.

Benelux and Scandinavian countries, where public saunas have been around for a long time, generally have a moderate, "live and let live" attitude towards sauna-going with few traditions to speak of. Levels of nudity vary, single sex saunas are as common as mixed sex saunas and people tend to socialize.

In Germany and Austria on the other hand, nudity is strictly enforced in public saunas, as is the covering of benches with towels. Separate single-sex saunas for both genders are rare, most places offer women-only and mixed-gender saunas, or organize weekly women-only days for the sauna. Contrary to Scandinavian countries, pouring water on hot stones to increase humidity (Aufguss) is not normally done by the sauna visitors themselves, but rather by a person in charge (the Saunameister), who is either an employee of the sauna complex or a volunteer. During an Aufguss session the Saunameister uses a large towel to circulate the hot air through the sauna, intensifying sweating and the perception of heat. Once the Aufguss session has started it is not considered good manners to enter the sauna, as opening the door would cause loss of heat. Leaving the session is always, but grudgingly, tolerated. Cold showers or baths shortly after a sauna, as well as exposure to fresh air in a special balcony, garden or open-air room (Frischluftraum) are considered a must.

In much of southern Europe, France and the UK single gender saunas are more common than mixed gender saunas. Nudity is tolerated in the segregated saunas but strictly forbidden in the mixed saunas, a cause of confusion when residents of these nations cross the border to Germany and Austria or vice versa. Sauna sessions tend to be shorter and cold showers are shunned by most.

Hungarians see the sauna a part of a wider spa culture. Here too attitudes are less liberal, mixed-gender people are together and they wear swimsuits. Single-sex saunas are rare, as well as those which tolerate nudity.

In Latin America, particularly in the highlands of southern Mexico and Guatemala, a version of the sauna indigenous to the Americas, called temazcal, is quite popular. The temazacal is usually made of clay or stone, and has a low ceiling. The temazcal structure is usually shared by an extended family unit. Unlike European sauna culture, temazcal is an individual rathern than social activity. One washes in the temazcal, with soap, or in a more traditional setting, with herbs and medicinal bushes. One uses the temazacal only in the evening, so that upon exiting one can feel the chill of the cold evening air (temperature can fall below freezing at high altitudes). One usually bathes in the temazacal 2-3 times a week.

In Korea, saunas are essentially public bathhouses. Various names are used to describe them, such as the smaller mogyoktang, outdoor oncheon, and the elaborate jjimjilbang. The word 'sauna' is used a lot for its 'English appeal', however it does not strictly refer to the original Scandinavian steam rooms that have become popular throughout the world. The konglish word sauna (사우나) usually refers to bathhouses with Jacuzzis, hot tubs, showers, steam rooms, and related facilities.

In Japan, many saunas exist at sports centers and public bathhouses (sentos). The saunas are almost always gender separated, often required by law, and nudity is a required part of proper sauna etiquette. While right after World War II, public bathhouses were commonplace in Japan, the number of customers have dwindled as more people were able to afford houses and apartments equipped with their own private baths, as the nation became wealthier.

Unfortunately for sauna enthusiasts in the United States, sauna culture is not widespread outside of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and parts of Minnesota, which are home to a large Finnish-American population.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Sauna

• The Finnish Sauna
• The Finnish Sauna Society
• Russian Banya History & Information
• The Real Finnish Sauna Culture and Tradition
• The Different Types of Sauna and Its Health Benefits
• Reviews and articles on Sauna equipment

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Sauna  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Sauna"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.