Why go to the sauna in summer too? Because your body needs it all year round

Sauna in the summer? At first glance, a paradox. In fact, it’s one of the smartest habits you can adopt for yourself – whether it’s for your health, performance or mental well-being.

Heat as training for the body

When you enter a sauna, your body thinks it has a fever. And it reacts exactly like that – it speeds up circulation, rushes blood to the skin, and triggers sweating. But unlike a real illness, you control this condition yourself, end it with a cold shower and leave strengthened, not exhausted.

Regular repetition of this cycle trains thermoregulation. The body learns to deal with temperature fluctuations more effectively – and this will also be reflected in the summer. Instead of feeling exhausted and unable to sleep on hot days, you tolerate the heat better. You sweat less, regenerate better, and adapt faster to climate change when travelling.

Pain, joints and mobility

Heat is not only pleasant – it is therapeutic. Thermotherapy, of which the sauna is a natural part, has been shown to reduce the perception of pain by increasing blood flow to the affected areas and improving the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues.

People with arthritis, rheumatism or other joint problems regularly report that saunas help them maintain mobility and reduce the intensity of pain. The joints warm up, the synovial fluid circulates, and the muscles relax. Walter Crinnion’s research documents the positive effect of saunas on hypertension, heart failure or chronic fatigue – conditions where conventional medicine sometimes reaches its limits.

Athletes know this:

For active people, the sauna is part of the training system, not just a reward after a race. A Canadian study followed athletes who took a thirty-minute sauna session four times a week as part of their training plan. The result? A measurable improvement in performance by several percent – without a single extra kilometre of running.

Why does it work? The sauna speeds up the metabolism, improves the supply of oxygen to the muscles and switches the nervous system from performance to regeneration mode. In addition, Polish research shows that using a sauna has a positive effect on athletes’ body weight and stimulates the immune system – two things that go hand in hand with long-term performance.

And for those who are not professional athletes but want to lose weight more effectively: 30 minutes in the sauna burns approximately 600 kcal. That‘s equivalent to an hour of running – effortlessly, just with heat. At the same time, it detoxifies and supports the metabolism, which is crucial for weight loss.

Immunity: the numbers that say it all

At a time when people are demonstrably more susceptible to disease after the pandemic, prevention is more important than ever. The sauna is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to strengthen your immune system in a targeted manner.

A study by the British Medical Association reports that one sauna visit per week reduces the risk of viral diseases by 30%. Two to three visits a week? The risk is reduced by up to 65%. The body gets used to fighting – and fights better.

In summer, the immune system is particularly strained: air conditioning alternates with the heat outside, ice-cold drinks irritate the mucous membranes, and holidays in a different climate stress the body. Sore throats and bronchitis are no exception in summer. Regular sauna use reduces this burden – it increases the number of white blood cells, detoxifies and strengthens overall resistance.

The best sauna? The one you can get to every day

The key to all these benefits is one word: regularity. A sauna once a month is a pleasant experience. A sauna two or three times a week is an investment in your health.

And the easiest way to achieve regularity? Your own sauna at home – available at any time, tailored to your needs, without the need to plan a trip to the fitness centre. Let us know how you imagine your sauna and we will make it a reality.

Having your own sauna at home is the easiest way to achieve the regularity that underpins all the benefits described above. Through its TAO brand, IMAGINOX designs and manufactures custom-made designer saunas – from compact home cabins to spacious hotel wellness areas. More at www.imaginox.com