Sauna

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

This article needs to be wikified. Please format this article according to the guidelines laid out at Wikipedia:Guide to layout.

A sauna is a small room or building that is made hot.

To use a sauna, you sit or lie down. The heat is relaxing and makes you sweat. This is thought to help people be more healthy. The basic idea is very old. Ancient Romans and the Aztecs had things like a sauna. Today many nations and groups of people have different ways of heating and using a sauna. The temperature is often 80°C in Finnish and Swedish saunas. The heat can be more than 100°C. Finnish and Swedish saunas have lower humidity (the air is less wet) to make this high heat comfortable.

The Turkish hammam has a high humidity (the air is more wet) and a lower temperature.

Today you are likely to find a sauna at hotels and places for sports and exercise. In Finland they are more common and are also often in private apartments and office buildings.

You must undress to use a sauna. In some cultures swimsuits must be worn. In other cultures swimsuits must not be worn. Swimsuits are more often worn when men and women use a sauna together. Some saunas are only for men, or only for women. Some places have fixed times when each gender can use a sauna. Private saunas may have their own rules. Here are the normal rules for public saunas:

  • Countries where you would normally use a sauna naked:

Germany, Austria, Northeastern Italy, Finland, Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Japan

  • Countries where you would normally use a sauna in a swimsuit or covered by a towel:

France, UK, United States, Hungary, South America, Africa

  • Countries where men and women do not sauna together:

Russia, Japan

  • Countries where you must sit on a towel:

Germany, Austria, Northeastern Italy

  • Countries where you hit others with birch branches:

Finland, Russia